<p>eh, god i hope this works out for all of us, if not harvard than at some other place. it's such a cruel and arbitrary game :( i read that article about a perfect, brilliant chinese girl whose parents payed a consultant to make her a more interesting candidate (beauty pageants as opposed to violin or whatever, moved to an inner city school).....So yea, it's all so frustrating, i almost don't want to be a part of this game, but on the other hand i would love to be at a place like harvard so.....
Anyway, here are what i think my "hooks" are:</p>
<p>french nationality (weak hook)
-ranked 1st in country on french exam, division for native speakers</p>
<p>and also teensy geographic advantage because i'm from Miami, FL.</p>
<p>philosophy/debate:
i have barely anything to show for philo, so i guess i'll count on teacher recommendations and my essay to convey that. And i just started debating this year.
-state qualifier in Lincoln Douglas
-3rd best speaker at FL novice state in lincoln douglas</p>
<p>Legacy at Harvard (might put all of my eggs in one basket and apply here early...?)</p>
<p>5's on eight AP exams, only natl ap scholar at my school in some million years, maybe, and as a junior at that.</p>
<p>oh wait, art editor of my school literary magazine (Encore), and vice president of our debate club....the debate thing for me was an interesting quirk because i get extremely anxious in social/speaking situations, but i don't think i want to turn my app into a personal ordeal story or anything :P Haha, i panicked badly during the first round of a state tournament and almost dropped from the tournament, which was super embarrassing. Everything from then on went well enough though.</p>
<p>some of these other folks here are so intimidating. it's scary how hard this all is. especially all the national/international science stuff</p>
<p>OMG ontolome I broke into a cold sweat looking at your hooks. #1 nationwide in French and all these awesome paintings can't be from a single person LOL. You're dreadfully versatile;) Actually I've never known anyone my age who can draw so professionally (at least from my outlandish point of view):D</p>
<p>Sorry, but it doesn't sound like enough. Not really unique. Let's see your stats; if they're as good as those of others, you will stand a chance, but if they're lower, you should be looking for other hooks.</p>
<p>i dunno miao, the french test thing was actually really easy, moreso than the AP. i spoke to people who thought they did perfectly too, but somehow i just got ranked higher. it feels like a fluke :( everything feels like a fluke. there are applicants here whom i feel to be much more impressive. ah well, we'll see how it all goes.
god i am at some precollege thing for a month at pratt art institute in brooklyn right now and missing home like hell. 4 more weeks....i'm dying. it's so lonely here right now, laughs. i've decided that artists are lame stupid people :( only my roommate is nice; she lent me her computer. i'm feeling very negative right now in case you haven't noticed :) all i can do to keep from dying of homesickness is read. i know harvard will have more interesting people though....</p>
<p>Okay, not sure if this is a "hook" but I'd really appreciate comments. I'll try to emphasize my interest in journalism, which includes being the EIC of my school newspaper, a 3 month internship at the Associated Press, involvement in our highschool literary journal and being an editorial columnist on town newspaper. Is this a "hook"? (I'm starting not to like that word!)</p>
<p>I don't really like the word either because, it's the whole pkg that's supposed to get students in, not one or two features!
but if you're very interested in journalism, of course conveying that strongly in your essays is the best way to go.</p>
<p>OMG I'm no better than any of you guys, perhaps worse. I'm not being bitter, I'm just telling candlize that he has a chance alright, but he doesn't quite stand out. FYI my v score was 750, so I can't criticize anyone out there. Look at candlize's hooks: TX origin: I'm not sure, you Yankees better check out; study abroad: my, lots of people have that, under all kinds of guises. I know at least 10 ex-classmates w/ the same hook ('course they don't start all applying to Harvard). College credit sounds like good.
Ontolome, as a matter of fact I know several artistic kids personally, but I looked through some samples of their work and yours impressed me the most. Are you gonna send in some of your work (I think they have that "art supplement" thing)?</p>
<p>Well, I'm not exactly sure what a hook is... but I just listed a few things... I obviously have more things going for me. To be honest, I think being a URM is my biggest "hook," or whatever the hell that's supposed to be anyways....</p>
<p>i dunno if "hooks" r THAT helpful..cause my friend (attending cornell now) applied to Yale EA and was deferred, then rejected...she had a silver @ Intel for her sci project, excellent recs (all our teachers love her), not sure of her sat scores but she had a 43/45 IB predicted.><</p>