Can being the no. 1 student from TJ graduating class serve as a hook to top 10 universities?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some say the applicant has to be "well-rounded" (show leadership, volunteerism, not just be book smart etc.) and some say the applicant has to show "passion" (just be extremely talented in 1 area never mind being well rounded) because the selective colleges are building a "well rounded class" along with URMs, legacies and athletes and not seeking well rounded students. Aren't these contradictory?

These aren't really contradictory. For the individual applicant, passion is in and well-rounded is out. But the school is looking to build a well-rounded class. This well-rounded class will include 1000 (or however many) kids with passions: the state-champion oboist, the kid who started a NFP to save the Anacostia River, the kid who won a literary contest, the kid who interned with their Senator. All of these kids probably put their 10,000 hours into their passions, rather than being well-rounded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some say the applicant has to be "well-rounded" (show leadership, volunteerism, not just be book smart etc.) and some say the applicant has to show "passion" (just be extremely talented in 1 area never mind being well rounded) because the selective colleges are building a "well rounded class" along with URMs, legacies and athletes and not seeking well rounded students. Aren't these contradictory?

These aren't really contradictory. For the individual applicant, passion is in and well-rounded is out. But the school is looking to build a well-rounded class. This well-rounded class will include 1000 (or however many) kids with passions: the state-champion oboist, the kid who started a NFP to save the Anacostia River, the kid who won a literary contest, the kid who interned with their Senator. All of these kids probably put their 10,000 hours into their passions, rather than being well-rounded.

True, but in fairness, the kids whose primary hooks are passion and demonstrated achievement (national recognition) in a unique area will make up less than 5% of any entering class. So, if 1,000 are admitted fewer than 50 will have a HOOK (other than the big 3 Hooks).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some say the applicant has to be "well-rounded" (show leadership, volunteerism, not just be book smart etc.) and some say the applicant has to show "passion" (just be extremely talented in 1 area never mind being well rounded) because the selective colleges are building a "well rounded class" along with URMs, legacies and athletes and not seeking well rounded students. Aren't these contradictory?

These aren't really contradictory. For the individual applicant, passion is in and well-rounded is out. But the school is looking to build a well-rounded class. This well-rounded class will include 1000 (or however many) kids with passions: the state-champion oboist, the kid who started a NFP to save the Anacostia River, the kid who won a literary contest, the kid who interned with their Senator. All of these kids probably put their 10,000 hours into their passions, rather than being well-rounded.

True, but in fairness, the kids whose primary hooks are passion and demonstrated achievement (national recognition) in a unique area will make up less than 5% of any entering class. So, if 1,000 are admitted fewer than 50 will have a HOOK (other than the big 3 Hooks).

I think this depends on what school you are talking about. At the most competitive private universities, the ones that take less than 10% of applicants, there are usually 1000s of applicants, even 10,000 applicants, with super-high GPAs and SATs. This is when hooks (defined for now as passions, ECs) become important, because it's the only way one valedectorian is going to stand out from the 1000 valedectorians. I don't have the stats, but I'm not sure you do either; however, it seems pretty clear than at these highly selective colleges, passions/ECs explain far more than 5% of admits.

[Anonymous]

I think we need to define what we all mean by "hook". I don't know for sure myself, and I don't really care what we decide as a group. But we seem to be talking around each other, and maybe we can fix that.

So, hook" has been used in this forum to include any and all of:
(1) legacy
(2) athletic recruit
(3) URM
(4) good story - growing up in poverty, conquered illness
(5) passions/ECs
(6) great grades or SATs

I'd argue that the first 4 are hooks, definitely. I'm on the fence about (5). If the university needs a new oboist, that could be a hook, in the same way the school is looking to rebuild the football team to make the alums happy. But winning the state oboe championship, while very commendable, isn't a hook in my book, instead it falls in the category of, "here's an interesting kid who pursues her passion, and who might bring similar drive and motivation to a music major here, not to mention spicing up the annual talent show."

I don't think (6), including being valedectorian or NMSSF, is a hook. These are academic qualifications, pure and simple. You have SATs of 1400, you don't make the first cut. You have SATs over 2000 and GPA over 3.5, you make the first cut. Now we look at

[Anonymous]

^^5 and 6 are required of every applicant to a top university (although the importance of 6 may decrease as the others increase).

[Anonymous]

6 - relates to academics - the opposite of a "hook"

Every candidate is going to have some EC, but few rise above the "noise level" to the point where they act as a "hook" - likewise for a "good story"

Academics are the starting point at the most selective schools. "Hooks" are things that can get you in with less than stellar academics. But no one gets in without strong academics.