Editor:

I write to express solidarity with Rose Bern (“Restore the Wall of Shame” Jan 2, 2013).  She writes:  “The person who arises from the ground and throws herself back into the whirlwind of applications and essays is likelier to be successful. It means she is indefatigable and won’t permit rejection to be an obstruction.”

Not only do I wholeheartedly agree, but I have it on the good authority of Jacob Nimmer ’04 that statistics back her up.  Jacob brought to my attention a scholarly report tracking success after college graduation.  It turns out that the most reliable metric was not the school that was attended, nor even the other schools to which the candidate won admission.  Instead, it was rejection that set the benchmark!  Students who were rejected from Elite School X , as a class, moved themselves to succeed, in order to debunk “the admissions officer’s big mistake.”   It’s exactly as Rose called it.

Without any doubt that future years will witness the spectacular blossoming of the Rose (along with all her classmates), let’s reward her insight right now by restoring the Wall to its rightful place.

Sincerely yours,

David Nimmer

Los Angeles