Teen rejected by 16 colleges despite being offered position at Google at 13 years old sues for racial discrimination
Niamh Shackleton
Featured Image Credit: ABC7 News Bay Area
A teenager who is now working for Google despite not having a degree is suing the 16 universities that turned him down.
Stanley Zhong, from Palo Alto, California, is a self-taught programmer and has been on Google's radar since he was just 13-years-old.
He says he was approached by a recruiter at the tech firm in 2019, but they had no idea he was so young and presumed his skill levels were that of an adult.
Of course, Zhong didn't go on to work for Google at 13, but fast forward to 2023 and they employed him as a full-time software engineer.
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Reportedly his job is a PhD-level role, but Zhong didn't go to college. He tried, but 16 of 18 colleges turned down his application, despite him having a 4.42 weighted GPA and 1590 SAT score (99th percentile).
The teen has since filed a lawsuit against these colleges, including the University of California and the University of Washington, alleging racial discrimination.
Part of the 291-page complaint - that was said to have been written mainly using AI - reads, as per Fox News: "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."
It goes on: "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."
Stanley’s father, Nan Zhong, spoke to the New York Post about his son's experience.
"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," he said.
"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."
He went on to label the whole ordeal as 'un-American'.
"I don’t really think [these schools] give a damn about the damage they’re doing to these kids," the father further fumed.
Responding to the suits, Victor Balta of the University of Washington said: "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."
Elsewhere, Rachael Zaentz, the senior director of Strategic and Critical Communications in the University of California, said last month that they would 'vigorously defend our admission practices', said Mail Online.
UNILAD has contacted the University of California and the University of Washington for further comment.