<p>Lifeguarding, overcoming hurdles, etc, etc do NOT count as hooks. Keep in mind that a hook is something that a college needs, and is generally quantifiable in some way -- i.e., the $$$ needed from developmental candidates or the %age of a class that is of Native American descent.</p>
<p>The strongest hooks are difficult courses, high grades, high test scores and striving to learn more; ie going for other learning opportunities. More of these students get into the top schools than those without these hooks. However, a school has other things they want covered as well, so they will not fill a school with kids who have "only" those things and will go down a bit on parts of those standards in order to have competitive sports teams, music programs, a diverse population. Also, because money and a knowledgeabl, supportive background are so important in developing students with those desired traits, kids who are deficient in that but perform close to those standards are examined in light of their environmental challenges. Legacy is a factor because it forges a strong bond to the university that can strongly affect development as well fostering a more family, personal atmosphere within the college. Development is a no brainer. If accepting a student who can do fine at the college but does not have the specs of those who are being accepted for academics, nor has another hook the college wants, can pay for a number of other students, it is worthwhile to the college. Also, every college has its own special wishlist. If Nobel prize winning profs are hired and that department is being beefed up, an accompanying entourage of grad students may follow. Which means they need undergrad to teach for their stipends. Having interest in that field could be a hook for that year for that college. Schools that are fighting a disparity in male/female ratios have sex as a hook. If the classics dept is having a dry spell, you had better believe the chair is going to pay a visit to the admissions office, and if he has clout and tenure, there will be some more classics admits. </p>
<p>Some hooks are clearly stronger than others. Schools hungry for geographic diversity will give more leeway on academics than those who have a fair amount of diversity. A school trying to go from commuter to residential will show preference for kids who want to live on campus. The adcom reading your file can tip your application slightly one way or the other, especially if it is right on the brink. If your essay on running in the mornings hits the adcom the right way, it can tip the scale to "in". But if you are unlucky enough to be the 6th essay in a row on that subject and the adcom has no interest in early morning running, you are out of luck, especially if the other essays are better than yours. </p>
<p>For colleges that are struggling with yield issues, interest is a strong hook. By spending time visiting and corresponding with the school letting them know you really like the school, they are going to view you with far more interest than an applicant who just drops the app in the mail and never contacts the school or just goes through a minimal drill.</p>
<p>I disagree with the notion that difficult courses, high grades, high test scores, etc. are a hook. From where I sit, a "hook" is what splits one student meeting all of those from another or even, often, what pushes a student who isn't quite as strong as one of the foregoing over the top while the other is left out.</p>
<p>The traditional big three hooks are children of alumni, under-represented minority (specifically black, Hispanic, or Native American, not Lebanese, Hungarian, or Finnish), and athlete capable of playing on the college team.
The first is dwindling as a factor, the second, despite the hysteria in some quarters, affects relatively few students. The third...it depends whether you're attending a large research university where athletes are a small percentage of the student body or an elite LAC like Amherst or Williams where they're going to fill out the lacrosse, football, and track teams or there'll be hell to pay and, as such, the student-athletes are a relatively large proportion of the student body.</p>
<p>I'm on board with the rest of CotH's post.</p>
<p>mj93,
lifeguarding can be a hook, if u have the director write a letter explaining the quals and monthly recert. my s got points for guarding = yr. round varsity sports. He works pt during school yr, ft during the summer. Must be red cross cert and do in service 1x a month (3 different timed strokes 100 m/500/1200 + surface dive retrieve weighted obj and exit pool within a specific time.</p>
<p>The biggest hook is the institutional misssion.</p>
<p>As I have posted in other threads, I've noticed that some schools (Vassar and TCNJ, among others) publish some of the outstanding accomplishments of a particular class, such as Miss Teen NJ (or something like it), Irish step dancing champion, etc. Here's a quote from Vassar's class profile page:
"Members of the class of 2011 include a student who spent eight months after high school working with street children in Cambodia, two dancers with professional ballet companies, a singer who performed at Carnegie Hall, a U.S. orienteering champion and national team member, the three-time NY state champion in constitutional debate, two professional film actors, several published authors and poets, a competitor in the National Spelling Bee, the creator of a clothing label featured in Outlook magazine, an intern with Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz, Junior Olympics competitors in fencing, cycling, and volleyball, 23 Eagle Scout/Girl Scout Golds, the prolific writer of more than 50 songs, numerous musicians in state-wide, regional, or professional orchestras, successful business owners whose products and services include jewelry, jewelry boxes, cakes, technology assistance, and dogs, five black belt holders in Karate or Tae Kwon Do, a hot-air balloon pilot, a winner of national awards for guinea-pig breeding, and a professional radio DJ, fashion model, and make-up artist"
Seems to be things on a very high level that are unusual. Who knows if they are just curious additions to already strong applications, or if they are 'tips' or 'hooks' that have helped these kids get in? I doubt that the Harvards and Princetons need to do this, as they probably have many kids like that. But the smaller schools may post those things as an enticement to other unusual, outstanding kids. So, since many of these particular things are obviously not things that the school needs, might they be just things that the school would like to post on thier 'brag sheets' to show how diverse and accomplished their student body is?</p>
<p>"...national awards for guinea pig breeding..."???!!!???
