When I Dropped Out At 20, My Sister Told Everyone: “She’s The One Who Didn’t Finish.” Twelve Years Later, I’m Yale’s Dean Of Admissions. One Essay Read: “My Family Moved Past My Aunt’s Setback.” The Name? Amanda Chen. My Niece. I Picked Up My Red Pen And…

I repeated. Jennifer gave a broken little laugh. “You had the courage to walk away. I spent my whole life doing what was expected of me, and I called that virtue because otherwise I had to admit I never actually chose anything.”

For the next hour she told me truths I had never expected to hear from her mouth. The law firm, she said, had become a machine continue reading …