<p>How helpful would hooks be in regards to UChicago?
Post your hook (if applicable) and evaluate it.</p>
<p>Two hooks that I have are Low Income and First Generation.</p>
<p>Low Income isn't helpful since UChi is need-blind so they wouldn't see that I've grown up Low Income.</p>
<p>First Generation is nice, but I don't think it's that helpful in this process. I remember someone said that you have a 5x chance of getting in over an ORM Asian, but I'm not buying. First Generation can't be that "OMG!"</p>
<p>Overall, I don't think hooks will help with UChicago. It probably could definately help a bit, but not tremendously.</p>
<p>Those kinds of hooks would definitely help. Those things are only ‘hooks’ because, if you have made good use of your opportunities in your current situation, then just imagine what you’ll be able to do if you’re given all the opportunities at the University of Chicago. In essence, when they evaluate you, they know that your life has been different from every other applicant, but they try to draw out the ‘intrinsic’ you and compare everybody’s ‘intrinsic’ self and how well they would do/fit at the University of Chicago. The ‘intrinsic’ you is the you that is separate from your life where you are now and the opportunities available to you/the environment around you. Considering that you’re coming from a low-income background where no one in your family has had any college education, if you have excelled then you’ve overcome so much that you ought to be selected over a kid from NYC who has been pampered all his/her life even if you have lower statistics than him/her. Why? Precisely because they’ve had no obstacles that they had to overcome. They could have had a tutor for school yet lacked all motivation to learn, they could have had an SAT tutor that basically hand-fed them their 2300+, and they could have had all the money available to do the incredible extracurricular activities that they did. Yet, even though their profile looks impeccable, when they are to be viewed outside their circumstances and as who they are as a person (the ‘intrinsic’ them), the low-income, first-gen kid with the 3.7 and 2020 SAT looks more impressive than them precisely because of the circumstances that that person had to overcome. </p>
<p>That’s just my take on the whole thing, and I may well be wrong, but I’m hoping it will help you bud :D.</p>
<p>Maybe the impact of hooks is small when looking at a large number of students, but at an individual level a hook could just be that tiny bit extra a student needs. I see no reason why this would not be the case at UChicago.</p>