<p>This morning, a guidance counselor from California told other readers of the NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling) discussion forum that she feels as if more students are receiving Likely Letters than in the past. (Likely Letters arent official acceptances but the next best thing. Most commonly theyre used by Ivy League institutions to get a jump on promising candidates before the agreed-upon notification date. Other colleges sometimes use them, too.)</p>
<p>Ive observed perhaps a slight spike in Likely numbers this year, but what really surprised me was the* timing.* For instance, a neighbors son got a Likely Letter from Yale in January so early that he suspected a hoax (but it wasnt). And his Likely Letter came in the form of a phone call (well, the call came first to announce the letter soon to follow). </p>
<p>For those CC members who have been around the admissions process for a while (parents, school counselors, independent counselors, etc.) have you noticed a bump in the number of students who received Likely Letters or equivalent forms of early promises?</p>
<p>I asked this very question a couple of weeks ago when a member reported having 4 likely letters. In my time here at CC, this is the most I’ve every heard reported by far.</p>
<p>Thanks, entomom. You help confirm what I and others are surmising.</p>
<p>If colleges, especially the Ivies, are indeed using Likely Letters more than in the past, the admission folks would probably explain it by saying that electronic applications, along with other technological improvements in the way that admission offices process them, have allowed for faster, earlier admission verdicts. And this, in turn, makes it feasible to send a greater number of Likely Letters before the official notification date.</p>
<p>I do believe that this is true, but I also think that all colleges–even the most sought-after ones–are more marketing-savvy than ever before and are hoping that the early bird will get the worm.</p>
<p>We were all surprised at how this played out for my son. He got one EA acceptance at an Ivy (Princeton) and now has two likely letters (Brown and Standford) in hand. He has all his decisions.</p>
<p>I was actually hoping the last one (Brown) wouldn’t come so he could share in all the suspense that his friends are experiencing.</p>
<p>In some ways I think the Stanford likely has had the exact opposite effect that it was supposed to have had. He has had it since the end of February so the excitement of getting in has worn off. </p>
<p>My older son with similar credentials went through this two years ago. Although he was accepted to the three schools he applied to he received no likely letters.</p>
<p>I know someone who got into several ivies (HPCP and Stanford) three years ago and not a single likely although he was a top notch student. </p>
<p>In the current batch, I have been hearing of likelies being received every week from Columbia starting in early February (even this past sunday) and some on and off from Brown, Cornell and Dartmouth as well as Duke. Most of Yale’s LLs seem to have been issued in one shot for their STEM program and UPenn seems to have issued them also in one shot.</p>
<p>It’s interesting that soomoo and texaspg have observed the same uptick in Likely Letters that others are seeing and it’s also interesting that the Stanford letter had the opposite effect on soomoo’s son than what was intended. (Stanford marketing mavens take note ;))</p>
<p>Personally, I’m not a big fan of Likely Letters. Although I realize that it’s nice to have some students put out of their misery as soon as possible, these letters generate a lot panic among those who DON’T get them, including applicants who WILL eventually be accepted.</p>
<p>Although it can also be stressful to wait to a specified late-March date to get news, good or bad, I think it’s LESS stressful to at least have a date in mind. The seemingly random arrival of Likely Letters (or phone calls or emails) can add unnecessary anxiety to EVERY day for weeks.</p>
<p>^I agree completely. I think likely letters take away the “magic” of finding out your decision the same day as everyone else (well, almost everyone else). It’s nice to know that you are among the top applicants to a school, but I think it causes more unnecessary stress and panic than what good it does.</p>
<p>I also agree there is an increase in the number of likely letters given this year. In the cornell board, for example, I see a lot of posters who received likely letters. It seems that likely letters are starting to be sent simply to those applicants whose decision has already been decided, particularly for URMs.</p>
<p>As a parent of an HYP candidate who has received 0 likely letters I can’t help but wonder, 1. Is he going to be rejected from all Ivies or 2. Are these letters going to URMs and geographic desirables? Makes the wait more excruciating…</p>
