Yale Discriminates Against Asian, White Applicants, Justice Department Says

The Department of Justice has concluded that Yale University unlawfully discriminates against Asian and white applicants in its admissions process.

Eric Dreiband, the assistant attorney general for the DOJ's civil rights division, wrote in a letter Thursday that a federal probe showed race was a "predominate criteria" that dictated many admissions decisions at Yale. The department warned that it could sue the university if it continues to use race in admissions for the upcoming year.

The government's inquiry, which began in 2018 and is based on Yale's own data, shows that Asian and white applicants are significantly less likely to be admitted than students from "preferred racial groups" with similar qualifications.

"Yale’s race discrimination imposes undue and unlawful penalties on racially-disfavored applicants, including in particular Asian American and White applicants," Dreiband wrote. "For the great majority of applicants, Asian American and White applicants have only one-tenth to one-fourth of the likelihood of admission as African American applicants with comparable academic credentials."

The Department also accused Yale of racially engineering its admitted classes, saying the racial composition of its student body has been "remarkably stable for approximately the last decade."

More