I’d like to think that admission game for the ultra selective is like the stock market. All that has an impact is already factored in, and therefore there’s little room for individual investors to speculate. Look closely at the schools you are familiar with. School selectivity, academic rigor, school reputation locally and nationally, legacy, diversity, athletes… are all factored in the outcome. It’s true that matriculation stats are “exaggerated” by the existence of the hooked, but don’t you think they are exaggerated in ALL schools proportionally? The school that has two Harvard admits may still have one of them a hooked applicant. The school that has 10 could have 4 unhooked… It’s not easy to make it to top in rigorous prep schools, but it’s not easy to do so in an academically challenging magnet school or a competitive public high school either. Where you can easily make to the top, you don’t get much of a chance anyway because of its rigor perceived by AOs. There are 36,000+ high schools just in the US. It’s not difficult to find a school where you can make to the top, but it doesn’t mean your chance of getting in the ultra selective is any better. So, buckle up and work hard where you are, don’t try to find that magic bullet or shortcut, and stop whining! 
p.s. If there’s any hook you can “create” out of “the thin air”, it may be the geographic area diversity hook. Then you run the risk of moving to Montana and end up still not getting in your dream college in the end!