<p>Last year, I got into 3 out of HYPSM and got no likely letters to any of those. I did, however, get likelies to both Dartmouth and Duke. I think Duke uses likelies to try and attract some of their super competitive full ride scholarship winners (I was not one of these), and Dartmouth tries to lure people away from HYPSM. I know my Dartmouth interviewer was made aware of my likely letter and he spent some time trying to persuade me. Now that HYPS all have single choice EA programs, I can imagine Cornell and Dartmouth trying extra hard to get those students to come to their schools instead.</p>
<p>I also know that Yale has made some effort recently to attract STEM people. One friend of mine was given an invitation last year to a special STEM weekend, though it evidently wasn’t enough to convince him. ^_^</p>
<p>I got a likely letter from…weirdly enough…Lawrence University! I auditioned for music and got a letter from the professor saying I had a strong audition and that he “support[ed] my application” and recommended me to the Admissions Committee. Of course, they cover themselves by noting it’s not 100%.</p>
<p>I think it makes a lot of sense for music schools to do it if a candidate demonstrates exceptional talent, especially relative to the rest of the applicant pool (not to toot my own clarinet or anything, it just makes sense).</p>
<p>Last year I applied and was accepted ED to Dartmouth. Upon hearing of my acceptance I withdrew all my applications, well I thought I did, but I ended up getting a likely from Cornell. </p>
<p>Anyways over the past few months I’ve noticed, at least what it appears to me, an increase in likely letters compared with recent years. </p>
<p>Do members of CC think this surge in likely letters is due to HYPSM all having EA policies?</p>
<p>At my school I was one of 5 likely letters to Cornell. We all got them in an e-mail where the main topic was not even the fact we were accepted. Also for those who applied to the engineering school, the e-mails arrived exactly 1 hour before our MIT response was due. MIT responded at 6:28pm, the e-mail arrived at 5:28pm. I thought it was kinda weird.</p>
<p>This year I have heard of likely letters from top LAC’s, like Swarthmore and Williams. Also, “early writes” from places like Wesleyan a good 3 wks before the rest of RD applicants hear back. I think the practice further stratifies the admissions process for cream-of-the-crop vs everyone else.</p>
<p>Could the increase is LLs be due to the overall increase in the number of schools a student is applying to? The endless cycle of more applications=lower acceptance rates could be the cause.</p>
<p>Yeah, I got 5 likely letters (1 ivy, 2 top 20 schools). Completely unexpected, and somewhat fishy. hmmm @BBLFR07, I just noticed that about the Cornell email. lol, so weirdd.</p>
<p>Likely letters are a cheap ploy by colleges to woo students without offering them any additional substance. I remember being blown away when I received one, and was of course ecstatic, and played right into their hands: I was looking more at that university than I had before. When I received two more, it quickly became obvious that it’s just a marketing technique, something I was blind to with the first one. If colleges want to keep the likely letter effective in getting students to attend, it has to remain rare. The more letters a student receives, the less “exciting” each one is. Case in point, soomoo’s son - most students would be bouncing off the walls still after getting a likely from Stanford, but getting more LLs from Brown, etc. makes it difficult to stay excited about one college.</p>
<p>I’ve read in different articles that Harvard, Yale, and Stanford each send about 100 non-athletic likely letters. Princeton sends them to athletes only. Duke supposedly sends 300+, Dartmouth 400-500, Penn 200. IIRC Columbia sends about 400. I think if you added all the Ivy+ likely letters up, you’d find a large portion of the admitted pools received one.</p>
<p>Honestly, I think it was easier on students before this onslaught of likely letters. When my kids were in the process it was not a big deal, they didn’t expect or anticipate a likely because they were thought to be strictly for athletes and out-of-this-world applicants. Now many applicants go through ED/EA, then hearing about people receiving likely letters, and finally RD. They’re great for the fortunate recipients, but the just add anxiety to the majority of candidates.</p>
<p>I am a URM, first gen college student. Got two likely letters - Cornell & Wesleyan, Wes was an early acceptance while Cornell was at first an email two weeks ago, a letter a week ago, and a final letter will be coming later on this month.</p>