<p>no urm/legacy/atheletes/dev/ just hardworking people who may not be recognised on an international or national level?</p>
<p>It happens, yes.</p>
<p>its very rare, but yes it does happen. why dont you search threads to see the stats of people who got in</p>
<p>i've seen it happen on this board, of course it happens.</p>
<p>It's hard to tell. This is because most people don't post in their threads I'm black, Poor, from south Dakota, and I play basketball and football and I kick *** at both...</p>
<p>Harvard2011, are you really black and poor?</p>
<p>It's not rare at all. It happens all the time.</p>
<p>It's hard to tell. This is because most people don't post in their threads ::: ""EXAMPLE --- I'm black, Poor, from south Dakota, and I play basketball and football and I kick *** at both...""</p>
<p>The only part of that a person might put while posting ont his site is that they're in basketball and football--- maybe that they're black. i don't know.</p>
<p>are you really black and poor. that's funny.</p>
<p>"are you really black and poor. that's funny."
No, actually. I'm white, poor, and from South Dakota, though. I kind of posted that same thing twice, the second time, with a HUGE "EXAMPLE"
sign written in. I was quoting a "unrealistic" person... I don't even have any black students in my class of like 182. I'm not racist, but it's just a fact.. We have a ton of mexicans coming in, though. The point is, someone from south dakota applying is almost unheard of, and being black, from south dakota, AND low-income? that doesn't exist. probably.</p>
<p>Not a...</p>
<p>URM... check
legacy... check
athlete...check
development case... check
national competitor in anything... check</p>
<p>Give it your best shot... and good luck! :)</p>
<p>someone earlier posted on this board that his friend got in with these stats:</p>
<p>my friend just got accepted with 1330 sat and a 3.7 gpa. He had only 2 ECs, key club and NHS. he was not a legacy. he was not a URM. he played JV baseball throughout high school. he got accepted EA.</p>
<p>so ya it happens</p>
<p>It does happen.</p>
<p>there is a reason all the tops schools have a large range from 1400 or 1360 all the way up to 1570/1580. the school isnt completely filled with super geniuses, amazing athletes, and those with connections. i mean at least 5-10% have to be those not so amazing but still above average kids =P</p>
<p>'i mean at least 5-10% have to be those not so amazing but still above average kids =P'</p>
<p>Well I mean, not-so-amazing from where we're sitting; to the admissions committee, those people look VERY amazing in some way. Harvard knows what qualities it's looking for, and obviously some people with 1300s and 3.7s have them.</p>
<p>^</p>
<p>ur saying, no hook = no deal</p>
<p>any uni has to feel that you will contribute something but it doesnt have to be something major, participation in school is good enough.</p>
<p>Sometimes a hook isn't an activity, but a personality trait that shines through in essays/recs.</p>
<p>Saxfreq: you should've posted in my topic a LONG time ago</p>
<p>it seems that most people on these board believe that a hook must be tangible. must have some monetary, but at least, tangible value. </p>
<p>Your post has revived my hopes for the posters on this forum.</p>
<p>Well we can't necessarily blame everyone for thinking of things in terms of 'hooks' and whatnot because, let's face it, in a pool of 20,000+, you have to stand out SOMEHOW. </p>
<p>My main concern is that people limit the definition of a hook, or maybe define it the wrong way. For example, I know a Mexican valedictorian with a 1500 and a 4.0 who wanted to study engineering; to top that off, he's first generation. That's--how many 'hooks'? High scoring URM who wants to study engineering, first generation. And two years ago, he didn't get into HYP. On the other hand, my friend, a white female who wanted to study engineering, went to a science magnet school, and was (is) one of the top young french horn players in the northeast, was ALSO rejected from HYP.</p>
<p>If Harvard only wanted to rely on factors like these, essays wouldn't matter, recommendations wouldn't matter, subtle personal qualities wouldn't matter. A hook is some really desirable trait or accomplishment, but it doesn't have to be outrageous or extravagant--would it be fair to expect the poor rural kid from Iowa to have the same resources as the wealthy kid from Philips Exeter?</p>
<p>Harvard knows what it wants, and it's not letting any of us in on the secret. So do your best, do what you LOVE to do rather than what you think Harvard wants, so that, whether you get into Harvard or not, you can graduate high school feeling fulfilled and proud of what you accomplished on your own terms, not Harvard's. You're all extremely talented, interesting people and, as with every year, Harvard is going to have some tough decisions to make. Best of luck.</p>