A federal judge has cleared part of a civil rights lawsuit accusing the University of Washington of anti-Asian bias in college admissions to advance toward trial.
Nan Zhong and his son Stanley Zhong, 21, filed federal lawsuits against multiple elite institutions including the University of California system, Cornell University, the University of Michigan and the University of Washington, alleging racially discriminatory admissions practices that disadvantage highly qualified Asian-American applicants. A federal judge granted the University of Washington defendants’ motion to dismiss in part and denied it in part, allowing Stanley’s Title VI claims to proceed while dismissing several other claims and two of the three plaintiffs.
“We got an exciting ruling from the judge,” Nan Zhong said. “Effectively, the judge ruled in our favor by denying the university’s motion to dismiss. So, this is a major development in the lawsuit. That means the judge found enough factual allegations to support our allegation.”
The ruling centered in part on sovereign immunity, with Judge James L. Robart denying the defendants’ motion to dismiss Stanley’s Title VI claims against the university. The University of Washington Board of Regents pushed back in a statement. “We’re pleased that the court dismissed many of the claims and two of the three plaintiffs,” a spokesperson said. “Admission to the Allen School is highly competitive, and the vast majority of out-of-state applicants are not admitted because, as Washington’s flagship university, we prioritize Washington residents for admission.”
Nan Zhong emphasized what comes next now that discovery can begin. “With that ruling, we can now proceed into discovery, request internal documents, internal communication and, most importantly, admissions data,” he said.
Stanley Zhong became a national story after the 2023 Gunn High School graduate was rejected by 16 of 18 colleges he applied to despite elite credentials: a 1590 SAT score, 4.42 weighted GPA, top 9% class ranking and a free e-signing startup featured by Amazon Web Services. Google hired him as a full-time software engineer in a position his family’s court filing says typically requires a Ph.D. Or equivalent practical experience, after first scouting him in coding competitions at age 13.
The family spent over a year researching admissions trends before filing, concluding anti-Asian bias persists as a systemic issue. “The story is much bigger than myself; than my son, Stanley; or our family,” Zhong said. “First of all, I have a younger son, so I don’t want him to face the same problem that his older brother faced. I think this is something important we should correct, so my future grandkids won’t have the same problem again.”
Zhong said dozens of families nationwide have contacted them since going public. “After the story came out, we received a lot of communication from other Asian American families telling us about their story, telling about how highly qualified Asian American students were rejected left and right,” he said. “So, this is a large-scale issue, and I think of it as an issue that’s been around for a long time.”
Spokespersons for the University of California system have previously denied similar allegations against that institution, maintaining that its admissions policies strictly comply with state and federal laws prohibiting race-conscious decisions. Stanley Zhong was accepted at the University of Maryland and the University of Texas-Austin but took the Google position in fall 2023 instead.
The lawsuit against the University of Washington now moves into the discovery phase.