Can you give examples of hooks?

[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.

Thank you! This is not OP by the way

[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.

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.

The vast majority of kids in this area should follow this advice and just enjoy their middle and upper middle class lives & high school experiences, instead of trying to figure out a way to "game" admissions. Kids will be much happier and parents won't be disappointed when decisions are released.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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?

No one wants to read “My mom is an immigrant and my parents divorced.” That tells nothing about the student. What did the student do with the adversity he or she faced? Admissions is not supposed to be a consolation prize to parents.

[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.

....no. Check out many prominent college counselors. College essay guy mentions this in a couple YouTube videos, for example.

[Anonymous]

The victim route worked for me. I identified as a lessor known minority group ( Grandfather). With mediocre scores, I easily got into Penn. Shocked my teachers.

[Anonymous]

SNL had some thoughts:

https://youtu.be/DFia7FhVmuM

[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.

Immigrant mom here. The facts are as follows: we came on my spouse’s work visa, I didn’t have a right to work, power imbalance led to emotional and financial abuse. We both received green cards and my ex immediately left, I had to scramble for a job of any kind (but also had child support). The kid emerged relatively unscathed because unlike the tamale mom upthread I didn’t have a bunch of kids whom I then put in a precarious situation. So the kid really didn’t struggle much (so far) but it was harder for him to have the middle class opportunities (I had to scrimp and save for his needs).
I am not sure I can spin it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Pretty powerful. But I can't imagine that people who ask about hooks on DCUM have a story that's anything like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SNL had some thoughts:

https://youtu.be/DFia7FhVmuM

[Anonymous]

Thanks!

This is OP. I’m surprised to see so many replies! I’m not going to ask my kids to cure cancer. I was mainly curious what people think of as hooks when they refer to their kid as “hooked” or “unhooked.”

I guess I’ll donate 10M to school. Haha.

I know it’ll all be okay, and I like the advice to enjoy the time now. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Immigrant mom here. The facts are as follows: we came on my spouse’s work visa, I didn’t have a right to work, power imbalance led to emotional and financial abuse. We both received green cards and my ex immediately left, I had to scramble for a job of any kind (but also had child support). The kid emerged relatively unscathed because unlike the tamale mom upthread I didn’t have a bunch of kids whom I then put in a precarious situation. So the kid really didn’t struggle much (so far) but it was harder for him to have the middle class opportunities (I had to scrimp and save for his needs).
I am not sure I can spin it.

The only thing missing is you should say your biggest mistake you made in your life was marrying an abusive immigrant from X (fill in the blank). Complete your story by saying you are now married to a Christian American.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

No one wants to read “My mom is an immigrant and my parents divorced.” That tells nothing about the student. What did the student do with the adversity he or she faced? Admissions is not supposed to be a consolation prize to parents.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SNL had some thoughts:

https://youtu.be/DFia7FhVmuM

+1

NAILED. IT.

[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.

-1

Unless mom is the actual applicant, which she isn’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP: Would you all say a national first place award is a hook for sure? It wasn't a huge thing like Regeneron or YoungArts, but it was still a national competition with finalists being paid to travel to compete in the final round. I feel like it's not enough because she didn't cure cancer or save a species of wildlife or start a nonprofit -- shame on her! Hahaha. This game is insane.

Anyone willing to weigh in?