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 ate ramen noodles four nights a week, eggs when I could afford them, and bagels from the corner place when I got paid. Yet for all the humiliations of those first months, the life itself never felt humiliating to me. Hard, yes. Lonely, absolutely. But not wrong. That difference mattered. Every morning I crossed the Williamsburg Bridge into Manhattan continue reading …