<p>Atypical education: e.g. non-religious homeschooler?</p>
<p>at rootbeercaesar, yes that is a hook. i know this one kid who was a national officer for an organizatin. he had nice grades and sat's but other than that, nothing special about him. he's at yale right now. i also know another kid who was a national officer of an actually very well-known organization. this kid though, was amazing (im talking near perfect sat's, val, sports, and other amazing ec's). she got into every, college she applied to, including a few ivies. she chose harvard. im pretty sure the high level officer position helped them out, especially the first kid.</p>
<p>So, are we saying, that a well rounded student, good grades, good scores, good ec. can be helped by a " study abroad" year? Is there any proof of that?
Do top colleges like students who already have experienced a year of living in a different environment???
I am actually very insterested in that. I would love for my kids to spend a year in a country that I was born in. But the language, that they already speak and ready fluently, is so obscure !!! Math and science would be a killer though for them though, on such a higher level</p>
<p>Is the American Legion Boys/Girls Nation a hook? Only 196 applicants could possibly claim this distinction... I have never heard it mentioned in college discussion, but it is very well known in the political realm.</p>
<p>A foreign exchange semester or year is definitely a hook, but you have to make it work for you. You need to do your research to get a sense of where it will be appreciated. I think Papa Chicken's use of Middlebury is kind of an example of what might be a wrongheaded approach, though his methodology is sound -- the problem is that Middlebury is known for its language programs, so it probably attracts MANY students who have an interest in studying languages and have lived or studied abroad. Not too much to go "wow" over. </p>
<p>My daughter is the "dancer who speaks Russian" that mathmom referred to -- though I think it was more like the, "Russian student who dances". She spent time abroad in Russia when she was in high school, and I am 100% sure that the Russian study was the "hook" that got her admitted at Barnard, Chicago & Berkeley. But all of those schools have very strong Russian departments with weak undergraduate enrollment. My d. wanted to apply to Brown (fortunately not a top choice for her) -- I told her it was a waste of time, in part because Brown was one of the few schools that seemed to have a large number of students in its Russian classes -- she insisted on applying anyway and, as anticipated, was rejected. What did she have to offer Brown? </p>
<p>My d. also turned her experience into an added hook by writing a strong essay about the challenges she faced living abroad with only rudimentary language skills. When she went abroad she disrupted her studies in a way that left a weaker high school record -- for example, she couldn't take APs her junior year, and her math & science studies were interrupted. By writing about how difficult it was to function in a Russian high school -- and also showing insight and humor -- my daughter was able to convey the idea that she is the kind of person who is able to rise to any challenge in her life. </p>
<p>That doesn't mean that everyone should write the same sort of essay --but it is a way that my daughter used her essay topic both to share her experiences and to balance weaknesses in her high school transcript. A year or semester abroad provides great essay material, as long as you don't make the mistake of producing a cookie-cutter essay about how charming everything was and how you learned that people are alike all over the world. </p>
<p>The main trick of a "hook" is simply to realize that it is all about figuring what you have to offer a college, and then finding colleges that are likely to want what you have to offer.</p>
<p>How about a published research paper? </p>
<p>Just got an email from a professor suggesting I publish my Intel paper? He is going to assist me, probably wont be published, but the fact of someone thinking it was good enought to do so? It was a self designed at home research study.</p>
<p>
It's only a hook if it is something that stems from an inner passion or desire of the student -- and the fact that you would like "proof" is a good indication that you should not be sending your kids abroad. </p>
<p>When my daughter told me she wanted to study in Russia, I told her I would support her but she had to do all the work of applying to a program on her own -- I wanted to make sure that the motivation was coming from her. </p>
<p>I also told her that it might really hurt her chances for college admission. If she had stayed home she would have had more AP courses and probably a higher GPA; she would have taken another year of math and another year of lab science. If it is important for a kid to take the "most challenging" courses in high school, then my daughter's high school transcript was a disaster -- she barely managed to meet the district requirements to graduate. My d. was away during her junior year so she could not take the PSAT -- thus no hope of National Merit (unlikely in any event, however). She took the regular SAT's the spring of her sophomore year as a trial run - a year later she took SATs again and her math score, already weak, went <em>down</em> by 10 points -- not surprising as at that point she had gone a year without taking math. There are no standardized tests offered in Russian, so no way to demonstrate language proficiency. </p>
<p>I knew that my d. would be able to get into our state university system and of course they have excellent language departments. I had no clue whatsoever what it would mean in terms of college, and I acted on the assumption that it would put her out of the running for elite schools. </p>
<p>I don't think kids or their parents should try to manufacture "hooks". I think its all about encouraging the kid to follow and develop their own interests, and then when it comes time to apply to colleges, helping them to present their strengths in a positive way.</p>
<p>"Is being hookless a hook?" This is brilliant :D Most applicants try to dig up something which they consider to be hooks and lay it out on the app. Your indifference to the whole hook-craze and trying to present yourself as a seemingly hookless student can indeed become a hook. But then trying to present yourself as hookless means that you're not indifferent to the whole hook-craze at all. Ahem, I'm lost lol</p>
<p>Originally posted by Calmom
[quote]
It's only a hook if it is something that stems from an inner passion or desire of the student -- and the fact that you would like "proof" is a good indication that you should not be sending your kids abroad.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>My kids have always wanted to live in the country I was born in .They have this unique situation of being born in country A, of a parent from country B and currently living in a country C. They already speak the language and think that living there would be "so cool", they kind of have that "the grass is always greener there" attitude. While I would love for them to be able to experience my heritage to the fullest, by immersing themselves in that culture, I have been always quite weary of the consequences it might bring upon them.
