This news dropped into my lap last Friday via law blog Above the Law, but I was reluctant to post anything because 1) I pretty much questioned the veracity of all news that came my way on April Fool's. 2) I've been suffering from Tiger Mom Burnout for several months. And 3) Who cares? But people seem really obsessed with this, so I'm passing the news along. It seems that 18-year-old Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld, eldest daughter of the infamous Amy Chua, has been accepted to Harvard. And Yale, according the Yale Daily News. But she's still apparently deciding between the two schools. The dilemma! Well, congratulations, Tiger Mom. You did it:
On April 2, Chua revealed on her Facebook page that her daughter Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld had earned a spot at Harvard. And while she was quick to praise her strict parenting regime of no sleepovers and no television when defending her controversial book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother in January, Chua seems to have retracted her claws since then. "I'm afraid I can't take any credit," Chua wrote in an e-mail to the Boston Herald. "I don't think my parenting had anything to do with it - I think Sophia did it 100% herself." And that was no easy feat. Harvard accepted a record low of 6.2% of applicants this year—selected from a pool of 35,000 students.Wait a minute. That doesn't sound like the Tiger Mom we know and love. You wrote an entire book
about your rigid parenting travails, the Chinese Way -- and a lot of people bought it -- and now you're saying your parenting had nothing to do with it? What a letdown. If I was Professor Chua, I'd be shaking my fist at the world, screaming, "See?! No sleepovers!"That's not to say young Sophia doesn't deserve the credit -- she's described as an intelligent, accomplished student, and much has been made of her impressive piano skillz. And the New York Post piece she wrote in response to all the controversy demonsrated that she's bright and has a sense of humor.
Of course, her mother's alumni status certainly didn't hurt. Amy Chua holds no less than two degrees from Harvard. And Daddy Tiger earned his law degree from Harvard Law School too. Let's just say Sophia had a lot of strong factors working in her favor. More here: Did Amy Chua's Daughter Really Need a Tiger Mom to Get Into Harvard?
So... Tiger Mother triumphant? Hey, there are plenty of opportunities for people to screw up in college, at Harvard or elsewhere. And there's always Chua's youngest daughter Lulu. She's supposedly the rebellious one, right? I've got two words for you, Lulu: community college. (Thanks, David.)