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…

contempt, if my mother had convinced me to push through for everyone’s comfort, I might have lived a life that looked cleaner and felt emptier. I might never have gone to New York. Never learned publishing from the bottom. Never discovered that I could build expertise in rooms where no one expected me to matter. Never taught. Never read applications continue reading …