calm down everyone
Think happy thoughts guys O:-) whether or not we get into Stanford doesn’t determine our worth, etc. etc.
Based on last year data and assuming same overall acceptance rate (2063 out of 43997 total) and (745 out of 7822 REA), 745 = 460 (legacy + other hooks etc) + 285 (rest, 0.0364 acceptance ) seems a possible distribution. A very few lucky ones will hear the good news by Dec 15, 2016.
Also, let’s not forget that Stanford estimates that about 20% of their applicants are not suitable to handle Stanford’s workload, thus getting rejected. 745/7822 yields a 9.52% acceptance rate for REA. This means that you have to be THE 1 in 10. However, taking into consideration that 20% is rejected because they’re not suitable, it actually equals 1 in 8 (12.5%). So, you gotta be “better” than 7 other people (there’s no one better, honestly, but life is life…), and that’s not bad at all 
If you have no hooks, then it is only 0.0364 acceptance rate ( REA or RD assumed) i.e 1 in like 30.
If Stanford doesn’t send an email tomorrow does that mean we aren’t getting our results Friday?
Is African American a hook
@ASAPJAZZY Yeah, minorities are hooks
and what else is a hook besides legacy, athletics, low income, first gen…
I played 2 varsity sports, does that count as an athletic hook
This is not the end of the world and Stanford is not the only school on the planet. Based on your credentials Stanford should feel lucky to have you. And if they don’t admit you, it’ll be their loss. Please stop stressing out, know what you’re worth. Everything happens for a reason. There is a perfect school for everyone.
hi guys I was looking at previous threads it they say that your school and counselor know if you get accepted REA is this true?
only URM (Under Represented Minorities) is a probable hook. certainly being Asian (ORM,Over represented Minority) is not considered a hook.
Is having a hardship a hook?
is being international (from several different countries, lived in different places, can speak different languages) considered a hook?
Is the thing on the end of a fishing pole considered a hook
An athletic hook is if you are recruitable.
@grtd2010 Your math doesn’t seem right. You would need to subtract the hooked candidates from the denominator because you are not competing against them.
In any event, I agree, you’re just stressing people out for no reason. The results will be what they will be. Good luck everyone.
@ASAPJAZZY I’m african american too lol 
Hooks that hold an arguable amount of weight: URM (Native American, African American, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, (Mixed?)), First Gen (Neither of parents have a bachelors degree), Low Income (Under 60k or including very extenuating circumstances), RECRUITED athlete (meaning coach has said he will put in a good word for you), Legacy
International isn’t a hook, Asian isn’t a hook, Woman in STEM isn’t probably a tangible hook (at Stanford at least) etc.
Anything you else may have (ex. Being a polyglot) is NOT a hook, it’s what makes you UNIQUE. Meaning that you cannot have one without the other. If someone gets into stanford it’s not just because they are URM; they have to have something unique about them too in addition to that. I always define hooks as something about you that you cannot change (besides the athlete part I guess ), it’s a part of your context.
You can fine tune it but they are about right. I just did an analysis. The admission statistics are much worse than this in some places like Indian Institutes of Technology ( IITs) in India.
Is having a hook for a hand considered a hook?
Come on guys, worrying about what is considered a “hook” at this point is futile. REA apps are in and decisions (almost certainly) have been made. Let’s focus on our other apps and make them as strong as possible.
To answer the questions though, I believe being a URM, legacy, or RECRUITED athlete (i.e. Stanford has gone out of their way to get in contact with you through a coach) is a hook.
For the hardship, it depends on how severely it Impacted you and how well you communicated it in your essays/additonal info.
For being “international”, it’s pretty well known that being an international applicant makes it tougher. But if you’re talking about how you offer a unique perspective because of your experiences, then I wouldn’t call that a hook but Stanford would definitely appreciate that. A kid from my school got into Harvard and Brown a couple of years ago and he spoke 12 languages (granted, he had other cool stuff to impress those schools with, but that was his one unique thing).