A federal judge has allowed several parts of a lawsuit filed by California student Stanley Zhong against the University of Washington to move forward.
The lawsuit alleges the university discriminated against Zhong because he is Asian American when it rejected his undergraduate application. The university denies engaging in unlawful admissions practices.
The ruling does not establish that discrimination occurred. It means the judge determined that some of Zhong’s allegations were sufficient to survive the university defendants’ request for dismissal at this stage of the case.
What the federal judge decided
U.S. District Judge James L. Robart issued the ruling on Aug. 7 in the Western District of Washington. The case is listed as Zhong v. University of Washington Board of Regents, No. 2:25-cv-00348.
Robart granted the defendants’ dismissal motion in part and denied it in part, according to the federal docket information.
Most notably, the judge declined to dismiss Stanley Zhong’s Title VI claim against the university. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits racial discrimination in programs receiving federal financial assistance.
The judge also allowed certain claims seeking damages from university officials in their individual capacities to continue. Other claims were dismissed, including some barred by sovereign immunity.
Nan Zhong’s individual claims were dismissed because the court found that he lacked standing. Claims involving Stanley’s younger brother were dismissed without prejudice while questions about legal representation are addressed.
Because this was a motion to dismiss, the court was evaluating whether the complaint contained legally sufficient allegations. The judge was not deciding whether those allegations were true or whether the university was liable.
Family calls the ruling a major development
Nan Zhong described the decision as an important step that will allow the lawsuit to advance.
“We got an exciting ruling from the judge,” he told Fox News Digital.
Nan said the family expects to seek admissions records, internal communications and other information during discovery. The scope of that process will remain subject to federal court rules and any future court orders.
The family alleges that the University of Washington used admissions practices that placed highly qualified Asian American applicants at a disadvantage. The allegation remains disputed and has not been proven in court.
University points to intense competition
The University of Washington emphasized that the ruling dismissed several claims and two of the three plaintiffs.
“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,” a university spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The university’s published figures show how difficult admission can be for applicants from outside Washington.
Its three-year admissions data reports a 30% direct-admission rate for Washington residents applying to computer science or computer engineering. The corresponding rate for non-Washington residents is 2%.
Zhong lived in California when he applied. The university says it gives Washington residents priority because it is a public institution partly funded by the state.
Rejected by 16 colleges before joining Google
Zhong graduated from Henry M. Gunn High School in Palo Alto in 2023. His family says he earned a 4.42 weighted grade-point average, scored 1590 out of 1600 on the SAT and ranked in the top 9% of his class.
He also participated in international programming competitions and created RabbitSign, a free electronic-signature service that was featured in an Amazon Web Services case study.
Despite those qualifications, 16 of the 18 universities to which he applied rejected him. He received offers from the University of Maryland and the University of Texas at Austin.
Zhong instead accepted a full-time engineering position at Google in 2023. His family’s court filings characterize the position as one generally requiring a doctoral degree or equivalent practical experience.
KUOW reported that Zhong joined Google after receiving the job offer and deciding not to enroll in college.
Separate lawsuits remain distinct
The Zhong family has also pursued legal action involving other institutions, including the University of California system, the University of Michigan and Cornell University.
Those are separate proceedings. The Washington ruling does not decide the claims against the other universities or establish that any institution discriminated against Zhong.
The University of California has previously denied the family’s allegations and maintained that its admissions system complies with state and federal laws.
What happens next
The University of Washington defendants filed an answer to the amended complaint on Aug. 21, according to the case docket.
The surviving claims can now proceed through the next stages of federal litigation. That may include document requests, depositions, expert analysis and later motions asking the judge to decide whether sufficient evidence exists for a trial.
The university could still prevail during summary judgment or at trial. Zhong could also fail to prove that race affected his admissions decision.
For now, the ruling gives Zhong an opportunity to seek evidence supporting his allegations while allowing the university to formally contest them.