<p>I'm a junior in high school, and am thus was naturally interested when my mom told me that a friend of hers heard that Harvard will send out "likely letters" next year on the basis of academics in addition to athletics as a way of having early action without actually, you know, having early action. I was wondering if anyone else heard this rumor, if there's any validity to it, and if it's at all accurate how Harvard would be able to pick out who to send the letters to. Nationally ranked athletes are easy enough to seek out, especially if they are in contact with the college's coaches. But apart from PSATs, there's no similar way of finding academic all-stars.</p>
<p>I haven't heard of this rumor</p>
<p>I don't know what you mean by "de facto" EA -- likely letters are at all Ivy Leagues. This is because the Ivy Leagues are bound by one set date when they release all decisions whereas places like Stanford can snatch up a student athlete way in advance.</p>
<p>You could see it as a "separate" admissions process for highly recruited athletes. Coaches make it a point to travel around the nation and find kids who would fit Harvard's profile in terms of academics and still are competitive enough to be on an athletic team here. It's quite hard to do.</p>
<p>Michele Hernandez has a great section on admissions for athletes in her somewhat out-of-date book, A is for Admission. The athletics part is pretty much the same now as it was then.</p>
<p>Yes, but what I heard was that likely letters would be extended beyond just athletics to include non-athletic academic standouts.</p>
<p>Stanford has already announced a policy of seeking 100 to 200 academic superstars each admission cycle through use of likely letters. Harvard could do the same if it liked. Such shoo-in admits (a category that Yale has long acknowledged exists, in the same number, back when the current Stanford admission dean was Yale's admission dean) fall into a number of categories. There are math stars, physics stars, classics stars, journalism stars, debate stars, etc. It takes national recognition far beyond the PSAT to fit into this category. </p>
<p>As it is, Harvard sends out tens of thousands of letters every year to students it identifies as students who ought to be encouraged to apply. If after something like 20,000 students have applied, Harvard then desires to tell one or two hundred of those applicants that they are very, very likely to be admitted on the formal admission announcement date, I'm sure Harvard can figure out a way to do that. Maybe Harvard's appeal is so strong that it doesn't have to do that, but newspaper interviews with Harvard's admission spokesman make clear that Harvard will not let other colleges grab up all the most desired students. </p>
<p>Good luck in next year's single-deadline application process.</p>
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As it is, Harvard sends out tens of thousands of letters every year to students it identifies as students who ought to be encouraged to apply.
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<p>Sure, but that's true of almost every selective school in the country- that's just a way to increase the number of applicants. Likely letters are pretty different (I haven't heard this rumor, though it's possible). </p>
<p>And likely letters are really nothing like a "de facto EA"- they're sent after the people apply for regular decision. It's a way some people find out that they got in earlier than others, but it's far from a way to apply early.</p>
<p>No. This is certainly a rumor and not true.</p>
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<p>Usually xjayz is informed about such matters, so we don't have to worry about this. I might add that even for the colleges that do send out likely letters to top academic prospects (e.g., Stanford, mentioned in my reply above), there will always be more admitted students who were just plain admitted and never received a likely letter. So just apply to colleges that appeal to you, after taking a solid high school course and being involved in activities that you like, and then see what happens.</p>
<p>Yale and Duke <em>definitely</em> send out likely letters to non-athletes. I believe Dartmouth does this also.</p>
<p>xjayz knows more than I do, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if Harvard starts doing this to some degree. They might use it differently (perhaps targeting low-income or underrepresented students, rather than top academics).</p>