Admissions Expertise How important can athletics be as a hook for college admissions? Keep in mind that the notion of "hook" is borrowed from journalism where writers strive to hook the reader in with an attention getter. In that sense, athletics is a great attention getter. However, the first step in any college admission process is to determine that a student is capable of success. Highly selective colleges deny many students that demonstrate the potential for success, athletes included. Want to see all of Annie's expertise? Click here to see full profile Want to see more expertise in Student Athletes? Click here to see all expertise