<p>Do you really want some hooks? If so, here they are:</p>
<ol>
<li>Being an athlete really helps!</li>
<li>At ivy schools, being good looking helps somewhat. If you search a thread for history of HYPS, you will see that I am not joking.</li>
<li>Special talent: winner of state wide competitions in art or music or sports, of course.</li>
<li>Being published in a national paper or magazine can be a big hook depending on the article.</li>
<li>Being a legacy can be a slight hook, although not as much as it would seem unless your parents were major donors.
6.If science, doing some high level research and getting either a grant or a patent.</li>
<li>If business, starting a successful business</li>
<li>Not needing any financial aid and noting that on the application always helps.</li>
<li>Attending a private school is always looked up favorably over attending a public school because the theory is that private school kids have less of a chance of needed financial aid.</li>
</ol>
<p>I somewhat disagree with number 9. I attend a private int'l school so perhaps you're talking about American private school students in America. But here, most of the Romanians attending my school are either paid for by their parents' business/ hotel chain they work for or are scholarship students and those won't extend past high school area into uni tuition. However, if your parents work for the UN, that's a good thing for tuition, until you're 21 or finish your bachelor's degree, whichever is sooner. They pay for a majority of it.</p>
<p>How do they know what you look like? Not everyone gets an opportuntity to interview. I guess if you state that you model on your application - they will get the "hint" LOL</p>
<p>What about the opposite of No. 8 - being poor but not a URM. Does that not offer some diversity to the student body?</p>
<p>No. 9: A lot of private schools offer financial aid so if you are getting financial aid at your h.s. - most likely, you will need it in college.</p>
<p>Hey, what if you are a professional clown and started your own business being a clown at kids birthday parties and of course donated your clown skills to the children's hospital? Ring,ring,ring!</p>
<p>Worldshopper, first,if you are good looking, always send a picture and, if possible,have an interview. </p>
<p>Second, being URM certainly is a hook. However, as I was told by a Yale trustee, schools like to bring in students who don't need financial aid. They may say that they are need blind,but they would certainly prefer full paying students. Remember, colleges are a business.</p>
<p>Third,Yes, a lot of private schools offer some aid; however, most colleges have figured out that student who attend private schools are generally from richer parents than those students found in public schools. Check out the acceptance rates into top universities from many of the better private schools. You will be shocked.</p>
<p>"2. At ivy schools, being good looking helps somewhat. If you search a thread for history of HYPS, you will see that I am not joking."
Probably</p>
<p>"3. Special talent: winner of state wide competitions in art or music or sports, of course."
Yep</p>
<p>"4. Being published in a national paper or magazine can be a big hook depending on the article."
Yep</p>
<p>"5. Being a legacy can be a slight hook, although not as much as it would seem unless your parents were major donors."
Agree</p>
<p>"6.If science, doing some high level research and getting either a grant or a patent."
this is true</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If business, starting a successful business
Naturally</p></li>
<li><p>Not needing any financial aid and noting that on the application always helps.
This I totally disagree with. Schools like Harvard and Princeton, for example, have tons of money and plenty of rich students who attend. Most applicants with wealthy parents and who live in populated areas are generic copies of eachother. So how would be a "generic" copy help your chances of admissions? Being low-income may not help you get aid at some schools, but it'll show that you have a lot of motivation, determination, and passion for what you do. Yes, I'm stating the truth. The average ivy applicant does have wealthy parents and does come from populated areas and achieves all they have only because their parents make them do so. </p></li>
<li><p>Attending a private school is always looked up favorably over attending a public school because the theory is that private school kids have less of a chance of needed financial aid."</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Again... Um... how is being a generic, rich, NE kid a hook?</p>
<p>taxguy: I have visited Princeton and while I did not see anyone who was downright ugly; I also did not think the student population was by any means overly attractive. If my looks will help me get into a college - would it be in my best interest than to submit a photo? What if I write an essay and attach a photo to the essay showing me doing what I talked about in the essay? If my looks will "help the process", by all means I am sending a photo!!</p>
<p>By the way taxguy: I think EVERY college wants an attractive student body (probably helps to recruit athletes!) And to be honest with you, I probably would not apply to a school that had a student body known for being unattractive. </p>
<p>Upon applying, there is NO way for the adcom to know what you look like. </p>
<p>It is kind of funny because I look at the kids in my class who are in front of me in rank and uh..... they are either foreign, very average looking or just plain dorky looking. I am not going to say any of them are ugly - that would be mean, but I am saying none are head turners.</p>
<p>You don't take my word and don't argue with me: If you don't think that looks play a part in the equation, read the article noted in the URL that I posted in post number 87. Many of top schools evaluate looks either based on a photograph or by the interview.</p>
<p>From the article, HYP in the past didn't necessarily take the best looking people; however, they didn't want somewho who was overly bad looking either. They wanted an overall strong package for prospective employers, which includes decent looks. Just read the the article noted in the url that I posted in post number 87</p>
<p>So would you say that being a very (as in model material) attractive girl with blue blood looks (coming from a low to moderate single family income), with great STATS be a hook?</p>
<p>I do not disagree that someone with better looks not only gets hired more, but often times they make more money.</p>
<p>Some colleges require photos, others do not. And the ones that do not require photos sometimes do not require interviews (UVA and William & Mary for example). </p>
<p>So, should I include a photo that relates to my essay. If looks MATTER in college admissions, by all means I am playing that card.</p>