Hook?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Harvard University
1

<p>So what is considered a hook?
or what is the difference between a good award/achievement and a hook?
I'm trying to figure out if I have any.</p>

2

<p>"So what is considered a hook?" </p>

<p>Anything that truly sets you apart from the field can be considered a 'hook.' So... good grades (not a hook), being involved in a lot of activities (not a hook), being very involved in a charity where you then wrote a book about your experiences to raise money for charity (could be a hook).</p>

<p>If it's something truly unique, interesting and will set you apart from the field then it's a good hook... if it's something that many other people can also mention in their application then it's not going to set you apart.</p>

3

<p>hmmm....Not sure</p>

4

<p>there's a whole thread somewhere on hooks vs tips - if you search you may locate it. In general, the hooks are: URM, legacy, recruited athlete, developmental admit (very few of those - takes donations of many millions to get that one). Tips are softer factors, and include: first gen college, economic disadvantage, extraordinary life challenges, etc</p>

5

<p>I forgot to add that awards are neither a hook nor a tip - those are the usual individual factors in admissions. The other 2 are category-based.</p>

6

<p>What if someone had all of the following</p>

<p>first gen college,
economic disadvantage,
extraordinary life challenges (dad was alcoholic)
Geographic diversity (Ny'er applying to stanford)
REC from an internationally renowned professor with whom you have done cutting edge research with</p>

<p>Can all of those combined be a hook?</p>

7

<p>no, that's not the definition of a hook! But what does it matter? It's all part of your personal application profile (btw, NY applying to stanford isnt that uncommon, or CA applying to columbia)</p>

8

<p>You probably get negative brownie points as a NYer applying to Stanford. Only two kids have been accepted at Stanford from our NY school in the last four years- one was a legacy and an athlete. The other was politically connected and an underrepresented minority. We get quite a few Ivy acceptances - including at least two to four a year to Harvard every year.</p>

9

<p>URM and recruited athlete in the house! yeaaaaaaah!</p>

10

<p>???????????????</p>

11

<p>mathmom, it's good to know that this happens at other high schools. Yale is like that for my daughter's school - granted, it's tiny, with a class of 40, but while we regularly get acceptances from Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, etc, Yale has admitted one student in 5 years.. :)</p>

12

<p>harvard. no scholarship or official offer obviously, but they flew me out last weekend.</p>

13

<p>wow, first gen college is a tip? that's good to know!</p>

14

<p>token89, was that your NCAA 'official visit'? If so, you are definitely on the coach's short list, and have a high probability of getting a likely letter soon....</p>

15

<p>hey yeah it was. but the coach told me yesterday that i'm not on the "short list" anymore. looks like i'm on my own and will have to wait til april. :(</p>