<p>This is going to be a pretty vague description because I don't want to give away my identity. </p>
<p>During the fall of my junior year (last september) I took a computer design course, where my teacher entered one of my product designs into a national competition held by Microsoft. Of nearly 2000 submissions, mine made the top three, and I received several prizes, etc. for the original product. </p>
<p>My question is whether or not this would be viewed as a "hook" in the admissions process. I'm a girl that wants to go into engineering and business, so I figured having this on my application would be of value, I just don't know how much value it is.</p>
<p>That’s really awesome! Congrats! I think this could definitely be used to your advantage. If you have the grades and test scores to back it up, I think this could put you over the edge. But then again, I’m not an admin officer so take this with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>No, it is not a hook - it is an award. A hook is something that meets a unique institutional need for the university. A hook gets your application placed in a very small pile in the admissions office and has a university official actively advocating for you with adcoms. </p>
<p>Your national award is certainly a positive, but it will lack impact if it appears to be a one-time “lucky shot”. Hopefully the award is the capstone recognition of years of hard work and accomplishment that can be supported by other activities and awards on your application.</p>
<p>Congratulations on your award! Keep working hard in all your endeavors.</p>
<p>Do you think that award in conjunction with my current job, which is working on an app for a company in NY (can’t say name for privacy reasons), looks better? I just really love making things that can help people!</p>
<p>You should definitely list everything you’ve done, especially if its all in a related field. Listing these things will not hurt you at all. You could probably also write an essay on why you’re passionate about comp prog and app design and what you hope to so with it.</p>
<p>The more your application demonstrates consistent excellence in a given area, the better it will look.</p>
<p>The national award, the prestigious job, the course selection in school, the activities outside of school, the recognition by others in the field hopefully all build a picture of you that shows your passion and achievement for app design.</p>
<p>A “hook” is just a made up word people like to throw around when talking about admissions. That award will look great on your resume, particularly if you apply as a STEM major or to a STEM school.</p>