Do I have a HOOK?

Applying to College
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<p>John, it seems like a bunch of the people who have responded to you so far have meager understanding of calculator programming, and are answering your question with little knowledge about what you've actually done, but I do know how to program calculators/computers, so I'll try to offer some more accurate insights.</p>

<p>If you are looking at competitive schools (Top 25), programming sudoku or poker on your calculator is absolutely not a hook, or even a so-called tip. A tip is something like writing an award winning research paper or winning the election for school president. Writing a calculator program for minesweeper is punching <200 lines of code into your TI 83, uploading it onto the internet, and receiving less than 10 hits a day. If you are applying to a school like MIT, I'd estimate that 75% of the applicant pool knows how to write those programs, and that more than half of the applicant pool can do a better job at much harder programming tasks than that. Yes, computer programming is way more complicated than calculator program by mechanical necessity, but even calculator programming can get intricate - way beyond writing a chemical converter or a program to find the formula of a cube. I'm glad you like calculator programming, but you are extraordinarily confused as to what defines a hook, and what defines a tip. Sorry! :( </p>

<p>Also, the majority of what other people have posted here are not hooks, and most are not tips. Like others have said, hooks are athletic recruit, legacy, USAMO winner/IMO IPho IBO IChO etc winner, Siemens/Intel winner, international or national music competition winner, head of international or national volunteer organization, national writing contest winner, and so on. Tips include URM status, captain of a high performing club at a competitive school, winner of regional competitions, successful entrepreneurial operations, founder of volunteering program, and so on. Many students at Top 25 are admitted without hooks, although I think many would have tips. The bottom line is: if you have a hook, you will NOT need to ask, because you will definitely already know. If you are asking, you probably either have a weak tip, or just a strong extracurricular. But in JohnC613's case, the calculator programming probably would not go in the category of strong ECs, especially for the elites.</p>

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<p>"I don't even understand why ivies so aggresively recruit athletes."</p>

<p>Here is a quote from a letter from an Ivy League school. Maybe it will clarify things for you.</p>

<p>"We admit people of promise. You have shown the capacity to balance your academic life with a serious commitment to sports. We value that in itself and because we know what discipline and commitment it requires."</p>

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<p>given that hooks are innate, is sexual orientation a hook? Of course it wouldn't be a hook on the same level as URM status, but I doubt that a lot of openly gay students apply to top schools (and make themselves known as such in, say, essays).</p>

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<p>@JohnChen: I love your site. Keep up your good work!!! Haha.. there is a section on how to cheat on SAT Math, MIT will definitely love it!!!</p>

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<p>I sent a video showing the robot my team constructed and it's source code plus the project report. Is it a hook.</p>

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<p>Brazilian = URM?</p>