If I indicated that I would apply for financial aid but haven’t filed CSS profile yet, will that prevent colleges from being able to make my decision early and send me a likely letter?
No. But you also should not spend time waiting around for a Likely Letter. Most accepted applicants will not receive one
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Is it too late if I send my CSS now, applying to Harvard, Columbia, Cornell, Princeton and MIT
The lateness won’t impact the admissions decision, but if accepted, may delay your FA package.
Oh, thanks!
It won’t prevent admissions decisions. It will prevent giving you financial aid.
CSS due dates:
Harvard - February 1
Columbia - February 15
Cornell - February 15
Princeton - February 1
MIT - February 15
So you have a few hours to get some of them in.
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I am not sure what you are thinking when you mention a likely letter. Do you mean an acceptance letter? It is unlikely you would get a likely letter (unless there is something we don’t know).
Get the CSS in today. Maybe call Harvard and Princeton and ask them if there is any flexibility because you missed the deadline. Unless someone else here on CC knows…
I know for sure Harvard will accept the late CSS. At least they have historically. Again, as I said upthread, it may delay the FA offer
In October you posted that you were 14 years old and had a 1440 SAT. Not the kind of stats that make you a likely recipient of an (extremely rarely issued academic) likely letter from any of the institutions you mentioned irrespective of CSS status.
Lately I have been having some sort of imposter syndrome
Seems this may have been more than a figure of speech.
I didnt submit my SAT, it was a an outlier L. Perfect GPA with state and national recognitions at 14 and founded my own company. Im not saying im supposed to get one, but I dont see why its so far fetched
I am concerned about your planned trajectory and wonder what the big rush is all about.
Following directions is a big part of this process. You may not be ready for this next step. Do you have to graduate high school early or can you pump the breaks on this idea.
What is the rush to go to college at 14, 15 maybe by Fall?
In this scenario you should not be playing the test optional card. If you did not submit a test score, but you are applying several years early the colleges may wonder why you did not take the time to take the tests or what gaps you have.
If you miss deadlines in the application process to submit financial aid you may not look like a serious candidate this year.
Folks are questioning your anticipation of a likely letter because it is reserved for very few candidates. To be completely realistic, if you are applying for financial aid, then the business you started has probably not hit the stratospheric level of triggering likely letters at these schools.
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That’s your hubris talking.
The colleges that send Likely Letters have, for the most part, single digit acceptance rates. Likely letter recipients are a fraction of that. So the chances of a non-athletic recruit getting one from Harvard are about 0.2%. Plus, they use LL’s to target specific applicants that they really really want, not necessarily the ones with perfect stats.
You may well get into one of your choices, but I don’t see any of them using a LL on a 14 y/o
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Yes, we had that happen at 2 schools last year. They ask for additional information for FA and my DD did not see it in time and we were deferred at both until the information was submitted and completed (applied EA and bumped to regular). As for likely letters very few kids receive them, and if you don’t it does not mean you were not accepted.
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It won’t affect financial aid either at these schools (with the possible exception of Cornell). OP may not get his FA offers as soon as the other students who filed on time, however.