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Thursday, Jun 05, 2025
Outside the box.
High-Achieving Student Sues Universities Alleging Racial Discrimination in Admissions
Stanley Zhong, rejected by 16 colleges despite exceptional academic credentials, files lawsuits against multiple institutions citing anti-Asian bias.
Stanley Zhong, a 19-year-old from Palo Alto, California, has initiated legal action against several U.S. universities, alleging racial discrimination in their admissions processes.
Despite achieving a 4.42 weighted GPA, a 1590 SAT score, and notable accomplishments in computer science, including founding the e-signing platform RabbitSign and advancing to the semifinals of Google Code Jam, Zhong was rejected by 16 of the 18 colleges he applied to.
These institutions include MIT, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, and five University of California campuses.
Following these rejections, Zhong accepted a full-time software engineering position at Google, a role typically requiring a Ph.D. or equivalent experience.
The lawsuits, filed by Zhong and his father, Nan Zhong, contend that the admissions decisions were influenced by anti-Asian bias, violating both federal and state laws prohibiting racial discrimination in public education.
The legal actions target universities in states with existing bans on race-based admissions, such as California's Proposition 209.
The University of California system and other institutions named in the lawsuits have denied the allegations, asserting that their admissions practices comply with legal standards.
The cases have garnered national attention, highlighting ongoing debates over affirmative action and the criteria used in college admissions.
Despite achieving a 4.42 weighted GPA, a 1590 SAT score, and notable accomplishments in computer science, including founding the e-signing platform RabbitSign and advancing to the semifinals of Google Code Jam, Zhong was rejected by 16 of the 18 colleges he applied to.
These institutions include MIT, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, and five University of California campuses.
Following these rejections, Zhong accepted a full-time software engineering position at Google, a role typically requiring a Ph.D. or equivalent experience.
The lawsuits, filed by Zhong and his father, Nan Zhong, contend that the admissions decisions were influenced by anti-Asian bias, violating both federal and state laws prohibiting racial discrimination in public education.
The legal actions target universities in states with existing bans on race-based admissions, such as California's Proposition 209.
The University of California system and other institutions named in the lawsuits have denied the allegations, asserting that their admissions practices comply with legal standards.
The cases have garnered national attention, highlighting ongoing debates over affirmative action and the criteria used in college admissions.