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…

become the family’s proof that the system worked when the right kind of person submitted to it. She was brilliant, yes, but what hurt was the pleasure she took in being brilliant in exactly the approved way. “What path are you choosing instead?” she asked. “Dropping out to do what? Work retail? Sit in Brooklyn wearing black turtlenecks and calling continue reading …