SoundOfAViolin

I stutter, this has hindered me at school. my stuttering is Terrible. However, I overcame it and wrote a book about tips for other stutterers, and started a public speaking/leadership club.

My parents went to college in some other part of the world. Im the first one to go to college in the USA. I was born in India but came here when i was 3, not sure if thats diversity.

The second one I dont think is a hook, is the stutter a hook? I have paperwork proving it and everything, I would think it counts as a disability. But this does not mean im dumb. This is the one time im trying to milk my stuttering lol .

Cm2400

Being the first generation to go to college in America is definitely a hook. Stuttering probably isn't a hook, but you could write your essay about it. Sounds like a very interesting topic and I'm glad you overcame it!

DrGoogle

You are not considered first generation. First generation means your parents never attended college/received a college degree anywhere, not just USA.
I think overcoming stuttering is very good topic, it did wonders to the CISCO CEO John Chambers.

SoundOfAViolin

Yeah, I can really write a lot and bring out my personality in that. And I wont just make it a I was deprived because I stutter. Rather, ill try to bring out the fact that I overcame it thorugh hard work and that i helped people in the course. Like I spent 3 hours a night just reading out loud for 5-6 years. And I think John Chambers had dyslexia not stuttering

Etuck24

As per the National Center of Educational Statistics, the definition of "First Generation Students" is: "Undergraduates Whose Parents Never Enrolled in Postsecondary Education"

Since your parents have enrolled in a college, anywhere, I don't think it counts.

Just doing a quick google search on the stuttering thing, I think it is a disability, but I'm confused to what you mean by you "overcame" it....is it no longer a problem, or do you just deal with it now?

I found this, didn't read it all the way, but perhaps it will answer the question
Is Stuttering a Disability? | People with Disabilities

SoundOfAViolin

Thank you Etuck for the indepth answer. One can never overcome stuttering in the traditional sense of getting rid of it. I have learned to cope with it and now, it shows only a few times. I just deal with it now because I have made up my mind that, my stutter makes me, and my personality,

DrGoogle

Post #4, I think he's also suffering from speech problem from my recollection, that's how he met his wife who's speech therapist.

SoundOfAViolin

Oh okay, I never knew that, yeh honestly I understand what these people go through. Its seriously hard, you have so much to say but you just cant say it because your mouth doesnt work. Its frustrating especially when people think you are stupid and "retarted."

Sikorsky

A hook is a quality of an applicant that meets a college or university's institutional want or need. For example, most colleges have a football team, and football teams need linebackers. So if you're one of the most sought-after high-school linebackers in Texas, that's a hook. Most colleges need generous donors. If you come from a family that is likely to bestow a major gift on the college, you're hooked. Most colleges want their alumni to be happy. Happy alumni donate to the college, and happy alumni are also good PR for the college. One way to make alumni happy is to give their children a leg-up in admissions. So if you're a legacy, admitting you would help fulfill an institutional want. Many colleges like celebrity students. When Emma Watson applied to Brown, and Chelsea Clinton applied to Stanford, they were hooked.

But do colleges have an institutional need or desire for students who stutter? Not really. A stutterer may have a compelling personal story, and he or she may be able to wring a superlative personal narrative out of an otherwise most unfortunate situation. A compelling story, well told, may make the applicant stand out in the pool of qualified students.

But, no, it's not really a hook.

entomom

^Excellent definition of a hook and the difference between a hook and an compelling story.

FlyMeToTheMoon

In our household we joke about my Amish heritage, and wouldn't it be great it my kids could use that as a hook. But...we don't think that is going to get them in.

SoundOfAViolin

Sikorsky, thank you for the explanation. Another question, would getting accepted into a UPENN Young Scholars Summer Undergraduate Course and getting an A in it help? I would think that showing the adcom that I excelled in their University in my intended major would help. But just want to know how much it would help. My Application is, I think great, My Ecs are really strong and exceptional, ACT Score is a 36 with Writing. SAT Subjects: Lit: 770, US, World: 800's. My GPA is a bit bad. by the end of this year im looking at a 3.7 but thats top 15 percent, not top ten. My high school has smart people, way too much lol.

T26E4

Don' tknow about the Penn summer class but your ACT 36 will definitely get peoples' attention.