Do you think this a good hook?

Question

I've been looking at the internet over the past couple of weeks and a common theme I see about applying to college is the ability to distinguish oneself from other candidates. I've been thinking about all the things I do and I've been wondering how to make myself unique.

My dream school is MIT and my other top schools are Stanford, Harvey-Mudd, Caltech, etc.

I guess the most unique thing about me is that I started and am now running an open-source software project that deals with distributed computing. I also am in the process of getting together a online green energy retail store.

My intended major would most probably be computer science, although that is subject to change.

What's been bugging me over the past few days is whether this is unique enough. I don't know enough people who are applying to these schools to make this kind of judgment. I was kind of hoping that maybe you guys will.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Being unique isn't what is important.  I have six toes.  (Ok, I actually don't, but I could have.)  Do you think that will help me?  Nope.  You need to be unique doing something impressive.  Starting an online business, in itself, is not impressive.  This could mean anything from selling your old clothes on eBay (not impressive) to starting Amazon (impressive).  So it depends on what type of effort you have put into it.  If you have demonstrated your passion through significant effort in your business, then sure it could be unique enough in the way you want it to be.  It's the passion that schools care about, not the uniqueness.  However, passion is a rare commodity and often breeds uniqueness.

But you will need to have everything else (GPA, scores, recs, essays, etc) at a very high level, no matter what makes you unique.  This business will hardly be enough without the rest of it.

Just for your own info, I got into one of these schools and this is what I did to distinguish myself: I had a 4.0.  I had taken 7 math and physics classes at a local university (not a community college) by the time I graduated high school.  These ranged from honors freshman level up to a graduate level course.  And I had worked with a professor doing original math research.  I don't bring this up to brag, but simply to tell you what worked for someone else.

MM · Answer

Never mind that I think you're severely overestimating the number of applicants who are going to have even tried to set up their own businesses: if you can't sell a college on the person who put them together even half as effectively as you persuaded people to work on them with you, I fear for your future in the high-tech industry.

In other words, yes, you're unique enough.  Quit worrying about that aspect and get to work on the actual applications.

? · Answer

I watched the 1975 and 1976 worldwide sequence and how properly the great pink gadget did. I became partial to the reds then and have accompanied them provided that. Later i began out preserving up on all of the communities and subscribing to baseball magazines, newsletters, etc., and getting on baseball web pages. Now i'm a entire addict and completely love this mind-blowing game. So happy it became a substantial area of my existence.

Autumn · Answer

Starting and running businesses at a young age is a GREAT hook! Very unique also. Do you hear of any other kids doing things like that? I sure don't.

Best of luck.

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Do you think this a good hook?

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