UCLA Medical School Faces Backlash for Prioritizing Race Over Merit as Rankings Drop

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) David Geffen School of Medicine has come under fire for its admissions policies, which have allegedly prioritized race over academic merit—while at the same time, the school’s rankings have plummeted.

A shocking report from Washington Free Beacon reveals that when a Black applicant with below-average grades and test scores applied, the admissions committee initially expressed skepticism about his qualifications. However, Dean of Admissions Jennifer Lucero reportedly overruled the committee, ignoring concerns about his academic readiness and accusing the committee of racial bias.

“Did you not know African-American women are dying at a higher rate than everybody else?” Lucero reportedly stated, arguing that the applicant’s race should outweigh his low test scores and grades.

Dangerous Prioritization of DEI Over Competence

This disturbing trend raises serious concerns about the quality of future doctors and patient safety. According to Campus Reform, more than 50% of UCLA medical students have failed standardized tests in key medical fields such as: ✅ Family medicine
✅ Internal medicine
✅ Emergency medicine
✅ Pediatrics

One UCLA professor shared a particularly alarming incident in which a medical student could not identify a major artery in the operating room.

“What they’re doing in our medical system is bringing DEI into it,” said Rep. Burgess Owens (R-TN), condemning the prioritization of diversity quotas over medical competence.

📉 UCLA’s medical school rankings have dropped, and the correlation between their race-based admissions policies and declining academic performance is becoming impossible to ignore.

Ignoring the Supreme Court’s Ban on Affirmative Action

In June 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), striking down affirmative action in college admissions. Yet UCLA appears to be defying this decision by continuing to favor race over merit-based admissions.

One committee member questioned this bias, asking:

“I wondered… if this applicant had been [a] white male, or [an] Asian female for that matter, [whether] we would have had that much discussion.”

The law is clear: racial preferences are unconstitutional. Yet UCLA appears to be sidestepping the Supreme Court ruling and endangering public health in the process.

Congress Threatens to Defund Schools That Push DEI in Medicine

Rep. Burgess Owens and other lawmakers are taking serious steps to ensure medical schools like UCLA face consequences for ignoring merit-based admissions.

“People’s lives are on the line and the radical left is still focused on hitting their DEI-mandated diversity quotas,” Owens tweeted.

🚨 Breaking: 50% of @UCLA medical students can’t pass a basic competency test.
People’s lives are on the line and the radical left is still focused on hitting their DEI mandated diversity quotas.
👉 See full tweet here: @RepBurgessOwens

Lawmakers are calling for funding cuts to any medical school that ignores merit and pushes racial preferences in admissions. This could spell major financial consequences for UCLA.

What’s Next for UCLA?

🔴 Defying the Supreme Court and ignoring competency in medical education is a recipe for disaster.
🔴 UCLA must be held accountable for prioritizing political ideology over medical excellence.
🔴 Congress is already signaling a crackdown on DEI-driven policies in medicine.

If UCLA refuses to change course, they risk losing federal funding—and even more importantly, they risk the safety of future patients.

🩺 Would you trust a doctor who got into medical school based on skin color rather than skill?