The U.S. Department of Justice accused UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine of illegally considering race in admissions and alleged the school violated civil rights law and the 2023 Supreme Court ban on race-conscious admissions. In findings letters, DOJ Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon alleged UCLA preferred Black and Hispanic applicants using non-academic factors. The DOJ cited application questions inviting students to identify as part of marginalized groups and describe impact—framing these as designed to reveal race. UCLA officials said the process is merit-based and grounded in rigorous review, adding they are committed to complying with federal and state law. The dispute escalates the Trump administration’s broader pressure on colleges and universities to align admissions practices with the Supreme Court’s constraints, increasing legal and compliance risk for medical schools that operate under competitive, high-volume applicant pipelines.