19-year-old Stanley Zhong and his father, Nan Zhong, are taking legal action against 16 US universities that rejected his applications despite his exceptional academic credentials. Mr Zhong, who boasts a 3.97 GPA and 4.42 weighted GPA, scored an impressive 1590 on the SAT, placing him among the top 2,000 test-takers out of over two million annually. He even had an offer in hand to work a PhD-level job at Google when he was just 13, the New York Post reported. Years later, he accepted Google's job offer and has been working as a full-time software engineer since October 2023.
However, his impressive academic record didn't guarantee him a spot at his desired college. Despite his stellar credentials, he was rejected by 16 of the 18 universities he applied to, including five University of California schools.
As per the Post, Mr Zhong was rejected by Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell University, Georgia Tech, MIT, Stanford, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, the University of Illinois, the University of Michigan, the University of Washington and the University of Wisconsin. He managed to get into only two schools - the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Maryland.
Dismayed the rejection, Mr Zhong and his father, Nan, have filed a lawsuit against the UC system, alleging that the university discriminates against high-achieving Asian-American applicants. Notably, they are pursuing the case without legal representation, as multiple law firms declined to take on their claim.
"I did hear that Asians seem to be facing a higher bar when it comes to college admissions, but I thought maybe it's an urban legend. But then when the rejections rolled in one after another, I was dumbfounded. What started with surprise turned into frustration and then finally it turned into anger," his father told the Post.
"There's nothing more un-American than this. I don't think [these schools] give a damn about the damage they're doing to these kids," he added.
So far, the Zhong family has filed lawsuits against the University of California system and the University of Washington, alleging that these institutions engage in discriminatory admissions practices that unfairly disadvantage highly qualified Asian-American applicants. They plan to file more lawsuits against other schools.
In the 300-page lawsuit crafted with the assistance of AI tools ChatGPT and Gemini, the family has alleged that his rejection from multiple University of California campuses was motivated by racial bias.
"[Stanley's admissions] results stand in stark contrast to his receipt of a full-time job offer from Google for a position requiring a PhD degree or equivalent practical experience. Stanley's experience is emblematic of a broader pattern of racial discrimination against highly qualified Asian-American applicants at UC," the lawsuit says.
They are seeking compensatory and punitive damages and "such other and further relief as [the] court deems just and proper."
For now, the teenager has put college plans on hold but hasn't ruled out pursuing higher education in the future. Following online backlash over his lawsuits, he's chosen to step away from media attention.
