Can you give examples of hooks?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, get over the assumption that kids with hooks don’t have high test scores and great grades. They are all usually academic superstars and many are also legacies. Hooks that lead to admission:

1) URM
2) Athletic recruit
3) some sort of national level accomplishment

URMs and athletes can get into ivies with stats lower than UMBC. They are “superstars” only within their group - 99 percentile within their narrow, selected identity.

DD has scored 99 percentile on most standardized tests she has taken. There was never any asterisk indicating it was only 99th percentile of Black kids, but hey, continue with your narrative if that makes you feel better.

[Anonymous]

What does the university NEED? right now. Players for a particular sport, a particular position? a french horn player? more geographic diversity? Higher stats is always nice.

$ is something they need

[Anonymous]

Grandparent is a trustee of the college.

[Anonymous]

Every admission cycle, the discussion around hook comes up. Having gone through it with DS last year, I have given up on the entire process of hand wringing, hook, full pay, unique talent, internship, research, good grades/test score, etc. DS wasn't interested in schools that want to see him jump through hoops just to "look" interesting. He marched to his own drum and followed his own instincts. Got good grade, cared about his community, remained a kind hearted kid through it all.

We stopped worrying about whether the AO finds him interesting or if his sport is elite or niche enough. Parents, you don't have any control over any of that. Just spend the year focused on quality time, not fussing over what the AOs think and how the AOs compare your child with the next. None of it is productive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, get over the assumption that kids with hooks don’t have high test scores and great grades. They are all usually academic superstars and many are also legacies. Hooks that lead to admission:

1) URM
2) Athletic recruit
3) some sort of national level accomplishment

URMs and athletes can get into ivies with stats lower than UMBC. They are “superstars” only within their group - 99 percentile within their narrow, selected identity.

DD has scored 99 percentile on most standardized tests she has taken. There was never any asterisk indicating it was only 99th percentile of Black kids, but hey, continue with your narrative if that makes you feel better.

No school will say a kid scored 99 percentile within this group or that group.

I have never seen anyone getting anything because someone scored 99 percentile on some MS or HS metric. People evaluate people “holistically”. Remember Harvard? They invented “holistic” evaluation. 99 percentile ain’t all that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Think of the ways your child could be considered a victim, if there are any. Sadly, I'm not kidding.

^^This. Sadly, truth.

In the category of overcoming adversity. I knew 2 kids - one whose Dad died of suicide and one whose mom and brother died in car crash - smart but also stood out in their essays.

Seriously…dad in fed prison, loss of parent or sibling in childhood =compelling essay=hook! Sky’s the limit!

[Anonymous]

Befriend a university benefactor. Have this person write a letter on your student’s behalf.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every admission cycle, the discussion around hook comes up. Having gone through it with DS last year, I have given up on the entire process of hand wringing, hook, full pay, unique talent, internship, research, good grades/test score, etc. DS wasn't interested in schools that want to see him jump through hoops just to "look" interesting. He marched to his own drum and followed his own instincts. Got good grade, cared about his community, remained a kind hearted kid through it all.

We stopped worrying about whether the AO finds him interesting or if his sport is elite or niche enough. Parents, you don't have any control over any of that. Just spend the year focused on quality time, not fussing over what the AOs think and how the AOs compare your child with the next. None of it is productive.

I agree with this! After just going through the process, it just seems like a ridiculous game that you can never learn the rules, b/c there ARE no rules. You just have to have your kid do his/her best and most likely, they will be happy wherever they land.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every admission cycle, the discussion around hook comes up. Having gone through it with DS last year, I have given up on the entire process of hand wringing, hook, full pay, unique talent, internship, research, good grades/test score, etc. DS wasn't interested in schools that want to see him jump through hoops just to "look" interesting. He marched to his own drum and followed his own instincts. Got good grade, cared about his community, remained a kind hearted kid through it all.

We stopped worrying about whether the AO finds him interesting or if his sport is elite or niche enough. Parents, you don't have any control over any of that. Just spend the year focused on quality time, not fussing over what the AOs think and how the AOs compare your child with the next. None of it is productive.

I agree with this! After just going through the process, it just seems like a ridiculous game that you can never learn the rules, b/c there ARE no rules. You just have to have your kid do his/her best and most likely, they will be happy wherever they land.