Now THAT is certainly stands out on an application.</p>
<p>I've also heard that the combo student is quite attractive - ie, the cello-playing, lacrosse-playing A-student. However, I don't think the combo is "hook" material; in fact, it may just add up to the BWRK assessment.</p>
<p>I think hook is really in the eyes of the beholder - the admissions committee. If they need your particular skills whatever they may be, it is a tip. </p>
<p>Re: the unusual language skill. My S studied Mandarin in Beijing for a year. He applied to Georgetown with a very strong application and was denied. GU had recently been endowed with a huge donation from some Middle Eastern billionaire. Had my S been interested Arabic, I think the result may have been different. Again, it is what the college needs that come first.</p>
<p>a historical perspective on the term Hook.....</p>
<p>A 1983 peer reviewed paper ( The</a> 'Hook' a Student Needs to Catch a Top College. ) with abstract saying the following:</p>
<p>This paper.."Discusses factors which influence the acceptance of particular students at highly competitive colleges. Suggests that admissions officers especially prefer athletes, minority students, and alumni children. Other preferred applicants include school leaders, students with artistic talent or notable personal strengths, and students from wealthy families."</p>
<p>unfortunately, I can't find the entire paper...1983 must have been early in the use of the Hook term, at least in circles outside admissions committees.</p>
<p>I say that the grades/test scores/academic strength is a hook in that even the most selective colleges with the best regarded reputations for academic excellence admit freely that about a third to 40% of their class is picked sheerly for academic reasons. There are the easy admits---the academic jewels who truly shine in that area, and only a few kids fit that definition. Then there are our top students who in addition to the numbers and the courses, have national academic awards and recognition on their resumes. After that there are the best of the other fine students. Once that 30-40% threshhold is reached, and the high numbers are pretty much in place for that class, other school needs are met. The kids with the top academic credential AND the school's wish list items are admitted with some decisions made as to how much give should be allowed on what talent. But if the chem labs are full to the brim and the science departments have sent a memo to watch those science major numbers, it's bad news for that crowd. If the dorms are over flowing, commuters will get a bit of a bonus. If the new president of the university is a rowing nut, and wants to see some strong crew teams, you had better believe that there will be lee way in that area. If profs are complaining about too many foreign students and a problem with poor writing in the previous class, that becomes an area of focus. Those kids who have more than one "hook" really make out. Minorities are often recruited in outreach programs that look in areas that are not overbrimming with applicants from the school, or in good neighbor programs right around the school. Anytime a college gets someone strong on board who rattles admissions door knobs, whether it is a coach, a professor, a music director, an advisor for an ethnic club or any activity, some hooks are going to be created.</p>
<p>Cptofthehouse--what a great post! Thank you.</p>
<p>so does being a urm and a female pursuing engineering give me a big hook? at top schools. even with a 3.7 gpa and weak ecs? but good test scores</p>
<p>^ Female engineers is usually a great advantage, and it's a hook depending on which specific school and how many girls they have at the moment...if its a school with 50/50 F:M ratio for engineering then its not a hook, but if its like 20:80 F:M (cough RPI cough) then its a hook usually.</p>
<p>edited......</p>
<p>These are some laughable definitions of a "hook".</p>
<p>You guys are discussing "tips" more than "hooks"
and unfairly making kids optimistic about the college
application process by doing so. </p>
<p>Just at a cusory glance from this page alone...</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Lifeguard is NOT a hook under any circumstances,
even if you saved a person's life.</p></li>
<li><p>getting good grades is not a HOOK, it is a pre-requisite
to college consideration.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Let me defne a hook the way it's SUPPOSED to be defined,
not by the contrived and twisted distortions CCers give
to re-assure themselves more in their own pursuit for an
undergrad education.</p>
<p>"A hook is something special about you that will make
colleges WANT to accept you for that aspect alone, and will
even persuade you to join. Something that only 1 out of
10,000 kids (at least) can say they did."</p>
<p>Sure, people do impressive things. But a hook is supposed
to SEPARATE you from everyone else in a SIGNIFICANT manner.
