<p>I can't quite figure out what a "hook" is. I know it's something along the lines of being famous/notable, or a URM, but would something like being moved ahead a grade be a hook?
If there is already an article on this here, a link to that would be great, as I couldn't find any.
Thanks</p>
<p>Hook = URM, legacy (when applicable), first-gen to college, if your parents donated a large sum of money to the school you are applying to (we’re talking 7 figures), and I suppose if you are famous (like Emma Watson at Brown famous).</p>
<p>Being moved ahead a grade is not a hook.</p>
<p>In general, a hook is a characteristic of an applicant that meets a need or want of a college. </p>
<p>For example, colleges have football teams, and football teams need running backs. So, if you’re a very talented running back, you meet one of the college’s institutional needs. </p>
<p>Many colleges and universities want diversity with respect to race and income, so if you come from an underrepresented minority or a disadvantaged socioeconomic background, you help meet an institutional want.</p>
<p>All colleges and universities need generous donors. If you come from a family that could (and would) make a million-dollar gift to the college, you clearly meet an institutional need.</p>
<p>Many colleges want to enroll celebrities. When Jodie Foster applied to Yale, and when Chelsea Clinton applied to Stanford, they were hooked.</p>
<p>So, sorry, but being advanced a grade doesn’t really fit this bill. I can’t think of a single college or university that feels a particular need, or even a particular want, for students who have skipped a grade.</p>
<p>^ Ahh I can’t believer I forgot recruited athletes! That’s arguably the biggest hook there is.</p>
<p>I dunno. I think “Chelsea Clinton” is probably the biggest hook in recent memory, and “development admit” after that. Then again, “recruited athlete” may be a bigger hook at Alabama or Kentucky than it was at my alma mater.</p>
<p>Being moved ahead a grade could be a hook; if you skipped a grade before high school, it probably wouldn’t matter as much (if at all), but if you skipped a grade in high school, that would be much more notable.</p>
<p>I really doubt that being moved ahead a grade is a hook.</p>
<p>Being a grade ahead is not a hook. Do you think that’s even rare? Why would a college desire it?</p>