<p>"Hey everyone, both prospective and those aready accepted! What are all the HOOKS you are going to use in your application whether it be EXTREME amounts of community service(if that works) or being the son/daughter of a governor!!!!!! List and explain your HOOK (things that will help you get admitted through uniqueness or the like)"</p>
<p>I borrowed this message from a thread in Harvard forum, but am asking responses for Princeton people.</p>
<p>hmm not sure if this is one, but i founded and led a string ensemble in 9th grade and carried it out through 11th and most probably thru 12th too. we entered competitions and won many such as one in Lincoln Center. We also did a lot of community service by playing for our community. I think this is unique because i carried it out for a very long time, and shows im very passionate about my group.</p>
<p>i ran a marathon-at the harvard thread, this doesnt seem like a very big hook though. also im planning to found 3-4 clubs. what do you think? (im betting everyone who uses this thread also goes to the harvard one too though)</p>
<p>My hook is leadership. I have participated in Junior Leadership Training Conference (a Boy scout offshoot) and have additionally served on staff twice. It is a big deal--a week long, entirely scout-led conference. Last year I was second-in-command (Asst. Senior Patrol Leader). I am very passionate about JLTC and hope to revitalize it for another year as SPL (we were unable to run it last year because of inadequate adult staff). Additionally with leadership, I am a very active treasurer in my JSA chapter--I made and keep up a website, handle a lot with registration for events and lead fundraisers. Lastly, I am almost done in acheving my Eagle Scout, which demonstrates much leadership as well as a committment in Boy Scouts. I'm hoping that leadership will stand out on my application next year (i'm a junior), though it may not technically be a "hook". </p>
<p>The only other thing I can offer in terms of a "hook" is my ability at the clarinet. Hopefully I will make Districts and maybe All State level bands this year (I'm nervous--Districts try outs are on Saturday).</p>
<p>Hook?</p>
<p>Being awesome....</p>
<p>
[quote]
Hook?</p>
<p>Being awesome....
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Love that. My hook is... being an optimist.</p>
<p>Some call it a hook while some at Princeton refer to them as "Bootdaggers". It can be many different things. One of my son's friends at Princeton plays a mean bagpipe. Another is an excellent Indian Dancer. For some it is their geographic location. You need to have something different and your essays had better be interesting as the adcoms read 1000 a piece.</p>
<p>those arent really hooks....hooks include recruited athlete, legacy status, urm status, daddy donates millions, or "im having an affair with the dean of admissions"</p>
<p>Hooks can be anything that sets you apart or gets you in. I am assuming Princeton2B is not a legacy or a recruited athlete or has any other obvious advantage. So the question is what they can offer Princeton for the class of 2010 that sets them apart.</p>
<p>All the above posts are far from "hooks." Most everyone applying to Princeton thinks they show great 'leadership' by founding a new club or doing tons of community service. They are a dime a dozen. Boy scouts? Grow up man. My hook? Recruited athlete and the headmaster of my school, who is a multi-millionare, is friends with the head of admissions and has offered to speak on my behalf. And my essay was incredible (My next door neighbor is the head of the english department at a high school, and she wants a copy to show all of her students). By the way, everbody seems to think music is a hook - as if making all state band will really bump your application to a new level. Unless you have spoken to the music director and talked about playing at Princeton, music is not an "in" and it is worthless</p>
<p>haha ^ doesnt know what hes talking about
i spoke to the conductor and played for him on my ov, turns out they dont have really any pull for most individuals. he said best bet would be to send in a recording, and they will consider. </p>
<p>oh and studathlete, you should realize you are not an "in" at all either. Coach said 4 kids with athletic support and good scores still got denied.</p>
<p>seems to be a troll</p>
<p>wait, how much influence does sending in a tape or video do for musically affluent applicants?....</p>
<p>I would hope that all would take Stud the seasoned poster with a grain of salt.
One hook that he needs to develop soon would be humility.
Meanwhile he should check with his neighbor in the English dept on how to spell everbody :)</p>
<p>Do any of you "normal" kids get into Princeton? How?</p>
<p>I hope I can get in, and I think I'm a "normal" kid as evidenced by my "worthless" music and leadership. We'll see next December (uggh soo long).</p>
<p>^ exactly one month left......good luck to all the ED people!</p>
<p>Matt,
It depends on the needs of the coach and the program. I don't know how many recruits your coach needs for wrestling but i imagine maybe 10-12. Of course admissions is not going to accept every single wrestler. So, if your coach needs 10 guys, he prob makes a list of 14 or so expecting 4 or 5 to be deferred. In a smaller sport, a coach may be graduating 2 guys and give the admissions a list of 3 recruits. Thus, for a wrestler the chances of getting in are about 65 percent while a smaller sport 75 percent. </p>
<p>Maybe to get my post count up I should start going on on Saturday nights like many here do and just say "bump" 1,000 times</p>
<p>ballet...also, does anyone know how much pull alumni relations have in the admis. process? i.e. grandfather and neighbor (they both wrote letters)</p>
<p>Uhh...I did lots of service, but my top 3 weird hooks
1. I'm awesome at the Chinese yoyo (or diabolo, as some call it) and I'm working on juggling 2-3 at once this year.
2. I'm poor?
3. I did research that will probably be published--the title is: "Testing the Mozart Effect: White Noise and Music's Effect on Crystallized and Fluid Intelligence"</p>
<p>being poor isnt always an edge, there are many poor applicants, and remember, there is a limit on financial aid, admissions arent truly need blind, they will admit as many qualified poor applicants as they can, but they cant admit them all.....being poor is misconstrued as a big hook when in fact, it's not as helpful as it may seem</p>