Stanley Zhong, an 18-year-old software engineer hired by Google in 2023, filed a lawsuit with his father against Cornell, alleging racial discrimination in its undergraduate admissions process.
This legal action, initiated on March 22 in the Northern New York District Court, is the latest of a series of similar lawsuits the Zhongs have filed against other prominent universities, including the University of California, the University of Washington and the University of Michigan.
According to the complaint, despite Stanley's academic credentials — a 3.97 unweighted GPA, a 1590 SAT score and significant achievements in computer science, including advancing to the Google Code Jam semifinals and winning second place in MIT Battlecode's global high school division — he was denied admission to Cornell and 15 other schools.
The lawsuit highlights that shortly after these rejections, Stanley received a full-time job offer from Google for a position typically requiring a Ph.D. or equivalent experience. This offer was extended after a rigorous evaluation process, including assessments of his technical skills and teamwork abilities.
In addition to his academic achievements, Stanley founded RabbitSign, an unlimited free e-signing service developed during the COVID-19 pandemic which he wrote about in his college essays. The platform was recognized by Amazon Web Services for its efficiency and security, leading to a feature in an upcoming case study by Amazon.
Cornell Media Relations declined to comment on the proceedings of the Zhongs’ lawsuit against the University.
The lawsuit is supported by Students Who Oppose Racial Discrimination, an organization founded in October 2024 by the Zhongs to help themselves and any willing families to challenge what it alleges are racially discriminatory admissions policies in higher education.
According to the SWORD website, numerous college admission counselors examined Stanley Zhong’s applications and essays after media outlets like CBS and USA Today began to cover his story. However, none of them were able to discern the cause for rejection, with some even offering to testify as expert witnesses.
The Zhongs contend that Stanley's rejection was influenced by racial biases in the admissions process. They argue that his qualifications should have secured him a spot at Cornell, among other universities, and that the denial reflects systemic discrimination against Asian-American applicants. According to their complaint, such practices violate principles of equal opportunity and merit-based admissions.
“I received tons of emails from Asian-American parents and students sharing similar stories, including applicants as qualified as Stanley if not more being rejected by all colleges they applied to,” Nan Zhong wrote in a letter featured on the SWORD website. “As these cases accumulated, a pattern of racial discrimination against Asian-American students became clear.”
This case is part of a broader national conversation about race-conscious admissions policies following the Supreme Court's 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard which struck down affirmative action in higher education.