"Proof" was an unfortunate word used by me. They will probably go and spend some time living and going to school over there if they so desire, could not care less if it is a "hook" or no. But I do not want them to be at disadvantage if they choose to attend american university.</p>
<p>Wow - so many cool facts :)
I enjoy reading all these stuff! ^^</p>
<p>"College admissions legacy tips detrimental, redundant"
link to full article: Paly</a> Voice: College admissions legacy tips detrimental, redundant</p>
<p>excerpt
[quote]
With a legacy tip, children of alumni get a leg up on their fellow applicants, a practice that critics say results in a higher admissions rate for legacy students. In the cutthroat world of college admissions, being an athlete, male, racial minority or alumni offspring could mean the difference between admit weekend and a trip to the rejection wall. These kinds of "hooks" or "tips" have worked themselves into the fabric of the admissions process and are unlikely to be extricated any time soon. </p>
<p>However, in this pattern of nonacademic considerations, legacy tips stand out simply because they are the only such facter to depend on the accomplishments or qualities of the applicants' parents rather than those of the applicants themselves. Legacy acceptance rates at prestigious universities far exceed their daunting general acceptance. </p>
<p>For example, according to an article published February 15, 2005 in the Yale Daily News, Yale accepted 30% of its legacy applicants into its Class of 2008, far outstripping its total acceptance rate of 9.9%. The University of Pennsylvania's alumni website proudly touts a 48.6% legacy early decision rate for its Class of 2009 compared with 34.2% for non-legacy early decision applicants. </p>
<p>Legacy tips also correlate with higher admissions rates for children of alumni at Harvard (40% in 2003), Princeton (35% in 2003), and Stanford as well, though Stanford does not release its legacy admissions statistics to the public.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>there's even a book out on this subject now......."The College Hook" by Pam Proctor</p>
<p>link to a book excerpt: Chapter</a> Excerpt: The College Hook by Pam Proctor</p>
<p>intro piece of that excerpt
[quote]
The Power of the Hook</p>
<p>Every high school student actually has a College Hook—that one special interest that will cause admissions officials to salivate over an application and significantly increase the odds of getting into a favorite college.</p>
<p>Sometimes students have an obvious Hook, such as the highly ranked basketball player from Florida or the budding cholesterol researcher from Georgia. One student transformed herself into a “foreign correspondent,” and still another became involved in a heart-rending search for a Chinese birth mother.</p>
<p>Other times, I encounter students whose Hook has been as seemingly frivolous or mundane as watching soap operas every afternoon, or reading science fiction, or working during summer vacations at Sears.</p>
<p>In the end, the secret to finding and exploiting a College Hook is to pinpoint a dominant interest, activity, or set of experiences that reflects one of your deepest passions in life—a passion that will set you apart from other students for purposes of college admissions.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>
[quote]
that one special interest that will cause admissions officials to salivate over an application
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Hmmmmm.....can't get the picture erased from my mind!</p>
<p>6y6y6 <smile> I honestly wasn't trying to express indifference. It's just that my kids are good students and nice people who would best be described as:</smile></p>
<p>rural but from a populous state, middle class, white, athletic...but not recruit-ably so, involved as worker bees in many activities, having a parent with a BA, quiet leaders who lead and influence by example. Other than the rural thing it indeed seems they are hookless. One had asthma as a little girl but has had no problem for years and I certainly wouldn't even suggest she use it, the other is a very good musician but not interested in a music major. They have a special interest to which the devote quite a bit of time...steel yourself...horses! They are twins but I don't think that's a hook either unless they were applying to the University of Minnesota :-) </p>
<p>Anyway, it's cool I know they will get in at any number of the many great schools they will apply to. I just wondered, tongue in cheek, if being without a hook could be a hook.</p>
<p>is giving life saving cpr a hook?</p>
<p>
[quote]
is giving life saving cpr a hook?
[/quote]
You mean being an EMT? That would be a wonderful activity to write about, from the point of view of an adrenaline junkie, telling of runs where your CPR skills saved a life. If you are not an EMT, but successfully used CPR, that could make a great essay, too.</p>
<p>i was at work (lifeguarding) and then did it, i plan on writing an essay about it, it definately changed me</p>
<p>Is being part of the American Legion Boys/Girls Nation a hook? Only 196 applicants could possibly claim this distinction... I have never heard it mentioned in college discussion, but it is very well known in the political realm.</p>
<p>Special Ed student overcoming disability?</p>
<p>historymom -- if your daughters are passionate about horses -- that can be a hook. Assuming that they <em>don't</em> have equestrian-oriented majors in mind, the key is to find ways to relate that to other interests or strengths. </p>
<p>Part of the "hook" is to try to fit a certain niche within a college, but part is to simply try to make the application stand out in some way. Something that makes the ad com who has read through 60 files one day remember the particular student the next day. Something that makes the student come alive to them, so it is not just one other set of grades and same-as-everyone-else type activities. </p>
<p>I'd just add that not everyone needs a hook. My son's "hook" if anything was his GPA and National Merit status -- it was a hook for him simply because he applied to the type of colleges where that would be valued. He avoided Ivies, and applied to very strong but not mega-selective LAC's where he would be on the upper end of the applicant pool. Obviously those qualities would be meaningless in a Yale application -- even at the LAC my son attended he was quite surprised at the large number of other NM finalists he met there. It wasn't that it was all that special -- it was just that the LAC's which accept a third or more of their applicants do want and need good, strong students and their applicant pools aren't nearly as competitive as the very top schools.</p>