<p>What are they and who benefits from them the most?</p>
<p>Hooks, I’m pretty sure, are certain things an applicant has to offer that makes them more appealing towards admission offices. They can be anything from state ranking in athletics, coming from an unrepresented country/state, or excelling superiorly in a specific academic area. Both the school and the applicant benefit from them.</p>
<p>bump…</p>
<p>IMO: Hooks vary from small, what I consider barbs on a hook, to a large hook like having grown up with the DOA or someone on the BOD. The big hook examples that I just mentioned are just that and obviously not available for anyone. No hook is ever going to be a guarantee, I can’t stress that enough. They won’t care if you’re the King or Queen of Siam, if your not what they’re looking for when they’re building the class. Before anyone starts to sweat for lack of hooks, please rest assured that the vast majority of acceptances are without any hooks or connections. Current siblings are a hook, class president or student council is hook. Personally, I think student council is a terrific hook. Granted the Admission people realize that it is a popularity contest in most cases but the fact that for at least a day you were or are consider the most likeable does say a lot. Team Captain is a good barb, team captain every season is a hook. Children of alumni I use to consider a hook but more like a barb today. It will at least provide a second look during the admission process. Most of all they want a good kid who they believe will take advantage of what the school has to offer and not necessarily on the athletic fields but in the Arts whether it be theater, orchestra, choral and all around club participation. Although this has been discussed here on CC before, it is a new season and glad you bumped the topic. I sure there is a lot more that can be said about hooks.</p>
<p>@ops,
Personally I disagree with you. I don’t think student council/class president is a hook. My current school doesn’t have a student council, but in my old public school did. It was essentially a popularity contest. And the student council members had no power. All they did was go to meetings once a week and talk about spirit week and stuff like that. In my brother’s high school someone ran for student council with the slogan “I can’t do crap.” (And he won.) And I would say that team captain is a hook b/c that shows that you are a good athlete and a leader. I think that would mean more than being slightly more popular than another kid, but whatever. We’re not AOs so I guess we don’t decide these things. :)</p>
<p>^^Agree…so many kids middle-schoolers applying to prep school have student council/class leadership on their resume. Team captain would not be a hook, either, and neither would being “all-state” in your sport (which is pretty meaningless in many states/sports, especially club sports). A strong hook is being someone who will be ready to step into a varsity sport - and one that is important to the school - and make an immediate impact. Of course, this person would have the requisite package of grades and leadership as well.</p>
<p>ifax, I did say they the Admissions realizes that it is a popularity contest, but as I stated, to be liked by the majority of your peers does tell the school something. I think you would be amazed by the number of applicants who are the star football, hockey and lacrosse players. Being Captain for every sport is a hook and maybe even for one sport being the Captain is a small hook. I do agree these schools are looking for leadership qualities.
keylyme, I do know but of a handful of sophomores and even fewer freshmen that have stepped into a Varsity position. IMO and I will hold fast to this; these schools do not recruit athletes. They may make a concerted effort to get a talented player but they’re going to need a lot more than just sports under their belt to get accepted. Yes, I did see “Blind Side” but that was really special people all around with all the right chemistry in place.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-chances/609568-what-hook.html?highlight=hook[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-chances/609568-what-hook.html?highlight=hook</a></p>
<p>ops…I did say in my post that being a strong athlete (ready to make an impact on varsity) is certainly a hook, but I went on to add that this person should also have the requisite grades and all of the other wonderful qualifications of a successful boarding school applicant. My own son was “recruited” for two sports in which he played varsity as a freshman - of course this is not the same as college recruiting. We contacted the schools early on, but from that point received quite a bit of correspondence from the coaches. They even came out to watch him play. He was an excellent candidate for admission, but I am certain his athletics helped - particulary in securing a named scholarship. In addition, we live near the New England preps and know so many athletes who were recruited in this fashion. Superior athletic ability is a definite hook.</p>
<p>Boarding schools, and also the top colleges, love scholar/athletes. Heck, employers love scholar/athletes too. Being an elite athlete is a major hook. Many boarding schools ‘recruit’, sometimes internationally. Obviously the definition of a ‘recruit’ varies. Are you that hockey / lacrosse / football / soccer / volleyball player that’s going to lead the school to a New England title? An Olympian or junior Olympian? For an elite athlete, it’s probably as important as his/her SSAT scores.</p>
<p>I got an email and phone calls from the coaches I sent my football film to, is that considered a hook?</p>
<p>That’s a good sign, and preparing / sending a film shows how serious you are about the sport. We don’t know much about football, but if you can make an immediate impact in your first year, even as a freshman, that’s a good hook. If you’re that QB to lead them to a win over their rival school or that LB making game changing tackles, that’s even better!
Obviously a hook like this is not a guarantee, but it’s a big plus.</p>