Tiger Mother Amy Chua's Daughter Accepted at Harvard

It looks like the iron-fisted tiger mother's hard work paid off: Her 18-year-old daughter has been accepted at Harvard.

Amy Chua, a Chinese-American mother and Yale professor, sparked controversy earlier this year with her memoir, "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother," in which she recounts her philosophy of ultra-strict parenting. Her two daughters were never allowed to attend sleepovers, watch TV, choose their own extracurricular activities or get any grade less than an A.

"Children on their own never want to work, which is why it is crucial to override their preferences," Chua wrote in a Wall Street Journal piece titled "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior," an excerpt from her memoir.

The book and newspaper piece sparked curiosity and outrage from readers, who criticized Chua for being excessively strict with her kids -- even bordering on abuse. Chua even received death threats. But readers still bought the book in droves, landing it on The New York Times best-seller list.

Now Chua's controversial parenting skills have won recognition from Harvard admissions officers, who sent an acceptance letter to Chua's daughter, Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld, last week. Sophia's acceptance was first reported by Above the Law, a legal journal. Chua and her husband, Jed Rubenfeld, are both law professors at Harvard's top competitor, Yale.

Back in January, as controversy exploded over the tiger mother memoir, Sophia herself entered the fray, penning an op-ed in the New York Post defending her mother.

"I admit it: Having you as a mother was no tea party. There were some play dates I wish I'd gone to and some piano camps I wish I'd skipped. But now that I'm 18 and about to leave the tiger den, I'm glad you and Daddy raised me the way you did," she wrote.

Sponsored Links

Sophia is a straight-A student who made her piano debut at Carnegie Hall at the age of 14. She also had something else going for her, when it came to college admissions: Both Chua and Rubenfeld also graduated from Harvard.

Of the nearly 35,000 applicants vying for spots in the Harvard class of 2015, only 6.2 percent were admitted -- a record low for the college, according to the website of its student newspaper, The Harvard Crimson.

Sophia has been accepted at both Harvard and Yale, where her parents are currently professors, and she hasn't yet decided which school to attend, Chua told the Boston Herald.

"I'm afraid I can't take any credit," Chua said. "I don't think my parenting had anything to do with it -- I think Sophia did it 100 percent herself."