<p>Here is what I think the checklist is supposed to be. What am I missing?
1. 4.0 gpa
2. at least a 2,200 SAT score
3. well written teacher's recomendation
4. join clubs or participate in a sport (bonous points for being a club officer or mvp)
5. contribution to the community (ex:organize a beach cleanup every saturday)
7. talented in a certain field looking for students that are "well rounded" or the "reinaissance geniuses".
8. well written personal statement</p>
<p>If your lucky
6. Related to an alumni
7. Have lots of money ( based on rumors)</p>
<p>680 or better per SAT I section = SAT I above 2040. And demonstrated passion in one or two areas. Genuine talent academically & in one other area of interest such as acting, music, charity work, athletics or research. This is fairly accurate even for URMs, legacies & donors. Cornell is a bit easier. Dartmouth may want more well roundedness. Brown more creative. Penn's Wharton School places more emphasis on math.</p>
<p>"Or you could just get your dad to donate $20 million for the construction of a new building."</p>
<p>Or you could just ask daddy to give you $20 million and not go to college at all. You didn't see Paris Hilton attending an Ivy even though her dad could've bought her admission.</p>
<p>1) 4.0 GPA (almost all straight A's, a few B's are ok)
2) hard courses (atleast 5 AP classes, the kid who got accepted to Harvard two years ago at my school had nearly TWENTY AP CLASSES during his four years [he also had a perfect sat, perfect act, perfect SAT II's, and was a God])
3) participate in EC's/community service/hobbies outside of school, preferabbly with leadership positions
4) Awards of some sort of recognition for your talents
5) 2200-2250+ SAT, or 34+ ACT, and 750+ Sat II's</p>
<p>That is minimum I would say...</p>
<p>now "hooks" would be...</p>
<p>1) 2400 SAT (helps)
2) 10+ AP Classes and good AP scores
3) URM/Legacy
4) legitimate awards that take you above and beyond your peers and show you have a drive to accomplish something</p>
<p>and even then that's not guaranteed</p>
<p>"super hooks"</p>
<p>1) very rich/powerful family
2) extremely productive extra carriculars (writing books, high level research in difficult fields, and true work done at the college/graduate level)
3) a true love for LEARNING</p>
<p>then you are basically guaranteed</p>
<p>but, who cares about the ivies, college is supposed to be fun.... don't do the work for the school, you only add to their "chokehold" on true higher education.... DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO... you will be successful</p>
<p>ummm...it takes a lot of luck + 3.9UW + 2250 SAT + a great hook (USA-M/B/Ph-O, RSI, Olympic Participant, Book Author, TASP, Intel Finalist, etc)...and yeah, that's about it...</p>
<p>(affirmative action, legacy, and wealth don't hurt either :D)</p>
<p>There is no "cure to cancer," it isn't a pathogenic disease (except in a few cases)
So, would independent research at the NIH qualify as a "superhook"?</p>
<p>"The cure to cancer" is just a joke on the site.
It's pretty much saying unless you can cure something that's practically incurable than you're not really garunteed a spot.</p>