<p>I was wondering if this is a hook at all or just more sympathetic. I was born into a deaf household(mom and dad were deaf) and my pregnant mother was killed in a car accident when I was four. Is this at all a hook because it makes up for not being able to do much EC's or am I just trying to get synpathy for admission officers. I was going to write an essay but more of a positive aspect of it.</p>
<p>It’s not hook IMO. It sounds interesting though. A lot of ECs aren’t required to get into any colleges. They mostly look at quality over quantity.</p>
<p>Check the quality</p>
<p>Sure, it can be a hook. It is unique.</p>
<p>I think it’s a hook. Not a lot of people have that story. </p>
<p>I’m sorry for what you had to go through.</p>
<p>Is there an institutional need for a student of a deaf family whose mother died when he was young? No. There are needs for NCAA athletes, big pocketed families who will donate, at some schools they feel they need URMs… Told in the right context it can be a very good essay.</p>
<p>Good essay, but not a hook</p>
<p>@erinsdad When you say, “told in the right context” what does that mean?</p>
<p>^it means dont tell a sob story</p>
<p>The essay is not about what happened. Cover that like you did here. Very short and direct. The essay needs to be about you. How did you respond. What have you learned. How will this experience impact your choices going forward (major, EC, …)</p>