Greta Thunberg is hooked. Were she not famous, she might not be. Same for David Hogg, the Parkland shooting activist.
Bill Gates’ children might be hooked, assuming a large donation from dad. A million is probably not enough to be hooked.
A celebrity is hooked: Emma Watson, Natalie Portman.
Being a D1 recruited athlete is a hook.
Here is a list of prestigious awards. If you win one of the more important ones, you are hooked. This thread is old and some of these competitions are obsolete now, but you will get a general sense of which ones really matter. List of Top, Prestigious Awards - #20 by bernie_gabrielle
A high achieving URM student who is above and beyond just grades might be hooked. Or if you are this kid: Teen Accepted to Stanford After Writing #BlackLivesMatter 100 Times on Application
I’d say URM is not quite the hook it used to be, and is now probably more of an advantage than a hook. I think the same is true for first Gen to college and low SES background. You still have to have all the stuff that they look for.
Not hooks: LGBTQI, ASD, chronic illness, extremely challenging life circumstances, and similar. Those things can all be compelling, but they aren’t hooks.
You might want to read this old thread on the “average” excellent student. Your child will end up at the best place for them. The original “Average” Excellent student graduates today