Amen to that. After having two kids go through this process, with two more to go, we have come to the same conclusion. Let your kid live their life and stop jumping through hoops just to impress an adcom. This "game" has worn out its welcome with our family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Think of the ways your child could be considered a victim, if there are any. Sadly, I'm not kidding.

^^This. Sadly, truth.

In the category of overcoming adversity. I knew 2 kids - one whose Dad died of suicide and one whose mom and brother died in car crash - smart but also stood out in their essays.

Ugh. Frankly, most people have a story or some kind of sadness in their lives. If I read an essay about one of these things, I would just roll my eyes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, get over the assumption that kids with hooks don’t have high test scores and great grades. They are all usually academic superstars and many are also legacies. Hooks that lead to admission:

1) URM
2) Athletic recruit
3) some sort of national level accomplishment

URMs and athletes can get into ivies with stats lower than UMBC. They are “superstars” only within their group - 99 percentile within their narrow, selected identity.

Some of the “athletes” suck, but their parents make hefty donations (millions).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every admission cycle, the discussion around hook comes up. Having gone through it with DS last year, I have given up on the entire process of hand wringing, hook, full pay, unique talent, internship, research, good grades/test score, etc. DS wasn't interested in schools that want to see him jump through hoops just to "look" interesting. He marched to his own drum and followed his own instincts. Got good grade, cared about his community, remained a kind hearted kid through it all.

We stopped worrying about whether the AO finds him interesting or if his sport is elite or niche enough. Parents, you don't have any control over any of that. Just spend the year focused on quality time, not fussing over what the AOs think and how the AOs compare your child with the next. None of it is productive.

I agree with this! After just going through the process, it just seems like a ridiculous game that you can never learn the rules, b/c there ARE no rules. You just have to have your kid do his/her best and most likely, they will be happy wherever they land.

Amen to that. After having two kids go through this process, with two more to go, we have come to the same conclusion. Let your kid live their life and stop jumping through hoops just to impress an adcom. This "game" has worn out its welcome with our family.

X100000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Think of the ways your child could be considered a victim, if there are any. Sadly, I'm not kidding.

^^This. Sadly, truth.

In the category of overcoming adversity. I knew 2 kids - one whose Dad died of suicide and one whose mom and brother died in car crash - smart but also stood out in their essays.

Ugh. Frankly, most people have a story or some kind of sadness in their lives. If I read an essay about one of these things, I would just roll my eyes.

As someone who used to read these essays professionally, I can tell you that simply having any kind of sadness is not compelling. What is compelling is what the student did to overcome the adversity. It might be that they got up at 4:30 AM every day junior and senior year to make their way on public transportation from a homeless shelter to make it school where they tutored classmates for an hour before the 7:25 AM bell. My favorite essay was a girl who made and sold tamales after both parents were deported and left her in charge of 4 younger siblings. She didn’t go on and on about the deportation. She simply explained that was why she ended up running a profitable small business before she graduated HS. She talked about the skills it taught her and her younger siblings and helped them to have something positive to talk about during phone calls with the parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So if my white kid is a child of divorce and I am effectively a low income single mom (well I have him 99% of the time) is this being a victim or not? I am also an immigrant.

50% of marriages end in divorce. So, no big deal there.

Only 10% of ivy students are from divorced families.

This is bad advice. Definitely mention that his mom is a single mom somewhere on the application. Also play up the immigrant thing, if possible.. like if it can be weaved into the essay.

Top schools already have many immigrants and children of immigrants. It is different if you were a refugee who came here because you were seeking political asylum. Mom’s story would really need to be both compelling and tell something specific about the child’s extraordinary abilities or resilience. Like the mom has PTSD from nearly drowning crossing the Mediterranean on a rubber raft and the DS created a biofeedback app to help her during flashbacks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So if my white kid is a child of divorce and I am effectively a low income single mom (well I have him 99% of the time) is this being a victim or not? I am also an immigrant.

50% of marriages end in divorce. So, no big deal there.

Only 10% of ivy students are from divorced families.

This is bad advice. Definitely mention that his mom is a single mom somewhere on the application. Also play up the immigrant thing, if possible.. like if it can be weaved into the essay.

Top schools already have many immigrants and children of immigrants. It is different if you were a refugee who came here because you were seeking political asylum. Mom’s story would really need to be both compelling and tell something specific about the child’s extraordinary abilities or resilience. Like the mom has PTSD from nearly drowning crossing the Mediterranean on a rubber raft and the DS created a biofeedback app to help her during flashbacks.

OMG. This has got to be satire?