<p>III. Early Evaluation
Beginning in January and continuing until March 15,
institutions may, on their own initiative, advise an
applicant of his or her chance of admission (i.e.,
likely, unlikely, or possible). As these are merely
tentative assessments, it should be understood that
no commitments are involved on the part of either
the institution or the applicant.</p>
<p>Does anyone know? If you know about other Ivies, list those too!</p>
<p>Yes, although all "Likely Letters" are extremely rare, they do occur for non-athletes (although it's a necessary tool to help athletes and their families decide to "hold out" for an ivy). Don't freak out when in January/Feb, posters on the site start mentioning them and you may not receive one. The actual no. sent out is quite small -- their discussion on CC seems to make it appear as if everyone and their dentist is getting them. </p>
<p>Know that most accepted students from the top schools DO NOT receive them.</p>
<p>I have written about this before, so those of you who regularly read these threads, you know what I am about to type...</p>
<p>Yes, some extraordinary applicants will receive likely letters around the end of February, beginning of March. If you start to check the threads of other highly competitive schools on CC, it will look like EVERYONE has received one. </p>
<p>Last year, I was checking out CC regularly and thankfully my DD was not. It seemed to me that she was the only applicant who had not received a likely letter. I would check the mail out each day and by the end of March I was sure she would not be accepted anywhere. Long story short, she was. All good news. If she had been aware of the likely letters, it would have made her senior year far more stressful. As I have cautioned before, do not get too focused on them. If you get one, that's great, it really is, but if not, don't drive yourself crazy.</p>
<p>And then there are the "early writes" which are decision letters that start coming out in mid-March generally. In my daughter's experience, they are from the small LAC's, like Amherst--don't know that the Ivies do this. This adds more stress to the process because, as worknprogress says in the earlier post, it will seem like everyone is getting them except you. But again, they are few and far between and do not represent a high percentage of admits.</p>
<p>Yale sends out very few other than those that go to athletes. Other colleges may have different policies. For example, dartmouth sends out lots of likely letters to all sorts of applicants.</p>
<p>I thought a likely letter was as its name implies, a statement that you are likely to be accepted, no? An early write is a definite offer of admission just sent out a few weeks early.</p>
<p>'a statement that you are likely to be accepted"
Admissions offices don't go to the trouble of sending those letters out if they aren't going to admit the student. Why would they? I've never heard of a student receiving one and then being turned down. It's a "heads up" to very desirable students that they will be admitted, in hopes of snagging them come May 1. It's just a difference in terminology here.The outcome is the same.</p>
<p>Yes, but it is actually a bit different because as the op states, there is no commitment on the part of the institution--it is only an early evaluation, whether it turns out to be an unofficial admit or not. An early write is definitive and is a commitment. But whatever....</p>
<p>I know two people last year who got likely letters from Harvard. Both were waitlisted, whereas 8 other people from my school who didn't get the letters got in. </p>
<p>Are you sure they were likely letters? I mean, some people get letters that are really just informational and THINK they are likely letters, then tell their friends, but then actually get waitlisted. I've never heard of someone who got an actual likely letter not get in.</p>
<p>When you receive a "likely letter" it states that you will be admitted unless something drastic occurs....flunk out, get arrested, etc. We received a congratulatory phone call before we got the letter and have been sent an estimation of financial aid. This is from Princeton. Go Tigers!! D is an athlete.</p>
<p>My d and her friend both received athlete likely letters from Yale this fall and were admitted SCEA. Anecdotal, only, I know, but Yale admissions and coaches were VERY clear about the meaning of the letter, in phone and email conversations. Of course, our experience should not be expanded to assumptions about other Ivy's likely letters. I think I understand what Yale means by a likely, however. By the way, the word "likely" is used in the first sentence, so there is no misunderstanding about what it is and it wouldn't be confused with any other friendly, encouraging letter from admissions.</p>