<p>I disagree. I think winning a gold medal in International Math Olympiad is a hook. Or being the developer and owner of a multi-million dollar business. </p>
<p>I think most of your listed EC's could be a hook...</p>
<p>-Music: best trumpet player in the world
-Sports: gold medal in Athens olympics
-Research: cured cancer
Community Service: started int'l nonprofit that raised $3.4 billion
Leadership: owner of multi-million business</p>
<p>Now I know this sounds silly, but there can be a hook that is "manufactured." Now very few people could meet this criteria, which is part of the defintion of a hook. But I bet there are people w/ good stats that are rejected that would have been accepted if they had any of the above. </p>
<p>A hook means different things at different schools. For example, at UCI, a perfect SAT would be a major hook, wheras at Harvard it is not. It is all relative to the selectivity of the school in question.</p>