Real Life “Hook” examples

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I consider full pay a hook.

At highly selective schools, full pay is not a hook. Not even close. Most of them are need-blind to begin with. Full pay really only comes into play for the waitlist and recent years see few waitlist admits.

+1

This. You are immersed, my friend!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Homeschooling?

Not so much, because there is more homeschooling since covid.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:hook as talked about on here or on any other college board is:

-legacy
-faculty kid
-athlete
-recruited athlete.

It's not to say that being the world's top Rubik's cuber or starter of 10 non-profits won't help with admissions--just that these sort of things are not "HOOKS"

Oops. Error in my post. I write athlete twice in lieu of URM.

Faculty kid is questionable - the largest flagship in the country (UC system), with probably 6 of the Top 50 schools in the country, doesn't give a rip if you have a parent bringing in millions of dollars of research revenue, and they certainly don't care about the adjunct guy teaching one class each quarter.

I don't know anything about the UC system, but I can say with 100 percent confidence that being a faculty/staff offspring gives you a thumb on the scale at Georgetown, Princeton, and Penn.

Yes. All top tier privates

Only if you the applicant has the qualifications, to begin with.

Again, speaking only of Georgetown, Princeton, and Penn: thumb on the scale. I.e., they take applicants who are less qualified than the vast majority of unhooked admitted students.

That's the thing about a hook. If you're hooked, the qualifications are relaxed for you.

Not in my actual experience.

You seem misinformed.

I'm not. The reason I can speak with confidence about those three schools is that I have first-hand experience with them.

Yes, that is what in my actual experience means. Your experience does not speak for all.

LOL sorry your kid didn't get in! Maybe you're not really faculty or staff ...?

Wrong again, my pretty!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Being the child of someone famous or super rich.

+1

Bingo.

Hello, Duke [and others - that are MUCH higher ]

[Anonymous]

Shocking that more posters do not know what a true hook is, nor can identify a true hook.

C'est la vie.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having a special talent isn’t a hook. It’s legacy, large donor, athletic recruit, urm, first Gen, and pell eligible

What about faculty kids?

Yale doesn’t accept most faculty kids but they do pay the tuition for those kids to go elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

This girl is at Harvard now. I would consider her accomplishments a hook.

https://ebunoguntola.com/


Ebun was commissioned by Chamber Music Pittsburgh to compose a solo violin piece, for Grammy-award winning violinist, Johnny Gandelsman (to be premiered in January). She also independently produced and composed music for a virtual concert that musically narrated the grievous events of 2020 with cultural stylistic influences, featuring Johnny Gandelsman. This was additionally showcased on I CARE IF YOU LISTEN TV and featured on the Facebook page of Music by Black Composers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This girl is at Harvard now. I would consider her accomplishments a hook.

https://ebunoguntola.com/


Ebun was commissioned by Chamber Music Pittsburgh to compose a solo violin piece, for Grammy-award winning violinist, Johnny Gandelsman (to be premiered in January). She also independently produced and composed music for a virtual concert that musically narrated the grievous events of 2020 with cultural stylistic influences, featuring Johnny Gandelsman. This was additionally showcased on I CARE IF YOU LISTEN TV and featured on the Facebook page of Music by Black Composers.

Spike, not hook. Just a matter of terminology.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love how the breathless in here pretend that the Class of 2028 at every T20 will overflow with caricatures of the highest performer they can think of ... reminds me of a funny e-mail I received earlier this fall.

What it takes to be accepted to the following schools, if you bother listening to anyone else:

Stanford University: Reanimate the dead. Invent faster than light travel or time travel. Win the Fields Medal. Start Silicon Valley unicorn. Establish new proof of Fermat's Theorem. Become President or Vice President of the United States of America.

Ivy League: Cure cancer. Discover proof of extraterrestrial life. Win the Nobel Peace Prize. Become Head of State of a small country. Win an Oscar.

Top 20: Olympic athlete. Start a non-profit that raises a million dollars for charity. Publish original, peer-reviewed scientific research that solves a mystery of the universe. Win an Emmy.

State Flagship: Date Taylor Swift. Build an entire neighborhood by hand. Create a new element with a short half-life. Win a Grammy.

State School: Lead in school play. Varsity sports. Part-time job. Have a pulse.

It's just ... ugh ... the data is there ... it's not just kids with hooks that get into T20 schools without a 4.00 UWGPA + 20 AP exams scored at 5 + 1600/36 standardized test + multivariable calculus competed in utero. It's just not. It's unremarkable kids that go to school alongside our kids every day, and have a pretty basic, mundane existence, for the most part.

But if you listen to people, boy, I tell you ...

I haven't read all the replies, but this is awesome!! Thank you PP for a good laugh tonight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having a special talent isn’t a hook. It’s legacy, large donor, athletic recruit, urm, first Gen, and pell eligible

What about faculty kids?

Yale doesn’t accept most faculty kids but they do pay the tuition for those kids to go elsewhere.

If Yale is like most colleges, Yale only pays ac ertain amount, after XX number of years, and only a certain percentage (usually only 1/3, and only after 5-10 years, full time). As you likely know, this benefit is grandfathered in, but quickly being phased out.

You can thank the administration of said school, for the recent phasing out process, as covid, and its temporary 5-10% tuition reductions, were a consideration.

[Anonymous]

Can you all expand on the hook for URM?
How much does this boost admission chances?
Does this hook work at most US colleges?

If someone could provide a real life example of how this hook worked for their family, it would be much appreciated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you all expand on the hook for URM?
How much does this boost admission chances?
Does this hook work at most US colleges?

If someone could provide a real life example of how this hook worked for their family, it would be much appreciated.

Very much. It's like you've won an Olympic medal.

[Anonymous]

Does URM include anyone who is not a white male? Is a young black teen considered an URM for college admission purposes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does URM include anyone who is not a white male? Is a young black teen considered an URM for college admission purposes?

Huh? You forgot Asians?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does URM include anyone who is not a white male? Is a young black teen considered an URM for college admission purposes?

URM = black, Hispanic, Native American
ORM - white, Asian