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…

perfect, too indecent. The college dropout becoming one of the youngest admissions deans in the Ivy League sounded like the kind of arc Jennifer would dismiss as manipulative if she read it in a novel. And yet there it was, waiting.

I moved to New Haven in August 2024 with boxes of books, a desk I loved, and the strange sensation of walking into a life continue reading …