<p>Harvard- out of reach
U Chicago- out of reach (care a ton about ecs and personality)
Emory- reach
Brown- high reach
Cornell- reach/ high reach (depending on school you apply to ex. Engineering)
Georgetown- reach</p>
<p>By the way i am also a religious minority and am fluent in my native tongue.I visit Paksitan every year and travel to a new country almost every year. Like i said, its not gonna change much</p>
<p>Thank you to everyone for replying, and yes I am Bosnian.</p>
<p>Felix i find it hypocritical that you have called other people out for personal attacks and have claimed that you don’t respect such actions, yet go on to blatantly insult and belittle other posters. I am sorry, but I doubt any school would ever want such a student who is overly pretentious and stubborn. Please learn to accept constructive criticism instead of acting immaturely to it.</p>
<p>Geographical diversity is not considered a hook, it is a tip. You have ZERO hooks and hopefully you come across a bit more humble in an interview than you do here.</p>
<p>If you personally attack me first I don’t see anything wrong doing it back to you. If you can’t contribute to the original topic I think you should stop posting until you can. Thanks though.</p>
<p>I agree with what all the previous posters said about your chances- all of these schools are reach, and Harvard and UChicago are particularly unlikely. Not to bring up the whole hook issue again, but the ivies have a pool of applicants that is not only very highly qualified, but also very diverse. Harvard and UChicago in particular receive applications from all over the world, and from many applicants who are from other countries, bilingual, and have visited other countries. That’s the only reason that people are saying your “hooks” will not help you at all, or that they aren’t “hooks”- it’s just an unfortunate truth. That said, based on all your information, it certainly won’t hurt to apply- just know that your chances are not terrific at those particular schools.
At the same time, it’s a really big misconception that only the Ivies (and the other schools that you listed) are good schools that will get you respectable degrees. It’s not as if the ivies are the only good schools out there, and everywhere else isn’t worth applying to- there are plenty of slightly less-selective schools that are well-respected, and I would urge you to consider them, if you haven’t already sent in all your applications.</p>
<p>Can any new posters please not mention hooks. It seems that everyone has different opinions on what hooks are which leads to confusion and arguing. I have been told that all of the things I have listed are hooks, and that none of the things I have listed are hooks.</p>
<p>The title of your thread says “with hooks.” You cannot ask people not to comment on them now. Why is it so hard for you to accept that you are incorrect on what you perceived to be hooks? Fwiw, my daughter worked in admissions at her top undergrad and does now at her medical school and agrees that you have no hooks. Just because your GC says you have hooks does not make it true. Sheesh</p>
<p>Just because your daughter says something doesn’t make it true does it? Being a first generation college student is an accepted hook across the board. If your daughter denied that as being a hook she isn’t credible.</p>
<p>Lol Felix nobody here is an admissions counselor so technically none of these sources are valid. The only valid hook you have is your first generation status. You should listen to his daughter because at least she knows something abut admissions. You simply have selective hearing- you only listen to what you want to hear.</p>
<p>Harvard is not “out of reach” like the above poster said. Harvard often surprised people with their decisions. To @felix, if you want to apply to Harvard, go for it. You never know unless you try.</p>
<p>Wow nice thank you. You’re telling me I have one hook, but I should listen to someone who says I have no hooks. Who is right? You have posted about my chances and unless you want to do that again stop posting. I guess you’re right. No one here is an expert.</p>
<p>Just in general, much will depend on how you framed your applications (you must have submitted most already since the deadlines are around this time).
Being from a war torn situation is huge. It seems your family came here and built several successful businesses. I would have framed the lack of ECs on the account that you had to work in the family business. As someone pointed out above, ECs don’t have to be related to school. In fact I’d argue the significant ones usually aren’t. I hope the “not excited about school so I didn’t put effort into ECs” doesnt come across on your application like that.
I think you have a good chance at your list if your application reflects a story of an immigrant in a small town making the most of his opportunities. When you went back to visit your home country, did you and your family do charity work? My daughter had some classmates that would visit their home country volunteering in Leper communities. Both were admitted to several Ivys.</p>
<p>TVenee thanks for your response. I’m hoping to get into at least one of the schools I have applied to. My immigrant background and experience plays a big part in my essay. My family did do charity work back home, but I wasn’t involved. In my own opinion I think I have a good shot if I raise my ACT score and if my college admissions officers perceive my hooks the same way I do. If my admissions officers have the same opinion as most people on this forum I think my chances are hurt. The thing is you never know. I’m hoping for the best.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, your only hook is being a first generation student - and even this hook is so common that it will only help you slightly. This small hook will do nothing to make up for your total lack of extracurriculars and low ACT score. Also, when do you plan on retaking the ACT; i though the last date that most colleges accept for regular decision is the december ACT?</p>
<p>I apologize for bringing back the hooks thing, but you have to realize that when you’re asking us what we think your chances will be at these colleges, and you tell us that you think that certain “hooks” will factor into your decision a substantial amount, it’s kind of important that we evaluate how much influence we think those “hooks” will have on your chances. I’m sorry that you’re getting mixed answers about the hooks, but this is an internet forum of students (not experts), and you’re likely to get some different opinions and answers here- and I’m not sure exactly what you want us to say, if everything that we’re saying is supposedly wrong.</p>
<p>I’m sorry but you are not getting into any of those top schools with that attitude.</p>
<p>@FelixMaric</p>
<p>First Gen College Student isn’t really a hook because of how common it is.</p>
<p>I’m not going to lie, I read one of your posts and thought it was one of those ■■■■■ posts that people write when they make fun of people who don’t know how to write.</p>
<p>Look, you are obviously unwilling to be convinced. Many of these top posters(look at post count for seniority) have seen MANY admissions seasons come and go. I would trust their word over that of many admissions counselors(who are often overloaded with meetings and standardized tests and paperwork and serve thousands of students at a time). Many of them are experts who graciously offered you advice, but you refuse to listen.</p>