(The Center Square) – The Ohio State University said Thursday it’s done nothing wrong when it comes to admissions at its medical school in response to a federal investigation.
The U.S. Justice Department launched the investigation into possible racial discrimination in admissions at OSU’s medical school with a letter Wednesday.
Federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin, the Justice Department said in a letter to Ohio State.
“At this time, our investigation will focus on possible race discrimination in medical school admissions, at Ohio State University College of Medicine,” the letter said.
The Justice Department requested “any and all” documents guiding medical school admissions policies and procedures “including documents on the use or lack of use of race in evaluating applicants.”
It also asked for data on all applicants including test scores, grade point averages, extracurricular activities and demographics.
Ohio State on Thursday denied any wrongdoing.
“Ohio State is fully compliant with all state and federal regulations and legal rulings regarding admissions,” spokesman Ben Johnson told The Center Square.
Last August, Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, wrote on her personal social media account that her father and uncle were physicians.
“Our medical system is broken,” she wrote. “American medical schools teach that gender is a social construct, that sex is not determined at birth, that drugs can fix everything. Worse, admissions to these schools are based on affirmative action and not merit. Hardworking white and Asian Americans are disadvantaged in admissions.”
On Wednesday, she posted a picture on her professional X account of herself signing a document.
“Launching a series of civil rights investigations,” the post said. “Another day in paradise!”
In 2025, Ohio State’s medical school had 8,731 applicants but accepted only 393, according to its website. The website does not provide a racial breakdown of those accepted.
In admissions as well as other areas, Ohio State “does not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, genetic information, HIV/AIDS status, military status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or protected veteran Status,” the university website states.
In its request for information from Ohio State, the Justice Department seeks, “An explanation for any deviation between racial and ethnic categories in test scores.” It asks for a similar explanation for any deviation in grade point averages.
The Justice Department also requests “all internal correspondence referring or relating to the use of race or ethnicity in admissions.”
It also asks for information on whether the applicant’s picture or video is part of the application process and if so, why? And the Justice Department requests, “all documents referring or relating to whether (and when) the Ohio State University College of Medicine’s computer system has been modified to screen Applicant’s racial information and pictures/videos from ALL admissions reviewers.”
