“Hook” typically refers to recruited athletes or those with inherited attributes of interest to the college (donor relative, legacy, URM, faculty or staff relative – not all colleges consider all of these).
Yes, indeed! Each student competes against what s/he could have enrolled in. His is a
big school, but it’s pretty podunk on AP offerings…maybe 13? He will have taken every AP social studies class offered and AP Bio. Unfortunately, he had to choose between AP Lang & Comp this year versus AP Euro because of schedul conflicts. He went with the Euro since that’s his first love, plus already has 36R and 34E subscores. They signed him up for the AP Lang-Comp test even though he is only in the honors class. All in all, his rigor relative to what is offered is great… it’s just those A&Bs without weighting that are a bother. Thanks!
Thanks for the clarification. My only experience with the college search and targeting is with a parent forum elsewhere, and they described a “hook” somewhat differently. I’ll see if I can remove my comment… this is my first week on CC and am still learning terminology. Appreciate it!
Got it! Thanks for helping me figure out these terms… another parent forum uses the term differently, so I’m still catching on. 
I was asking @maya54 , who wrote the post. But, yeah, tell us which colleges he’s thinking about!
Very impressive. It will greatly enhance his application. For those colleges that allow a writing or arts supplement, he should submit the paper.
Not a “hook” though. Best way to think about a hook is by asking this question: Is the school proactively looking for students with that specific attribute?
For example: Are they seeking soccer players for the team? Yes. Are they seeking students whose parents have contributed $20M? Yes. Are they seeking qualified URMs? Yes. Are they seeking first-generation students? Yes.
Are they specifically seeking students who have written this paper? No.
My younger son wrote about a local history project he had worked on for one of his short essays. (Not anywhere near as impressive as your son’s project, but he wrote about it engagingly.) He also had a nearly perfect verbal score, and much lower score in math (SAT not ACT). I think being a verbal boy was helpful. He was a B+/A- student, but in the top 6% of his class. He took all the AP history classes, but none of the AP English ones. He did not get into the very most selective colleges he applied to, but did get into places like Tufts, Vassar, and the U of Chicago. As long as your son has a couple of safeties, and won’t be upset by rejections, I think he should base matches on grades, but be optimistic with regard to reaches.
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Actually, there is a consortium of about 50 colleges in the US, Canada, and elsewhere called Universities Studying Slavery. They are, in fact, looking for students who have conducted this kind of research and can also show others how to do it. The Lemon Project at W&M, The Roberson Project at Sewanee, tons of work at UVA (who started the consortium) and Georgetown, and so forth are projects other schools are picking up on. He’s been writing various profs at the above schools, plus UNC Chapel Hill, Furman, Rhodes, Elon, and I cannot remember where else. Will it help with admissions/merit? I’ve no clue, but within the past year he’s become pen pals with these various people, so maybe??
Congratulations to your son! Mine too is much better with the verbal. For certain career paths and degree programs, I wouldnt think that being terrific in all things is that important. He isn’t going to major in physics or engineering, but is competent enough to comprehend statistics and economics. We’ll have another look at his spreadsheet and add in the top 25% gpa. I just don’t want him to shoot too low, if you will. Safeties are a great thing, but having an entire list of them isn’t wise. Your sons acceptance at the above schools is TERRIFIC! They’d be lucky to have him.
@PolllyDactile , first off welcome. You son has some time to get the old GPA up a little more. Hopefully that can happen for him. I would say be happy that he is in that situation. My D19 knew some kids that were probably like 3.75-3.9 U/W GPA, but had ACTs around 27-29. Merit often was tougher to come by with those scores, which limited some of them where they could afford to attend. Not a ton of money for kids with a 28 especially out of state.
It would be tough for your son to get into a top 20 elite school with those stats. This board is filled with parents of kids with better stats that don’t get in. But as they say you never know if you don’t apply.
Hopefully he finishes this semester out strong and raises his GPA. With two great section scores already your son has a huge chance to up his composite score if a school superscores. Either way this is the money time. If money is tight or limited I would push him to prep like crazy and take the June ACT test. Try to get that score up to 33 or 34. Sadly a point or two can make a big difference in the amount of merit money. But with some hard work it can be done.
You can also tell him not much he does senior year matters, so push through to June and raise the GPA and the score a bit.
Your son has excellent credentials and will end up at a fine school. Yes, the top 30 or so colleges do expect uniform academic excellence in all subjects, but there are hundreds of places that offer outstanding educations. For reference, your son’s scores place him in the top fifty thousand ACT takers this year, which is sound.
Great advice, thanks! He hasn’t taken any prep classes yet, but we do know of a math tutor who holds one in the spring. His entire HS will do the ACT in March (weird time, I know) but summer tests will be tellilng. Thankfully, he isn’t into the ivies or super elites - in his mind, if he can save XX in undergrad but also have a terrific degree program, those funds can go to grad school or stay invested for later on. Best wishes to your daughter and thanks!
@PolllyDactile , my child is a bit the opposite. She has a 4.0 uw, 4.5 w, and a 1420 (still a very good score, but it did not go up at all from her PSAT). She is a senior and has gotten into 2 schools thus far (both with some merit), and with only a couple of reach schools on her list, I think she will get into at least 2 more schools. My suggestion is to not worry about it too much. Your child will find the right school and is currently doing quite well.
What a bright scholar she is! Congrats on her acceptances and merit. Had that counselor not raised the issue as a potential red flag, it never would have dawned on my son that the UW and ACT didn’t match. Here’s to finding the right batch of candidates. Best wishes to your girl.
@PolllyDactile my S18 had a 1350 and a 3.5 uw, 4.4 w; he’s not really in the same boat as your kid but he is also thriving in college. Ignore comments from the counselor that relate to things you can’t do anything about!
They are not hooks, but the various ways he’s engaged in his interest area might turn out to be tips. A lot will hang on just how he puts his apps together, so take time now to learn some of that strategy.
Have you mentioned what state you live in? And what reaches? I’m thinking the issue here may be less the mechanics of what gifted, honors, etc courses and just getting the right picture of him in his apps/supps. For the more competitive colleges, it helps to have some rounding in ECs- and some solid comm service with those in need (not just through any honor society or club, it’s a little more than volunteering.)
Seems I missed some posts. Yes, senior year matters as well (but this kid seems on the right track.)
“It would be tough for your son to get into a top 20 elite school with those stats.”
I’m not so sure we can say that, Granted, our picture is 2nd hand, but this seems like an energized kid. Not just that, but pursuing valid opportunities (not just stuffing in more titles or founding things.) We’d need to know more of the details. And you have to understand his targets/the reachy ones, to get an idea of what gaps there may be and how to fill them (not referring to stats.)
He would love to figure out what sort of strategy to use in, I guess, telling his story. I’m trying to help while he concentrates on school but am not sure how to proceed.
His ECs other than the history publications are that he’s an Eagle scout and served a couple terms as patrol leader. He volunteers with various conservation groups and Habitat for Humanity (none of which are associated with his clubs), plus the odd activity here and there. He has to track volunteer hours for “scout spirit” and has clocked in 270 in the past two years (but about 100 was his Eagle project). Started a teen book club a few years ago (still active), works part time for an eco-tourism outfitter. The typical student govt role, youth & govt, mock UN, legislative youth, political thinkers debate club, yada yada yada - that’s the stuff that ties into his preferred degree program.
We are in Louisiana.
Thanks for that! Glad to hear your son is doing so well - his stats are outstanding!
Believe it or not, coming from Louisiana could help him at many of the higher-tiered schools, as many search for geographic diversity.
They don’t often get kids from LA, as many tend to remain in state.