<p>Whenever I think I have hooks, I feel like I'm making a bunch of excuses for myself. Anyone else?</p>
<p>^^ That may be because you are using the wrong definition for a hook. Hooks are:</p>
<ol>
<li>Being a recruited athlete</li>
<li>Being an underrepresented minority (URM)</li>
<li>Being a legacy applicant</li>
<li>Being a developmental case (son/daughter of a big $$$ donor)</li>
</ol>
<p>Anything else is NOT a hook.</p>
<p>I think you could add to those being a celebrity: Yo-Yo Ma or Chelsea Clinton (right, I know, she went to Stanford, but…) or Emma Watson (right, I know, she went to Brown, but…).</p>
<p>But if you’re not a musical prodigy or the offspring of political insiders or a movie star, Hoping, that’s not going to make much difference to you.</p>
<p>I would add going to a highly selective ivy feeder school to that list. Deserved or not, Students from andover, exeter, trinity, etc get an extra look during the process.</p>