Asian American with 4.42 GPA, 1590 SAT, and a job offer from Google is suing after 16 colleges rejected him

An Asian American man who was rejected from over a dozen top colleges despite his stellar test scores is now suing for discrimination.

Stanley Zhong wasn’t a typical high school student. He was one of only 2,000 students nationwide who scored a 1590 or higher on the SATs. His GPA, meanwhile, was a whopping 4.42.

But there’s more. While in high school, he started his own e-document signature platform called RabbitSign. And before he even graduated, he received a Ph.D.-level job offer from Google.

Yet despite this uber-impressive list of qualifications, the Palo Alto native was rejected by top college after top college in 2023.

Asian student Stanley Zhong has sued the University of California for racial discrimination after being rejected despite having a 1590 SAT score and a 3.98 GPA.

Follow: @AFpost pic.twitter.com/mYuN6Buz2z

— AF Post (@AFpost) February 24, 2025

“Stanley 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,” according to the New York Post.

That’s 16 total schools.

“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,” Zhong’s father, Nan Zhong, told the paper. “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.”

Rightly so. Affirmative action is a discriminatory and racist policy that advantages black and Hispanic students at the expense of white and Asian ones.

Only the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Maryland wound up accepting Zhong, meaning only two out of 18 schools, or 11 percent, accepted him. These numbers were unacceptable to both him and his father.

“There’s nothing more un-American than this,” Nan said of the discrimination his son has faced. “I don’t really think [these schools] give a damn about the damage they’re doing to these kids.”

Stanley and Nan Zhong are carrying a torch for the equal treatment regardless of race that all California students deserve, and that California voters have repeatedly insisted that the University of California should provide.

We are in their debt. https://t.co/TjKgf8f8BW pic.twitter.com/7cO6v2LNrP

— Steve Miller (@SteveMillerOC) February 21, 2025

The good news is that the Supreme Court outlawed affirmative action in college admissions in the summer of 2023. The bad news is that Zhong filed his applications before the ruling. That’s why his lawsuit only targets those of the 16 schools that are located in states that boast their own state-level affirmative action bans.

“So far, the family has filed lawsuits against the University of California system and the University of Washington, alleging the schools ‘[engaged] in racially discriminatory admissions practices that disadvantage highly qualified Asian-American applicants,’” the Post notes.

“[Stanley’s poor 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,” the lawsuit reads. “Stanley’s experience is emblematic of a broader pattern of racial discrimination against highly qualified Asian-American applicants at UC.”

Zhong is seeking compensatory and punitive damages and “such other and further relief as [the] court deems just and proper.”

(Video Credit: ABC 7 Chicago)

In speaking with the Post about this case, Nan acknowledged the Supreme Court’s ruling but warned that enforcing the ban on affirmative action will be harder than it looks.

“Our case is a matter of enforcing the law and holding schools responsible. It’s great the Supreme Court ruled in that case, but I think the enforcement is going to be a lot harder than just declaring it unconstitutional,” he said.

The University of Washington, for its part, responded to the suit by telling the Post that it stands by its discriminatory processes.

“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,” a spokesperson said.

As for Zhong,  he ultimately accepted Google’s job offer and has been working as a full-time software engineer since October, but he doesn’t intend to do too many more media appearances.

“We haven’t seen more cases like Stanley’s because the kind of open hostility towards Asian students standing up for their rights is unbelievable,” Nan said.

He wasn’t wrong about the hate and vitriol that Asian Americans who stand up for themselves face:

Jemele Hill: Asian-Americans who back affirmative action ruling ‘carrying water for white supremacy’ https://t.co/pAQr9xy16S pic.twitter.com/ywBPHX97SF

— BPR (@BIZPACReview) July 6, 2023

Senior Staff Writer
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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.

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