Being an ED student overcoming a disability is nice, but there
are a couple thousand students out there that have done the
same thing, and another couple hundred who will lie about it.
Life-saving CPR is nice, but technically I have CPR training too.
And so does every other Red Cross member with half a decent
chapter. It sucks discussing hooks because once you research
it hard enough, you realize you really AREN'T that special afterall.
I've read every hook thread on this site 2 years ago after my
depression from a low second semester GPA, and woke up to this
rude conclusion.
Reading CC for a few years I've read some legit hooks
(other than the typical "athlete" hook)</p>
<ol>
<li>One dude who has a 6 digit figure business who got into
Harvard on a sub-2000 SAT and low GPA</li>
<li>One person who traveled the country giving presentations
or something along those lines and was interviewed by some
city newspaper</li>
<li>Someone who was a firefighter and saved lives (and no, this
is a lot more "outside the box" than being a lifeguard and is
a lot more risky/training involved)</li>
<li>Siemens/Intel/TASP/RSI usually does the job</li>
</ol>
<p>kcb
Also consider Caltech, which cares a lot about passion in field like engineering than other ECs.</p>
<p>radronOmegra,
PLEase, no need to shout!</p>
<p>Also, I do think a lifeguard saving a life is a plus. My younger cousin was trying for years to move up in the airline business. After he landed his damaged plane perfectly, he finally was given interviews and exams, and got 2 offers. He was top scorer among 1000 applicants, but even so, he would not have had the chance to test if not for that spectacular landing. Fortuitous for him, and everyone flying with him at the time.</p>
<p>"^ Female engineers is usually a great advantage, and it's a hook depending on which specific school and how many girls they have at the moment..." - RootBeerCaesar</p>
<p>Glad to hear that - I have two of them, a junior and a senior. </p>
<p>We already figured this out, though, because the senior is under heavy recruitment from several engineering schools right now - almost to the point of stalking.</p>
<p>^I dont think that is a hook. I know it was not 25+ years and ago so it is less so today.</p>
<p>Radron, you are right, in the way you are defining a hook. However, the word has undergone some transformation. High school counselors and college advice books/articles alike, never mind this forum, are now using the word much more loosely. A hook is simply something that makes you stand out from the stack of many applications that would otherwise be similar to yours. There is advice galore about making a hook out of your activities. And sometimes it works. When a hook "morphs" into a "tip" is really subjective. </p>
<p>Athletics do not necessarily work as a hook even if you can be a contributing player. THere are certain sports where they are hooks, and others where they are not. Again the tip vs hook transformation is not a black line. URM status can be a hook, a tip, or no value depending on the school and the other particulars of the student. Yes, female engineers have an advantage at certain schools, just as males have an admissions advantage at schools that are trying to get closer to a 50/50 balance of the sexes. Choosing certain majors can give you an advantage at certain school. A hook at one school at one time may not be at another school or at another time.</p>
<p>Exactly cptofthehouse.</p>
<p>I'm just frustrated with these topics because kids
read these and go "OMG I HAVE THIS" and write off
applications to Harvard, then get heart-broken later
on. It's very sad, and i'm going through the stress
right now so I take it intimately personal. </p>
<p>Female engineering is a tip. There's still a hundred-ish
people like that out there.</p>
<p>As for URM, the only real race I consider hooking by playing
the race card is Native American, hahha.</p>
<p>I don't think having a physical disability in and of itself would be a hook. I think that overcoming a physical disability to do something (in my case, overcoming a hearing loss to become one of the best high school trombone players in the state) would be a hook....or at least I'm using it as a hook. We shall see soon.</p>