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…

know the work.” Her words lodged in me. At twenty-six I applied to Columbia’s MFA program. I kept working full-time at Hartley, attended classes at night, graded student work on the subway, and wrote my thesis in fragments stolen between deadlines and exhaustion. It was harder than dropping out had ever been, harder because now the choice was mine continue reading …