<p>Tips:
First Generation College
Celebrity, Dignitary, Politician Family
Varsity Athlete
Perfect SAT/ACT
National Award- i.e. Intel, Congressional Volunteer o/t Year, Nat. Merit, Nat. Hisp. Scholar
Highly-Relevant EC [i.e. Student Government 4+ years, poly sci major]
Val/Sal
Leadership positions, Class president, School Board Rep, School Advisory Council</p>
<p>Blunt Tips:
JV Athlete
A GREAT interview
High Class Rank
Regional Diversity
A huge involvement in EC's
Founding a meaningful club</p>
<p>Hindrances:
Over-Represented-Minority
School Disciplinary Action
Numerous Misdemeanors
A bad recommendation
A terrible interview
Below Average SAT/ACT
Below top 20% class rank
A below average essay
Spelling mistakes
Being conceited
Being annoying, i.e sending in 5 supplemental recs, and calling your reg. rep for no reason</p>
<p>Admissions Suicide:
Submitting the wrong college name in your essays. (copy your Y essay for H and not edit.)
Convicted Felon
Terrible Grades/GPA/Standardized Test
Falsifying/plagarism (and being caught)</p>
<p>Anyone disagree or have additions? Work in Progress</p>
<p>Although I'm not sure all those tips are huge tips -- being a varsity athlete isn't necessarily that different than just being an "athlete" in some sports or schools, and National Merit is pretty common.</p>
<p>What I really wonder about is the perfect SAT... I've heard that a 2400 isn't looked upon that differently from a 2350, colleges like to brag about how many 2400's they can reject, and I haven't really seen any evidence that 2400 works as a tip.</p>
<p>Generally looks like a pretty good list though, props.</p>
<p>I think that things such as "spelling errors" are acadamic suicide rather than just hindrances.</p>
<p>With a school like Yale, they get so many ridiculously qualified applicants that they are literally SEARCHING for reasons not to admit you, and a typo falls high on that list. It implies that you thought the essay wasn't even worth re-reading.</p>
<p>I've even read that things such as dumb email addresses (like lilcuteshortie@ whatevs.com lol) are reasons for them to rethink your application, but I think that whoever said that was going a little overboard to prove that every little thing (like typos) really DO matter.</p>
<p>Legacy is not a hook. It's more like a "blunt tip" to use your terminology. Being a development candidate (meaning your parents are in a position to give many millions, not just a stingy $1M or $2M) is a hook. Being a celebrity yourself (movies, Broadway, Olympics athlete, best-selling author, recording artists for a big-name label, etc.) is also a hook. To be fair, however, I've known kids with some of these celebrity hooks who didn't get in, so they can't save you if you don't have a decent GPA and test scores.</p>
<p>Too many comments on the rest of list to write, but those are my thoughs on hooks.</p>
<p>Look... People are always going to debate what constitutes a hook or not. Hooks don't get you in without other factors, nor does Legacy. But legacy will always be a decent bonus.</p>
<p>I think most people will agree the three hooks listed are accurate.</p>
<p>Legacy: close to meaningless at H and Y
Under-Represented-Minority: very competitive within the category
Recruited Athlete: close to 100% admission rate
First Generation College: a teeny-weeny tim
Celebrity, Dignitary, Politician Family: better than being a recruited athlete
Varsity Athlete: yeah, nice
Perfect SAT/ACT: not even a tip
National Award- i.e. Intel, Congressional Volunteer o/t Year, Nat. Merit, Nat. Hisp. Scholar: Intel, AIME are a big deal, others irrelevant
Highly-Relevant EC [i.e. Student Government 4+ years, poly sci major]: yawn, no one cares
Val/Sal: not really important
Leadership positions, Class president, School Board Rep, School Advisory Council: big yawn, just the price of admission to the game
JV Athlete: probably a negative
A GREAT interview: can't hurt, probably doesn't help much
High Class Rank: you and 20,000 other applicants
Regional Diversity: If you're from Idaho or American Samoa
A huge involvement in EC's: too many = negative
Founding a meaningful club: if really meaningful, a big help</p>
<p>Hindrances:
Over-Represented-Minority: not a hindrance
School Disciplinary Action: depends what it is
Numerous Misdemeanors: duh
A bad recommendation: not a "hindrance", a complete deal-killer
A terrible interview: maybe
Below top 20% class rank: not at Trinity or Brearley
A below average essay: death to your application unless there's a big hook
Spelling mistakes: you'd be surprised how many applications have a few
Being conceited: to some extent, a requirement for admission
Submitting the wrong college name in your essays. (copy your Y essay for H and not edit.): Not really a problem. They don't care.
Convicted Felon: Yes, this is bad, unless it was a crime of conscience, then you're in
Terrible Grades/GPA/Standardized Test: duh
Falsifying/plagarism (and being caught): duh</p>
<p>the only thing I disagree with JHS is that legacy kids can be a tip at HYP...lots of legacy kids at my schools...if they have worked hard and have the same general stats as another kid who is not a legacy, it gives the legacies an edge, and Harvard especially I have seen, chooses them more often </p>
<p>just from what I have seen four years at a good NE prep school...legacy kids with great stats get in about 60% of the time</p>
<p>Well, feel free to discount my view because of emotional bias, my kids having gone 0-for on their legacy applications. But here's what I base it on:</p>
<p>-- In the past 6 years, the legacy kids I've seen admitted to HYPS have either been admitted to at least one of the others with no legacy boost, or were sensational candidates (#1 at a top school) who were accepted EA and never applied anywhere else. If a Harvard legacy is accepted at Harvard, but also at Yale and Stanford, it's a little hard to attribute her Harvard acceptance to legacy status.
-- I have seen many non-legacy kids chosen over legacy classmates with indistinguishable "stats". In most cases, this was a correct decision.
-- I have seen legacy kids turned down, while being accepted at one of the other hyperselective colleges. E.g., Princeton legacies dinged at Princeton, accepted at Harvard (2), Yale legacy dinged at Yale, accepted at Harvard (2) and Oxford.
-- Several years ago, a senior Harvard admissions person told a friend that Harvard's admissions rate for Yale and Princeton legacies was only slightly lower than its rate for Harvard legacies, and that the office had to be careful to cap the number of legacies it accepted.</p>
<p>As you said katie, you go to a good NE prep school. The admissions rates from NE prep schools to HYPS are vastly higher than the average rate around the country, due to various factors. I'm sure the legacy thing helps, but it is much much easier to get into Yale from Andover than it is to get in from Peoria Central.</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure as a URM you mainly compete against other URM's. Not sure- but I know atm Yale is 9% Hispanic, 12% Black, and 1-2% Native American (lol).</p>
<p>It doesn't mean that the pools are totally separate though.</p>
<p>For example- say Yale is looking for tennis players.
Let's say there 20 white, 2 native american, 6 hispanic, 8 black. They don't have to choose a minimum from every pool.</p>
<p>That's definitely a plus! I'm the only URM applying from my school district- so that's a plus too? :)</p>
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...dude, the fact that you are a URM MOPper guarantees your admission to ANY school in America...no one in their right mind would reject you
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no one in their right mind would reject you
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right mind
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<p>But these admissions officers..... are crazy!</p>