Multiple media outlets, including The New York Times, reported that the Department of Justice has requested these universities to submit their admissions data for the past seven years by April 24, with shockingly detailed information.
Image source: nytimes. Copyright belongs to the original author.It includes not only the applicant's test scores, but also their postal code, family background, and even whether they have any relationship with alumni or donors.
This type of information is typically used to determine whether a school exhibits "hidden favoritism" or "structural bias" in its admissions process. This level of data retrieval clearly goes beyond routine review.
More controversially, the government requested access to all internal communications records of the school regarding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), as well as emails between the school and pharmaceutical companies regarding admissions policies.
Schools that fail to submit their grants on time risk having their federal funding cut off.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon announced the action on social media platform X, posting a photo of herself signing the investigation letter. She captioned it: "Launch a series of civil rights investigations. Another heavenly day!"
Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2023 to ban the use of affirmative action in college admissions, how universities should handle race has been a hot topic of public debate.
While the Supreme Court's ruling at the time prohibited direct racial quotas, it allowed students to describe in their personal statements how their racial background affected their lives.
However, the Trump administration believes that many universities are using these documents as "proxy variables" to maintain their existing racial weighting.
In June 2025, the federal government sued the entire University of California system, accusing its hiring practices of discrimination based on race and gender.
In September of the same year, after UCLA was accused of anti-Semitism, some of its research funding was frozen by the government, triggering a strong backlash from the university and ultimately leading to a lawsuit.
Meanwhile, many prestigious universities, including Harvard, Brown and Columbia, have also faced similar investigations or financial threats to varying degrees over the past year.
Earlier this month, a coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s policy of mandating the collection of such data, arguing that it constitutes excessive interference with educational autonomy.
Faced with increasing pressure from the Department of Justice, all three universities involved issued statements.
UC San Diego stated that the school is committed to fairness in all admissions processes and strictly adheres to all federal and state anti-discrimination laws. However, the school did not disclose whether it would object to the data request.
Stanford Medical School spokesperson Cecilia Arradaza stated that the university prohibits any illegal discrimination based on race, color, or national origin. Ohio State University indicated that it has received the letter and will respond appropriately.
It remains unclear why these three medical schools were among the first to be included in the investigation. However, analysts believe this signals an escalating federal government review of the "scientific authority" and "elite access" of the higher education system.
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