<p>I've been playing competitive chess for several years, and I recently won the official state championship (NOT scholastic). Also, I have spent 300+ hours volunteering at the local chess center, and currently earn approx. $75.00/hour teaching chess to elementary school children.</p>
<p>Would this be considered a hook? I've been told it looks good because I am really following my passion, but what do you think?</p>
<p>Background Info:</p>
<p>10th grade home-schooled student
4.0 unweighted GPA in all classes (tutorial classes, online, at home)
Advanced mathematics curriculum (currently taking AP Calc. BC)
Planning to take AP tests in Biology, Calc. BC, Latin, Microeconomics, Physics C, Psychology, Statistics
214 PSAT score (does not count for NMSQT because I am in 10th grade)
Currently looking at UChicago, MIT, Columbia, etc.</p>
<p>What do you think? Am I on the right track? Is there anything else I should be doing?</p>
<p>Unless you are (inter)nationally ranked in chess and will be playing for a powerhouse chess school this is not a hook. It is a nice strong EC though.</p>
<p>Of course, officially there’s no such thing as a “hook.” Applications don’t have a box that says, “Check here if you’re ‘hooked.’” But we all know that the concept that exists only informally is very real. Here’s what it means, de facto at least.</p>
<p>A hook is a quality of an applicant that meets a college or university’s institutional want or need. For example, most colleges have a football team, and football teams need linebackers. So if you’re one of the most sought-after high-school linebackers in Texas, that’s a hook. Most colleges need generous donors. If you come from a family that is likely to bestow a major gift on the college, you’re hooked. Most colleges want their alumni to be happy. Happy alumni donate to the college, and happy alumni are also good PR for the college. One way to make alumni happy is to give their children a leg-up in admissions. So if you’re a legacy, admitting you would help fulfill an institutional want. Many colleges like celebrity students. When Malia Obama is ready to apply to college, she’ll have a hook.</p>
<p>But do colleges have an institutional need or desire for competitive chess players? Not really. You may have a compelling personal story, and you may be able to wring a good personal narrative out your chess experiences. And a compelling story, well told, may help you stand out in the pool of qualified students.</p>
<p>No, but it’s interesting and unique and great that you’re doing community work with chess and not just competitive play. Can make an interesting and great essay.</p>
<p>Looks like you’re on the right tract for MIT at least, taking Calc BC that early. </p>
<p>Just curious, what’s your elo, or rough range?</p>
<p>It’d be insane to have a 2200 elo walking into college. However, note that “hook” is just a CC term we throw around for people who get a kind of automatic tip in admissions (i.e., through filling an institutional want or having a special connection like with a football coach). Is chess prowess a hook? Nope. Is it something than can help you just as much as a hook? Potentially.</p>
<p>I think you should definitely emphasize your interest and ability in chess. It shows great math/spatial skills, reasoning, strategy, and perseverance, and all of these qualities should appeal to a good school. Most schools have chess clubs as ECs and it should certainly be a benefit to you.</p>
<p>As opposed to what, exactly? I’m a skeptic when it comes to “theories of everything” because I feel they’re too broad to be useful, so take this with a grain of salt, but game theory is really just a glorified form of psychology with a little math backing. A ton of modern game theory goes straight through computers, so research would look a little more like you’re just doing the subjective part than deriving any revolutionary formulas. The way you ask “do you think this would help follow the theme?” seems more like you’re just vying to impress an admissions office rather than doing something you may actually enjoy. If you’re actually interested in game theory then by all means take the course, but don’t take it just because you want to kiss up to someone. I don’t want to imply you don’t have great chances to get into a top college, but at the same time you need to realize that many applicants enslave themselves to admissions offices over their high school careers, get rejected from their top choices, then are left wondering what they could have done with the time they wasted. You don’t need to go down that road.</p>
<p>Sikorsky’s answer was spot on. FWIW, a “hook” is not a “guranteed” in either. At my college >80% of legacy applicants are rejected and they are a stronger applicant pool than the non-leagcy applicants. I would agree that with an 1800 SAT and 3.0 GPA, Malia Obama would be in anywhere and I’m sure she would be an amazingly interesting classmate.</p>
<p>As for game theory, I just started looking into it, and I looked a the proofs for Nim theory, and it seemed really interesting. There are just so many choices in science/mathematics…</p>
<p>If it sounds fun then do it! I just see a vast amount of people on this site getting into interesting, complex, or obscure courses for the wrong reasons. Are you leaning more toward the economic side or the logical side (e.g., philosophy/theoretical math)?</p>
<p>While you are a very accomplished player, a rating of 1910 is simply too low to be considered a true “hook”. You are currently rated as an “expert” player. Your rating needs to be above a 2200 to be considered a national master. Plus, your accomplishments need to be put in context. What state did you win your championship? In the NY area, where there is a larger number of great players, a state championship would be considered a great accomplishment because many of the players playing on that level would be rated over 2200. Many Russians, Indians, and others from Eastern Europe congregate in NYC, and the game gets wide exposure. Even on the scholastic level, there are many players rated over 2000.</p>
<p>I don’t want to sound like I am demeaning your chess accomplishments. You have a very powerful EC, and you have demonstrated great devotion to the game. You certainly have the chance to get into a very elite school. Just keep studying and playing stronger competition to get your rating up.</p>
<p>@Laf1980: I’d tell you the exact state, but that’d give away my personal information, so I’m a bit hesitant. Instead, I’ll say that it is probably in the 75th percentile or better of “chess states.”</p>
<p>@SkeezyJ: I’m not quite sure yet…I love the psychological aspects, but the mathematical side is my forte.</p>
<p>@cortana431: I’m sort of “sitting on a fence” here. There are plenty of classes I’d love to take, and if one is going to look much better on a college app., then that gives it a small edge to me.</p>
<p>I played in the xinhang chinese chess tournament last year and won 4th in New York and 1st regionals, and was accepted by Dartmouth and Columbia with that as one of my primary “hooks” so to speak. Of course, chinese chess may be judged differently by colleges compared to normal chess but depending on your ranking or the competition you’ve placed in, it could make a significant impact. the xinhang chinese chess tournament is pretty esteemed and I believe that really helped with my application. The site’s being remodeled right now, but if you want to check it out later: <a href=“http://www.xinhangchess.com%5B/url%5D”>www.xinhangchess.com</a>. Good luck!</p>