"Growing up, my biggest goal in life was to get out of East New York. I always knew that I would go to college, even though no one in my family had. I got excellent grades in high school and was my class valedictorian, but Jefferson wasn't very competitive. I had good, not great, standardized test scores-nearly perfect in math but mediocre in verbal, which is ironic given how much I talk and how little I add."
"My memory of getting an interview at Harvard stands out because it was such a big name, even in Brooklyn. I can still see the stationery of the letter inviting me; it had a watermark of the university crest. I was given the interviewer's name and a time and place to show up. I had tremendous anxiety about not being late-an inheritance from my father that I suffer from to this day."
A student from East New York set college attendance as the primary goal despite no family precedent. Academic success included class valedictorian status and strong math scores, with weaker verbal performance. The student applied to local colleges and several Ivy League schools after attending a college fair. The Harvard interview invitation produced intense punctuality anxiety inherited from the father, prompting arrival two hours early. The interview took place in the opulent Harvard Club, whose grand interiors, portraits, and trophies created a sense of unfamiliarity and intimidation, underscoring socioeconomic contrast and feelings of not belonging.
Read at Vanity Fair
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