Teen rejected by 16 colleges, hired by Google, sues for racial discrimination

A Palo Alto teen who was hired by Google for an alleged PhD-level position after being rejected by 16 colleges is taking civil action against the University of California (UC) and other colleges for their admissions policies.

Stanley Zhong and his father, Nan Zhong, filed civil rights complaints in February and March, accusing the UC system, the University of Washington, the University of Michigan and Cornell University of engaging in "racially discriminatory admissions practices that disadvantage highly qualified Asian-American applicants."

Stanley, 19, is a self-taught programmer who was first recruited for a job at Google at just 13 years old. While still in high school, he launched a free e-signing startup that was featured by Amazon Web Services and qualified as a finalist in several coding competitions. 

Beyond these professional accomplishments, he also ranked in the top 9% of his graduating class, with a 4.42 weighted GPA and 1590 SAT score (99th percentile).

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"Despite Stanley’s exceptional academic achievements and remarkable professional accomplishments at a young age, his applications to the undergraduate programs at five University of California campuses were either rejected or waitlisted. These results stand in stark contrast to his receipt of a full-time job offer from Google for a position requiring a Ph.D. degree or equivalent practical experience," the complaint continues.

"Stanley’s experience is emblematic of a broader pattern of racial discrimination against highly qualified Asian-American applicants at UC. These admissions practices violate the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the California Constitution's prohibition on racial discrimination in public education," it states.

Stanley's father, Nan, told Fox News Digital that he was initially surprised to learn that Stanley had been rejected by 16 of the 18 colleges he had applied to. After sharing his story with the media, Zhong said that Asian American families from all over the country reached out to say they had similar experiences. 

His complaint states that multiple college admissions counselors who reviewed Stanley's record told him that they could see no "legitimate reason why Stanley was rejected."

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Zhong said their family spent over a year looking for answers before coming to the conclusion that there was a "widespread" problem of anti-Asian discrimination at elite universities.

The Zhongs reached out to California state lawmakers, Gov. Gavin Newsom, and the U.S. Department of Education about these concerns without any success.

"So there is just this weird experience of nobody seems to be wanting to touch it. I suspect maybe they don't know what to say because if they come out supporting us, then they would somewhat contradict their prior political narrative. But if they come out and support UC, that would make them look stupid. I guess that the only thing they can do is just not touch it. So with all those rejections, stonewalling and being ignored, we finally came to the conclusion that the lawsuit is the only way [forward]" Zhong told Fox News Digital.

In a landmark ruling in June 2023, the Supreme Court declared that race-based admissions practices were unconstitutional. The case, brought by a coalition of Asian-American students against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, was handed down after Stanley Zhong had applied to colleges for the Fall 2023 semester.

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Zhong's complaints, which he says were largely written by AI, allege racial admissions practices still exist at the universities he is targeting with lawsuits, despite the high court's ruling. 

One example in the complaint cites federal grants given to UC schools for meeting enrollment goals for Hispanic students.

"Despite claiming it does not maintain racial targets, UC actively pursues Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) status at all its campuses. HSI designation requires at least 25% Hispanic student enrollment," the California complaint states.

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Nan Zhong said they are prepared to take their case all the way to the Supreme Court in order to fight for fairness and transparency in college admissions practices, particularly for future Asian applicants.

"I think these people are really ruining Asian-American kids, and somehow they're feeling good about it. That's the part I really cannot tolerate," he said.

The U.S. Department of Education is listed as a co-defendant in the Zhongs' California lawsuit, in which they challenge "the use of racial targets in its federal grant programs" and allege the department had "failed to investigate UC’s racially discriminatory practices" after it closed their complaint with their Office of Civil Rights.

The University of California responded to the lawsuit in a statement to Fox News Digital: "The University of California intends to vigorously defend our admission practices. We believe this to be a meritless suit that seeks to distract us from our mission to provide California students with a world-class education."

"Since the consideration of race in admissions was banned in California in 1996, the University of California has adjusted its undergraduate admissions practices to comply with the law. We stand by our admission policies and our record of expanding access for all qualified students. The UC undergraduate admissions application collects students’ race and ethnicity for statistical purposes only. This information is not shared with application reviewers and is not used for admission." 

A spokesperson for the University of Washington told Fox News Digital, "The UW stands behind its admissions process, and we have long recognized that our capacity is limited and we are not able to admit some very talented and capable applicants. We are reviewing the lawsuit and will likely have no additional comment while the legal process is ongoing."

Cornell University and Gov. Newsom's office declined to comment.

The University of Michigan and the U.S. Department of Education did not respond to a request for comment.

Stanley Zhong was accepted at the University of Maryland and the University of Texas-Austin but decided to take a job offer as a software development engineer at Google in the fall of 2023 instead.