Report Reveals Racial Disparities in UW Med School Admissions

Black applicants are nearly ten times more likely to be admitted than similarly qualified White or Asian applicants

The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health admits Black applicants at a higher rate than similarly qualified White or Asian applicants, according to a recent analysis.

The report titled “Skirting SCOTUS Part III: How Medical Schools Continue to Practice Racially Conscious Admissions” from the medical advocacy group Do No Harm analyzed the admissions practices of 23 public universities from 2024, including UW.

It found that a Black applicant to the UW medical school was nearly ten times more likely to be admitted than a White or Asian student with an identical GPA and MCAT score. Overall, 14.9 percent of Black applicants were admitted, compared to just 2.4 percent of Asian applicants and 3.9 percent of White applicants.

As stated in Do No Harm’s report, admitted Black students’ MCAT scores averaged in the 62^nd percentile, while White students averaged in the 86^th percentile, and Asian students averaged in the 87^th percentile.

The average MCAT scores of rejected White or Asian applicants were higher than the average MCAT score of admitted Black applicants.

The report identified UW and Eastern Virginia Medical School as “particularly brazen in efforts to reward black candidates and punish Asian candidates.” The two institutions had among the largest disparities in their admissions between racial groups.

Do No Harm’s Director of Research, Ian Kingsbury, told The Madison Federalist that "the selection process of prospective physicians must center merit and metrics like undergraduate GPA and MCAT scores, which are objective indicators of academic excellence.”

Kingsbury, who authored the report, said he has “little faith the school will reorient its priorities unless its hand is forced through any number of governmental or institutional accountability mechanisms."

Furthermore, Daniel Lennington, Deputy Counsel at the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, said UW may be in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. “This law prohibits recipients of federal financial assistance, like UW, from using race as a factor in any decision,” he said.

According to Lennington, “If the US Department of Justice or the US Department of Education finds a violation, they could pull all of UW’s federal funding. Also, race discrimination would open UW to liability under the False Claims Act, which provides up to triple damages for violations.”

“The UWSMPH admission standards fully comply with the law,” university spokesman John Lucas told The Federalist. “Our admission process reviews every aspect of an application with the strength of academic preparation key to determining an applicant’s likelihood of success. No student is admitted on the basis of their race/ethnicity/identity.”

However, according to Lennington, “If UW is not explicitly using race as a factor, they are very likely using some sort of proxy for race in order to achieve the racial balance they want.” He reiterated that this is illegal.

“Using race as a factor lowers standards, diminishes patient care, and causes harm to those candidates who were denied admission because of their race.” Lennington said, “The USDOJ should hold UW accountable and revoke its federal funding until UW removes race as a factor in all of its decision-making.”

The Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard Supreme Court ruling in 2023 banned the use of race-based affirmative action in admissions decisions.