<p>It seems like everyone has something on here that they hope sets them apart from other people in hopes of getting into a good/top college.</p>
<p>What is yours? And where are you applying. I am curious after reading all the chances threads and reading the same things.</p>
<p>I'd say mine was my year abroad to Chile. I received the Rotary Scholarship and spent a year in South America (my whole junior year)...it was incredible. That about as "hookyish" as I can get.</p>
<p>Yea, a hook will help at times, but it is not all you need. One's "hook" is not automatically going to get he/she into a college of their choice. They need to have this hook on top of already outstanding grades and ECs (if they are looking at top colleges).</p>
<p>I don't really have a hook, but perhaps these things will help me:
-1st in NJ for Astronomy in Science Olympiad Competition
-Helped start the recycling program at my school
-Doing independent research with a Physics professor this summer</p>
<p>These things aren't "hooks", but they will help. Some schools I am looking at: (Reaches - Brown, Cornell, Swarthmore) (Matches - Lehigh, Bucknell, Case Western, Colgate) (Safeties - TBD)</p>
<p>Personally, I think the "hook" thing is a little blown out of proportion.</p>
<p>I don't have a hook, lol.</p>
<p>i've had stuff published in the national press....hook?</p>
<p>i am involved in every aspect of the performin arts. Poetry, Drama, Dance, Music..etc. I also plan on majoring in Musical theatre which is a huge hook into some great colleges. Oh yea.. im also a lettering player in basketball and track, which i am also co-capt. lol</p>
<p>oh yea...i have published poetry and used to medl for jc penny.</p>
<p>My hook was that I was a foster kid for 12 years living from house to house. I got into the Naval Academy, although my stats weren't too great. I'm also from Rhode Island, which helps a little bit.</p>
<p>GPA on a 4.0 scale: 3.72
Class Rank: 12/266</p>
<p>SAT:</p>
<p>Verbal: 630
Math: 680
Writing: 720</p>
<p>I was also an all state runner in hs.</p>
<p>When i had applied, I had four hooks:
a) self-teaching myself the AP chemistry curriculum and then getting a five.
b)listing playing dominoes with the family as my number one activity (at 5 hrs/wk, 52wks/yr) which showed a cultural side of me
c) my URM status
d) working 15/20 hrs./wk while holding down five AP classes this year.</p>
<p>I am Iraqi?</p>
<p>I don't think I really have an oustanding hook at all...but i guess I'm really involved with children in my ECs...I'm VP of a Save a Child Club, I'm on the Teen Advisory Board for an organization that helps low income children, my jobs involves kids, I'm organizing a huge book sale to benefit kids in Africa and I've also organized a clothing drive to donate clothes to low incomes children.</p>
<p>Eh. Some kind of weird Debate/Drama/URM combination. Probably more Debate and URM than Drama, sadly. :(</p>
<p>And applying to work at Disneyland! Haha</p>
<p>I won the ejaculation contest at my school...j/k</p>
<p>Um...OK..</p>
<p>Anyways, I wouldn't say the following activity is a HOOK, but it's something I love doing in my daily life and as an EC:</p>
<p>Planting/Environment Protection:
-Planting trees at a nearby tree planting partnership (expanding hrs this summer -->prb. 6hrs/wk.
-This summer becoming a member of the city's Nature Center and helping out by weeding off exotics, planting, etc.
-Oh yes, and I maintain a private garden. (Work on it about 4hrs/wk)</p>
<p>hey kevster1001, you wanna become my landscaper?, lol!</p>
<p>You know, shut up. That's not even funny. I'm gonna cut down all your trees and step over those well-manicured flowers. </p>
<p>JK. You just got punk'd lol</p>
<p>-URM
-HUGE theatre involvement (school and community level, some professional venues, even performed in San Francisco)
-make my own electronic/experimental/rap/techno music
-started my own newspaper</p>
<p>Hopefully I'll have a few more by the time I apply (I'm working on a bunch of writing contests and theatre projects)</p>
<p>maybe...
my essay
slightly unique activities/held a very stressful job
800 on verbal</p>
<p>I don't think every successful applicant to top schools had a major hook (at least I didn't).</p>
<p>Working 20-30 Hours a week Junior Year
Self-teaching myself AP Calculus AB to get to BC (my school doesn't allow students to go from precalc to BC)</p>
<p>I guess these might be considered "hooks".</p>
<p>I think a hook is something like you start something to help third world countries or something huge like that</p>
<p>Okay, I wanted to see what people think of my hooks:</p>
<p>1.I'm enrolled in a highly competitive private school which is based on a university campus (so I've been taking honors classes at a state, not community, college since my junior year of high school. No high school classes, just university classes)
2. I have a 4.0/4.0 in college (even though I have yet to graduate high school, technically).
3. I volunteer tutoring university classes.
4. I maintained a job working nights at a grocery store (30-40 hours a week) so that I could save for college.
5. I'm president of my student council.
6. National merit
7. Maybe my best hook, since I want to be a doctor: Last year, I spent a few months in a hospital for heart failure and I'm going to write on my application essay about how it changed my life and influenced me.
8. Also, I've been doing chemistry and engineering research at the college for the past 10 months or so, and the results have been published in science journals.</p>
<p>Despite this, my SATs are decent, not outstanding (around 2000) and I'm still waiting for my SAT IIs. What do you guys think?</p>