The "Hook"

<p>Hello there!
I am a student from Bangladesh and I am going to try my shot at MIT, which has been my dream university, this year!</p>

<p>Anyways the matter regarding which I need some input is the "Hook". I consider my hook to be Martial Arts. I trained for more than 7 years, so it has been, I would say, one of the most important influences in my life. I got my Black Belt recently after a year long intensive black belt training. </p>

<p>So now I just need some input how it would be if I portrayed my hook as being a Black Belt? I also plan to base my essays on it, writing about both the physical and emotional aspect of it and its influence on me.</p>

<p>Any input would be appreciated!
Thanks in advance!</p>

<p>There is no "hook" which guarantees admission to MIT. However, it's great that you have a passion that you've pursued for a long time, not just to burnish a college application. Try to "tell a story" in the application; try to write different essays (short, long, and optional) that bring out your passion in different ways. For example, one might be about how you achieved the black belt, another about how you taught your skill to others, and another about a particular competition where you failed miserably but lived to tell the tale! You're fortunate to have at least one love you can continue to pursue later in life; try to tell MIT about it without bragging or touting yourself.</p>

<p>Being a black belt is not a hook at MIT. You probably don't have a hook. But that's okay! The overwhelming majority of accepted applicants don't have hooks! I can only think of a couple of people that I've known at MIT who I might say have hooks.</p>

<p>That's not to say that being a black belt isn't an admirable accomplishment - it is - or that it won't help you at all in admissions - it will. It definitely sounds like a good topic for you to write about! But a hook is something that will make the school want to admit you more or less based on that thing alone.</p>