Hooks

Applying to College
1

Hello CC,

Would you view a male equestrian who is very devoted to the sport (and quite skilled) as a hooked applicant? I do equine photography and have sold photographs, I am a member of many equestrian organizations, and I volunteer at a Therapeutic Equestrian Center. I also hope to secure an internship at a horse media company. In the summer, I will be interning as a trainer at a renowned camp in Poland… I also speak 4 languages-with English being a second language that I speak with fluency. My first language is Polish, and being of the Polish ancestry, I am deeply involved with my culture. The other two languages are Spanish and German. There is also a possibility that I may take up French before the end of high school.

Or are these just strong extracurriculars? Thanks for clarifying.

2

A hook is something that guarantees an increased chance of admission to certain schools that honor them. It includes URMs, legacies, first generations, having a wealthy parent who can donate a ton of money, and recruited athletes.

What you have are some very strong (and unique) ECs, but I wouldn’t say they’re hooks… unless you try to get recruited.

3

It may actually work against you depending on the admissions officer. They may see you as “privileged” since you are involved in an extremely expensive hobby(at least at the higher levels).

4

Exactly, and very interesting as well.

5

Do equestrian teams recruit? That would be the only hook.

6

I think NCAA equestrian teams are female only, if I recall correctly. No eventing for sure.

7

It would only be a “hook” if the school has an equestrian team and you are a recruited athlete. Other than that it is a nice/interesting activity.

8

@AnEpicIndian Having a donor as a parent isn’t a hook. People donate to Harvard - just for one - to try to get their kids in and to no avail, they get rejected. It’s called a donation for a reason. Look it up.

But yes, hooks only include: URMs (URMs in a field could help you as well), legacies, first generations, and recruited athletes. But it varies for school. MIT does not consider legacy status or donor status in their admissions process for example.

9

@StanfordSwag Actually, parents as donors can be a hook, but it has to be a very very large donation (like name a building after them large). Hooks are more complicated than your list, not all of those are guaranteed hooks and there are others as well.

10

@Stanfordswag I believe the comment said “donate a ton of money” which is different than sending in a $25 check every year… and yes, putting up a building, funding a scholarship etc is a hook even at the top schools (I’ve seen it). But a hook is not a guarantee of the children being admitted (which is why it is called a donation not a bribe) , it just provides the applicant with an advantage in the admission process.

11

@happy1 Why, of course they were talking about more than $25 a year; where did you get that from?

Anywho. Have yourself/parents donate millions of dollars to said insitution and tell me how much that has helped you.

12

^^^It helps plenty – I’ve seen big college donations impacting admissions in my town.