How important really is a "hook"? aka.. do I have a good shot without one?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
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<p>Penn is at the top of my RD list, but it seems as if everyone who was admitted in ED thread either had some kind of hook or extraordinary ECs, and I’m not sure if I make the cut with that. </p>

<p>Applying to Arts and Sciences for Communication major</p>

<p>SAT I: 2270 (CR 750, M 760, W 760)
SAT IIs: Bio 720, Math I and Math II 710 both, Lit 660
GPA: 4.6 w
Rank 3/164
APs: Euro 4, US 4, Bio 5, Stats 5
Current APs: English Lit, Calc, French, Environtmental Science</p>

<p>ECs:
Theatrical Society (9-12) - historian, costume manager, cast, crew
Newspaper (10-12) - Managing editor in chief
Dance (age 4 - present) - ballet, pointe, jazz
Academic Decathlon (10 - 12) - 4th place regional Literature
NHS (11, 12) - Math + French tutor
Varsity Gymnastics (11) - Varsity Letter
*I did not list other smaller ECs that I have not been very involved in, since quality > quantity</p>

<p>Work Experience:
Guest Services Rep @ big chain furniture store (11, 12)
Box Office Internship (unpaid) @ performing arts center (summer 11, wrote box office manual and trained new office manager)</p>

<p>Community Service:
counselor-in-training (summer 9)
arts director for children @ Boston Medical Center (summer 10)
tutoring during school year</p>

<p>Awards:
Honors Algebra II Award (9) - don’t know if I should list this one
National French Contest 11th, 9th, 8th in Nation respectively for past 3 years
Academic Decathlon 4th place regional for Lit.
National Honor Society
Wellesley College Book Award
AP Scholar with Honor
National Merit Semifinalist</p>

<p>wrote/writing my essays about my 3 passions - theater, dance, newspaper/journalism/communication</p>

<p>I feel pretty plain compared to most of the people who were accepted. I have the stats, I feel, but nothing special…
has anyone ever gotten in without anything special, a “hook” so to speak?</p>

<p>Feedback would be much appreciated, thanks</p>

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<p>YOur chances seem pretty good. The people on this board who got accepted had mediocre everything, as far as I'm concerned. I think a lot depends upon the mood of the adcom on the day he/she reads your app.</p>

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<p>and I know probably why dulce didn't get accepted....the adcom probably hated him. He is obnoxious, stuck up, and has a horrible personality. You probably wanted to make the adcom puke. They probably deferred you just because you were a legacy.
Yeah, we are mediocre students. We are stupid also so why do you hang out. We will probably make you stupid. Go hang out on the board of whatever college you are attending. </p>

<p>As for the OP, I think you have a pretty good chances. Try and write essays to the best of your ability. Be honest and show who you are. Good Luck!</p>

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<p>Nah! Essays were great and so were my recs. I came across beautifully!
Someone pointed out that I never bothered to meet my adcom. I think that's why I got deferred. Now I will arrange to meet my adcom and charm him/her.Then I'll get accepted and then I'll say that I'm not interested.</p>

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<p>dulce are you serious? maybe you did have better stats than me (3.8gpa, 2130sat) but were you accepted? and you even had an advantage, legacy</p>

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<p>not to mention URM.</p>

<p>maybe he is a jack@$$.. sorry...but u seem to think u are better than everyone.</p>

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<p>is it common/expected that you meet your adcom?</p>

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<p>No, not at all. Dulce is probably just making excuses for his deferral. You have a very good chance. I think a small percentage of applicants actually have hooks, especially RD when there aren't athletes and legacy doesn't really matter. Penn seems to accept people that are good all around (scores, grades, ECs) that maybe stand out because of character/passion for the school. I got in ED and my scores and rank were very similar to yours. I also don't have any spectacular ECs, but a few things that I'm devoted to. You definitely have a good chance..write good essays and I think you'll get in.</p>

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<p>dulce...I didn't meet the adcom either. I bet a lot of kids didn't either.</p>

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<p>You guys are probably all from NOrth Dakota or Wyoming, or some other underrepresented state...that's prolly what got you in.</p>

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<p>Dulce, I'm from the DC area where like 30-50 kids from my public school apply ED to Penn. 3 of us got in (2 legacy). I never met my adcom, I visited only once, and my dad and uncle have donated almost no money between them since they both graduated 20+ years ago (so legacy doesn't mean jack **** for me). My essays were also pretty average. Why did I get in and you did not? Maybe because I'm not a prick :rolleyes:</p>

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<p>I'm from the Philly suburbs (notoriously difficult to get in from) and met no admissions people aside from going to an information session. Despite attempts to hide your character, the admissions people have read essays on the same topics many times over and will see your true character shine through. Dulce, if your true character is the same as the one you have put on display in this forum, there is no way an adcom would miss that in your essays despite any efforts on your part to hide such deficiencies.</p>

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<p>My topic was unique. I doubt they have gotten many essays about my topic. It was about overcoming adversity...kind of on par with the kid who overcame the obstacle of growing up in a homeless shelter. Sure, they occasionally get somone with a topic like that, but not too many.
I guarantee only a handful of people in the USA could have written about my topic. (And, no, it's not about divorce, car accident, injury or other common things like that).
I won't reveal my topic, but I know that it was unique...even the GC told me.</p>

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<p>Just because you're topic was unique doesnt make you special.</p>

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<p>dulce it seems like you're in denial right now. You probably thought that just because your essay topic was unique, it was going to guarantee you admissions to Penn. Then when you got your ED results, you realized that no matter how unique the essay topic is, if it isn't well written, it means nothing at all. I don't see why you're so anti Penn right now. Everyone has a right to be sad and angry if they didn't get into their dream school, but it's not like you're the only one. So if acting like an arrogant jerk is the only way that makes you feel better than yourself, then that's just too bad</p>

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<p>Essay was very well written. I got an 11 (out of 12) on the SAT I writing section. They had my SAT writing score as a basis for comparison.
That's why I'm so ****ed. The adcoms were being a bunch of jerks..my GC practically said that, too. It made no sense. I think it was just random. They threw a bunch of apps up in the air and picked the first 10 which fell to the floor first. Mine wasn't one of them.</p>

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<p>Seeing the way you speak here, I wouldn't be so surprised. Penn is a tough school to get into -- nobody is guaranteed anything.</p>

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<p>Sorry to butt in but i think there IS a good reason why you got deferred dulce.
Because you are an ignorant, bitter kid who thought he was overqualified for a school like Penn. Sorry if this hits you hard but you are in no way special. 11 on the SAT? They spend less than a minute reading that so I wouldn't be surprised if you never got below that because I'm seriously hoping you aren't half the dumb*** that you show yourself to be. Now why you grill about other people's acceptances ceases to amaze me. If indeed you are a URM and legacy maybe this IS the cold slap of reality you needed. Your race and parents are only going to get you so far. Stop being bitter and go buy some ice cream and get over it. Other than that ****.</p>

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<p>I wrote about overcoming nine chronic Illnesses for my page 217 and you don’t see me bitc hi ng on here. Overcoming that and getting good grades is much harder in my opinion. (especially without missing much school)</p>

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<p>lol
no offense
but this dulce guy kinda reminds me of alexey vayner (is this the right spelling? lol)..the guy whose resume got sent to youtube=)</p>