I got an email/change in application status from one of my schools today that basically says they can’t release an official admissions decision yet (I applied RD, close to the deadline), but “the admissions committee anticipates being able to extend an official offer when admission decisions are released according to your decision plan”. Does this mean I can assume I’m probably in, or are they still deliberating but want me to know I’m a likely candidate?
I basically just want to know how hard I should celebrate
It sounds like a likely letter, meaning that they plan to accept you. My son got one from his school last year and, having never heard of likely letters at that time, we really didn’t know what to make of it. I’m one of those people who don’t count their chickens before they’re hatched, so I refused to relax about it until he got the official acceptance email later on. But the language you quote sounds very much like the language in his likely letter, so unless something unforeseen happens, you can be pretty confident about your eventual acceptance. His likely letter came in the mail though, and was signed by the Director of Admissions.
A likely letter means that you are basically in as long as nothing goes terribly wrong between now and the formal admission date. So I would take a deep breath knowing you can relax.
