<p>I did apply to some of them last year. I was only initially rejected from one school; the others either waitlisted or accepted me. The thing is though, the decisions for freshman admission came without my senior year being completed, which is a lot stronger than my previous years of high school, to say the least. The difference, grade-wise, between then and now is a 3.99 senior year and a 4.00 freshman year. I’m not sure if that is or isn’t a significant addition to my application. </p>
<p>With regards to a ‘hook’, if any… I did not elaborate on my high school extracurriculars, but they actually represent a significant amount of leadership and commitment. The little “system administrator” blurb next to lab manager refers to me actually being one of three people (another student and our CIO) in charge of my school’s IT infrastructure. It’s not quite curing cancer, I think its fairly impressive.</p>