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Tiger Mom's Job Is Half-Done: Eldest Cub Is Harvard-Bound
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 1, 2011
Modified Apr 1, 2011
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Lulu Chua-Rubenfeld
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 1, 2011
Modified Apr 1, 2011
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In January, an excerpt of Amy Chua's parenting memoir, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, led to an intense debate about, well, the intense techniques Chua said she used with her two daughters in order to ensure their academic and musical success (no-holds-barred shaming! no sleepovers! hours of hours of practice!). And Chua, who was simultaneously pilloried and celebrated, defended herself everywhere, even The Colbert Report, but her latest crowning achievement may be this: Her 18-year-old daughter Sophia's acceptance to Harvard.
Above the Law's David Lat, a Harvard grad himself, confirmed that Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld is headed to Cambridge and offered this assessment:
Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld, however, is no ordinary applicant. She’s not only beautiful and brilliant — in Amy Chua’s memoir, she alludes to her daughter’s academic prowess — but she’s also extremely talented. As we all know by now, Sophia made her Carnegie Hall piano debut at the tender age of 14. That’s extremely impressive, even by Harvard standards.
Sophia’s also a superb writer. The defense of her mother that she wrote for the New York Post is impressive — smart yet conversational, as well as thoughtful and funny. But Sophia’s essay about her Carnegie Hall performance, excerpted in Tiger Mother, puts the Post piece to shame. It possesses eloquence and elegance not often found in the writing of people twice or three times Sophia’s age.
Finally, Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld had one other significant factor in her favor with respect to Harvard: legacy status, as the daughter of two Harvard-educated parents. Amy Chua graduated from Harvard College in 1984 and Harvard Law School in 1987, and Jed Rubenfeld graduated from Harvard Law School in 1986. (He went to Princeton for undergrad.)
Of course, given her beauty and brains and piano talent and writing ability, Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld could have gotten into Harvard without that extra boost. Her admission to Harvard is unsurprising and richly deserved.
Chua has another daughter, Lulu, who rebelled against playing violin, apparently made crappy birthday cards when she was little and bristled (perhaps jokingly?) at how her sister is perfect, suggesting to Chua that the book be named, The Perfect Child and the Flesh-Eating Devil. But Chua's kids have had the last laugh—now Chua is addicted to Facebook.
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amy chua
battle hymn of the tiger mother
harvard
legacy
sophia chua-rubenfeld
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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