<p>Is spending 4 years of life (with studying at an international school) a hook as well? My family was sent to live in china for 4 yrs because of my dads job.</p>
<p>No, not a "hook" in the traditional sense. But it gives you interesting, more worldly perspective, perhaps.</p>
<p>i don't think that's a hook, unless you mean something that's a bit different from others (not the URM, legacy kind of hook?). it DOES, however, give you a bit of an edge because you speak several languages and you now have something interesting to write about for an essay! haha. but then again, that's just me :P</p>
<p>edit:
woah. cmao, i was answering your question but for some weird reason my post appeared on top of yours? i think it has something to do with time zones. anyways, i was answering your question, so don't get confused by it being on top :P</p>
<p>^ if that were a hook, every single international student in hong kong, china, korea, japan, taiwon, philippines, malaysia and singapore would be rampaging all of the top schools - more so than we're doing now XD</p>
<p>or if you mean like you lived in... let's say, texas and then your dad got this awesome job and you spent four years there and you currently reside in texas or your dad got ANOTHER awesome job and you moved to sweden or somewhere not in china, then yes that could be interesting in its own way. not entirely a hook, but it isn't nothing.</p>
<p>thanks everyone :)
I do agree on the "not entirely a hook" part. But I'm not sure I have a hook!! <em>sob</em></p>
<p>This is a rather interesting discussion. It is indeed hard to clearly define what a hook is. I suspect that what a lot of people consider special about themselves may be things that schools see over and over again. Something that one takes completely for granted may be the thing that a school is really impressed with. I mean, think about it. Read through the chances threads. Everyone really starts to blend together rather quickly. Successful applicants may have mentioned something in passing during the interview that, for one reason or another, really piqued the adcom's interest.</p>
<p>It could be anything....like the you have a pet fish named Mongo or that you're fascinated with Europa, or that you've never eaten an olive. I know these are silly examples. I guess my point is that we all take ourselves and our children for granted sometimes. Everyone else is always talking about what makes people special, and we tend to start listening and conforming - highlighting the same parts of the application that everyone else is. How many EC's do you have??? I need more community service!!! Is 90% good enough???</p>
<p>Be yourself. Everyone has something wonderful about them and chances are, you may not even know what that most wonderful part is. Hopefully, over the next four years, we will all find out what that something really is.</p>
<p>If someone is 1/2 Mexican, is that a hook? (I am not counting non-affirmative action schools like the UCs)</p>
<p>Undclrd, you may want to ask this question again in the College Admissions section. Unlike some colleges and universities, boarding schools are not bound by AA restrictions due to the fact that they are not typically recipients of Fed dollars. A BS can admit applicants of their choice with without being tagged as discriminatory (competing applicants may feel that this is practice is discriminatory but that's an entirely different matter). </p>
<p>but I would imagine that in a school embraces diversity through AA, Mexican heritage would definitely be plus.</p>
<p>I came from a not-so-famous third world country called the philippines. (:
Does that count as a hook?thank you(:</p>
<p>does living through hurricane Katrina count as a hook?
does seeing snow for the first time (after moving out of the country) this past year count as a hook?</p>
<p>my parents tend to think so, but I don't. I'm not trilingual or an amazing award-winning saxophinist (though I take French and play the saxophone).</p>
<p>Can a hook really be something you had no control over? I mean, life-changing experiences might be a tipping factor. I just don't think that I'm exemplary. There are so many people on here htat have all sorts of talents and EC's that I don't have. Do I possibly have any chance of competing? </p>
<p>I just feel kind of inadequate.</p>
<p>Izzy-</p>
<p>Life changing experiences can indeed be a hook. Part of what great schools are looking for is breadth of experience. What can you bring to the (Harkness?) table that is rare? What perspective can you offer your classmates that will make the school a better place to learn? Living through an horrific hurricane, California wildfires, a devastating tsunami, or a town-leveling tornado are not within your control, but they do give you a perspective that is different from that of your peers. </p>
<p>Good schools recognize this and try to ensure that the student body is well-represented... not just with students from different states, countries, and nationalities, but with students who bring a variety of experiences and unique perspective.</p>
<p>i love mimsyborogove's response:)</p>
<p>Yay, I’m from Idaho! Of the 11 or so Exeter applicants from Idaho, only one was offered admission. (And he didn’t end up going). Maybe that’s not such a big hook.</p>
<p>wow i feel bad for you sorry i cant imagine living in idaho. i hope you live in boise. and not a potato field haah</p>
<p>Wait, so for applying to Hotchkiss, my father is an alumni, I am African American, have played the viola for 5 years, been in girl scouts for 8 years, achieving my bronze and silver awards, and have won awards in music…are those hooks that would make a diference (excuse my grammer)</p>
<p>is having 3 published scientific papers a hook?</p>
<p>Being African American I would say is a hook. Playing viola is not if you don’t have any award winning experience but since you say you have in music then I guess so, but a lot of the applicants probably have music awards. Girl Scouts isn’t really a hook. Though, even if its not a “hook” it still looks good.</p>
<p>what about South Africa?</p>