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…

in a mature way. There was no family narrative to reject, no dramatic exit, just the daily grind of proving to myself that I could do difficult things without hating myself in the process.

Those two years at Columbia remade me by attrition. I do not mean that romantically. There were nights I wanted to sleep on the library floor rather than go back continue reading …