<p>I'm not a great student. I'm in all the AP's, but I have an 84 average.</p>
<p>People always tell me: "There's no way you'll get into (insert university name here) unless you have an obvious 'hook.'"</p>
<p>What are "hooks" (examples), and how do I get one?</p>
<p>I'm currently working on a book.. would getting my book published be a "hook?"</p>
<p>Hook me up with some "hooks." (no pun intended.)</p>
<p>A "hook" is just something that makes you particularly unique. Joining a club is not a "hook," but some major achievement in that club might be.</p>
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I'm currently working on a book.. would getting my book published be a "hook?"
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<p>Yes, and quite a good one too IMO. It rhymes too.</p>
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Hook me up with some "hooks."
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<p>My hook was going to the Math Olympiad Summer Program in 2006.</p>
<p><a href="no%20pun%20intended.">quote</a>
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<p>Yes it was. Admit it.</p>
<p>Wow, and I totally didn't sound like Dr. Seuss in my original post...</p>
<p>Something that really makes you stand out from the rest of the applicant pool; being an active member of a quickly-disappearing Native American tribe, curing cancer, spending a summer saving polar bears in Antarctica, etc.</p>
<p>Not really. Publishing a book is not a hook. Curing cancer isn't really a hook either.</p>
<p>Hernandez in her book (A for Admission IIRC...I read it a long time ago) goes through the "Tags and Flags." These are things like being a recruited athlete, from a certain geographical area, being a URM, being a female/male in a largely one-gender school, being a legacy, being a developmental case, etc. Things like this.</p>
<p>Although EC accomplishments may be unbelievable (like MOSP/IMO, publishing a book), I really don't think they're considered hooks. Just really strong advantages.</p>
<p>blast. i wish i could go save polar bears in antarctica D:. that actually sounds fun.</p>
<p>What if you have multiple hooks?</p>
<p>Yes, publishing your book would probably be a "hook" because it would make you stand out, unless it's a very negative title like "How to Build Effective Pipe Bombs on a Limited Budget." o.O</p>
<p>A "hook" could be as simple as a passionate commitment to a particular activity. geek_son had many ECs, but in one activity he had leadership, notable accomplishments, and volunteer service over the span of his high school career. His essays (and probably more than one of his recs) referred to his dedication to that activity, the personal growth he'd experienced from it, and some of the positive impact he'd had on others while pursuing that activity. It wasn't curing cancer or Habitat for Humanity or anything like that, just a normal EC that you would spend time in at school -- but he took joy in it and pursued it much further than many kids do.</p>
<p>I don't think most "hooks" compensate for an academic record that falls short of a given college's usual requirements; they just round out the applicant as an individual, an interesting human being the adcoms would like to see on campus next year. Even the legendary "hooks" like recruited athlete, disadvantaged URM, or Siemens finalist aren't by any means a sure ticket to the college of one's choice. Your best strategy, if you're an underclassman with top-college ambitions, is probably to buckle down and raise your grades (upward trends in grades are helpful) and prepare well for your standardized tests.</p>
<p>Athlete, legacy, URM, socioeconomic status</p>
<p>How is publishing a book not a hook? I think writing a book would be considered more of a high achievement in an EC. But actually getting a book PUBLISHED before you graduate high school? Do you have any idea how hard it is for most adults to find publishers for their novels? I would say getting a book published is a major hook.</p>
<p>My APUSH class did a photography exhibit project for the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. It is on display currently. We were also on NBC, in the regional newspaper, on NPR, and a few other places. </p>
<p>The only problem is grades. Would it look bad if you've had practically straight As and a C up until Junior year, in which the first semester you had like 3 As, 1 B, and two Cs, but improved it in the second semester? This is with three APs.</p>
<p>Because it makes you stand out, and only that. But legacy, URM, etc. are all different from anything else. Your file is in some way marked with that status. Publishing a book is unbelievable, but they don't add a tag to your file because of it.</p>
<p>A hook exists independently of everything else. It just 'is,' but it is made aware to all adcoms in a way that ECs are not. </p>
<p>Let me put it this way: If you sat in a room and did nothing, what would adcoms still know about you? Your race, legacy status, etc. These all have an effect on admissions. They just exist.</p>
<p>Publishing a book is a positioning effort, not a hook.</p>
<p>@obstinate</p>
<p>itd really depend. i mean, depending on the school, an ap can vary widely in difficulty. at my school, 6 aps junior year is the norm for the top 50 of the class, and most of us have no trouble getting straight As. if your ap classes are significantly harder or if all the kids around you are doing worse then its prolly not a problem.</p>
<p>a book is a hook (specially in a nook red by a cook) </p>
<p>but yes it is, bae ^ is nuts</p>
<p>Is being an immigrant a hook?</p>
<p>No, I'm really not. I'm just separating an actual hook from something else that will aid in your admissions.</p>
<p>Is getting a 2400 a hook? No. Is being val a hook? No. Is publishing a book a hook? No. Is being an IMO medalist a hook? No (unless they flag the files differently for those people, or recruit them).</p>
<p>Is being an athlete a hook? Yes. Is being a legacy a hook? Yes. Is being a development case a hook? Yes. Is being a URM a hook? Yes. Is being from an underrepresented geographical area a hook? Yes.</p>
<p>Do you really not see the fundamental difference between these two categories? But hey, don't listen to me; I'm just getting my info from the adcoms themselves!</p>
<p>Another way to think about it: The actual hooks are tip factors. If you have two equally qualified candidates (academically), do you pick the IMO medalist or the author with a published book? It's not so clear-cut.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if you have two equally qualified candidates, and one is a URM/legacy/developmental case/first-gen while the other is not, the first one will get in (adcoms have no problem saying this). </p>
<p>That is what makes the latter traits hooks. They are clear tip factors.</p>
<p>@ Baelor:</p>
<p>Being a GOOD athlete is a hook.</p>
<p>Many people confuse hooks and ECs. People (mis)use the term hook to mean doing anything really well. But more typically those things are ECs rather than hooks. A true hook is some trait you have that is <em>of benefit to the school</em>.</p>
<p>The standard hooks are Recruited athlete, URM, Very rich ("developmental admit"), Legacy, Famous, Politically-connected, or child of someone rich, famous, or politically-connected.</p>
<p>So writing a book is a good EC - unless the book is a best seller and makes you rich and famous, THEN you would have a hook. But the hook would be being rich and famous, not writing a book as such. Being a talented figure skater would be an EC - unless you win the Olympic gold medal, then it would be a hook. Because having a famous Olympic athlete enroll would be of benefit to the school.</p>
<p>^^Right. I was talking about recruited athletes. At some schools, they are pooled with the normal candidates (a sort of uber-hook). At others, they are considered separately so the term "hook" becomes meaningless.</p>
<p>^EXACTLY. Thanks coureur. I'm not trying to diminish anyone's accomplishments by any means. I'm just arguing minutiae.</p>
<p>which geographical areas are underrepresented?</p>