The College Hook
By Pam Proctor
Center Street, 2007
$21.99 hardcover, 200 pages followed by two appendices, selected references, endnotes, and an index
Reviewed by Julie Vultaggio
Ph.D. Candidate in Higher Education Management
University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education
As implied by the two bright red lines gracing its cover – “Packaging Yourself to Win the College Admissions Game” – The College Hook is a comprehensive guide to the admissions process targeted towards prospective students. With her businesslike tenor and candid advice, Pam Proctor presents a user-friendly roadmap for college applicants covering everything from Hook-development to choosing schools, composing essays, and “working” the wait list.
Finding (and Selling) Your Inner Hook
According to Proctor, the key to surviving the “admissions bloodbath” (p. xii) is developing a marketing plan that focuses on students’ personal Hooks, which she defines more broadly than the hooks we admission folks are accustomed to hearing (e.g., athletes, legacies, minority students, and development cases). As the author notes, a Hook is a special talent, quality or achievement that will ensure a second glance and an acceptance letter from the applicant’s institution of choice; in other words, that coveted “something extra” (p. xi).
Following the sequence of an actual college admission process, the book is divided into four sections. Part I, entitled “Discovering Your Hook,” helps students identify their own something extras using personal and academic questionnaires. Part II provides chapter-long examples of the “Top Ten College Hooks,” including the usual suspects as well as some new players: the Humanitarian Hook, the Drama Hook, and the International Hook, to name a few. Moving from theory to practice, Part III describes how to “market” newfound Hooks in application essays, resumes and activity lists (notably, this section also includes how-to chapters on bolstering GPAs and test scores). Finally, the book concludes with a section on “selling” the Hook to admission officers, coaches and interviewers.
Helpful Hints (and Examples and Success Stories)
Prospective applicants reading The College Hook will likely appreciate Proctor’s useful tips for finding and developing strong, distinctive Hooks. Some of the most valuable aspects of the book include:
• Examples of Hooks that worked: While the author could write about Hooks until her computer died, we all know that it’s easier for students to learn from concrete examples. Aside from simply telling applicants what Hooks look like, the examples in Chapters 4-13 can help students think outside the box in terms of their own talents and achievements. In other words, knowing that not everyone fits into the athlete/legacy/development/ minority categories, Proctor provides ample opportunity for students to discover their own unique forte.
• “Bright Ideas” for bolstering a Hook: At the end of each example chapter, the author presents useful tips for developing and marketing certain Hooks. For instance, students with a Writing Hook are encouraged to write for local newspapers, apply for Young Writers Workshops and submit their work to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Those with Humanitarian Hooks might ask to be nominated for the Daily Points of Light Award or attend the Global Issues Seminar at Notre Dame. Science Hooks are directed towards the Young Epidemiology Scholars Competition and the Duke Talent Identification Program. While applicants may have excellent teachers and guidance counselors, these sorts of tips can only come from a seasoned insider.
• Noteworthy success stories: For every example of a Hook, there is a success story waiting to be shared. Thus, not only are students inspired to think differently about their personal qualities, but they can see those qualities in action through the tale of an admitted student. It was nice to see that only a handful of Proctor’s success stories had an Ivy ending; more often than not, her examples highlighted applicants whose hearts pumped for liberal arts schools or institutions with particular academic strengths. For me, this was a more realistic and representative view of the admission process than other how-to books promising tickets to top-tier institutions.
With its mixture of soul-searching activities and practical guidelines, The College Hook is an excellent resource for prospective students, parents and counselors alike. As Proctor notes in her final chapter, the process of finding, developing and marketing a Hook not only benefits students in the admission “game,” but it also empowers them to uncover and exhibit their true passion.