Each college is free to define what it considers a hook and decide (where allowed by law) how much of a bump (if any) each hook is in the process. In general the major hooks are:
- Recruited athlete
- Underepresented minority
- Child of alum (some may consider grandparents; some may limit to alum of the undergrad school)
- Child of major donor
Some others that may be hooks to some colleges
- Child of a world leader/celebrity
- Celebrity in own right
- First generation in family to attend college
Now that you know that, let me explain what I mean by “serious hook.” I mean recruited for a revenue sport, i.e. football or men’s basketball, or your family donated $10MM+.
A plain old hook, like black female recruited for soccer, is not a serious enough hook to get into Yale with a 3.5, IMO.