<p>Saw a post on my newsfeed that got me curious... what kind of beast/superhuman would get a likely letter from Harvard?</p>
<p>Athletes get likely letters</p>
<p>Only athletes?</p>
<p>I’m not sure but it’s mostly athletes if not all</p>
<p>It’s not solely for athletes. It’s for jaw-dropping “must have” candidates – how does Harvard define these? I dunno. I interviewed someone (not an athlete) who had a LL from both H and my alma mater. She was quite noisome, turned us down and attended H. I’m glad.</p>
<p>She ended up being a Rhodes scholar. I guess both colleges correctly saw her potential. But I’m still glad she turned us down.</p>
<p>What on earth did she do? Was she an astronaut and part-time neurosurgeon at the age of 14, or something?!</p>
<p>I actually don’t recall her accomplishments in HS. I only met with her for 45 minutes. I almost never dislike people I meet (that’s why I interview). She was off-putting immediately. Likely she had already decided to accept Harvard’s offer and was only going thru the motions w/our interview.</p>
<p>Let’s clarify…Harvard, Stanford, Yale et al DO NOT offer likely letters in the EARLY ROUND except to recruited athletes…but, they do offer likely letters to some of the “WOW/creme de la creme students (those with SIGNIFICANT achievements)” who apply during the REGULAR ROUND that they would like to woo away from their rival institutions…</p>
<p>…and there are ONLY about 100-200 truly “WOW/creme de la creme” students each year applying from the US and the world…these TROPHY students are sought after by all top schools especially Stanford and Harvard…</p>
<p>…and these students usually know who they are…and they usually don’t post on college confidential…</p>
<p>The people that win the Siemens science fair; or make the team for usabo or usamo, etc; the guy who’s like 14 that found out a much more efficient way of diagnosing cancer; famous people, like actors, that are also geniuses; etc.</p>
<p>EVERYONE: please re-read what gravitas wrote in post 8. Each and every year on each and every forum here on CC, people ask “might I get a Likely Letter?”</p>
<p>It’s possible. But hen’s teeth are more likely. If you happen to get a “golden ticket” then great. But know that the vast majority of students to these few unis eventually admitted NEVER see a Likely Letter.</p>
<p>If you must sate your curiosity, then look here:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/804816-quick-facts-about-likely-letters.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/804816-quick-facts-about-likely-letters.html</a></p>
<p>To emphasize T26E4’s point, I’d been out of Harvard 20 years or more before I even found out that likely letters exist. If I knew anybody at Harvard who received one, I never heard about it.</p>
<p>^^ @T2 I thought Yale sends likely letters to STEM kids that they want to invite to the YES weekend. These kids are terrific students but not necessarily the kind in post #8, just kids they probably would accept RD but they want to get a jump on courting them through YES.</p>
<p>Thanks T…and to reiterate Sikorsky’s point…is that those rare individuals with the WOW/creme de la creme ACHIEVEMENTS (in variety of endeavors) tend to be the most kind, humble, GENUINE, and unassuming individuals on campus…most students will rarely find out who these individuals are unless they do some digging…like googling their names.</p>
<p>…these students will rarely ever talk about their achievements, their scores, their grades…unless pressed to…even then…they try not talking about THEMSELVES…</p>
<p>…it is these characteristics that separate these individuals from others…and that is why these students are sought after and are welcomed with open arms to the top institutions…</p>
<p>I am a current Harvard student and I know several people who received these letters. As an SCEA admit, I did not receive one, but I received likely letters from Yale, Stanford, Columbia, and the Naval Academy throughout the fall/winter after I submitted all regular applications by the end of September. The only other schools I applied to were public and did not give out likely letters.</p>
<p>I was not a recruited athlete, nor did I express interest in joining any sports teams (though I did walk on to a team once I was here). I am not a legacy. I am not from a financially disadvantaged/minority background, nor did I do Siemens or Intel or any other major academic competitions. I did, however, have substantial, unique activism experience that included the receipt of many awards/grants. And the other people I know who received likely letters do not fit a specific mold. Some are recruited athletes, others are academic superstars, some stand out in extracurriculars. The common thread I have noticed is that people submitted their applications rather early and had SOMETHING extremely unique or competitive in terms of their application.</p>
<p>This is just foolishness. None of the students I know who got non-athletic likelys–myself included–are like that at all. This idea that the most accomplished people are also somehow the best, most mature, morally upstanding people is frankly ridiculous. And even if that were the case, that would certainly not be why the college chose them.</p>
<p>^^how did you get…your quote
from “kind, humble, genuine, and unassuming individuals”…</p>
<p>…you are correct…getting likely letters is NOT ALWAYS related to one’s prowess or CHARACTER…as you clearly demonstrate…</p>
<p>greatthenate: Where did you read that anyone said non-athlete likely letter recipients are
?</p>
<p>I don’t know anyone who said this or believes this. You’re making a straw man argument. All I have said is a sub group of people are highly coveted by top schools – however they determine the criteria is solely up to them.</p>
<p>“Kind, humble, genuine, and unassuming.” All of those terms clearly have moral connotations. Said on this site, they also have the unspoken connotation of maturity tied to a perception of self confidence. </p>
<p>Second–obviously nobody says that and nobody would assent to it if asked. That means nothing about whether or not anyone will believe it though. Put yourself into the mindset of a concerned and relatively insecure high school student and reread the post by gravitas. The trope comes to mind. The most powerful tropes are almost never said explicitly. Your whole post smells of reverence to anyone who comes across it. To even claim that the most desirable students “tend” to have these dispositions is already utterly groundless. But if it is groundless, then why say it? We know that its not because you have a statistically significant sample size of likely students and can vouch for these subtle aspects of their character. But if its not because of any kind of significant data that you have then what makes you say it? The unspoken answer here is that you subscribe to a certain trope or stereotype about them. </p>
<p>Third–Gravitas, I welcome your claim about my character enthusiastically. Let everyone who reads this see you acknowledge exceptions to the stereotype you present. Obviously what you said never precluded the possibility of exceptions. But pointing out specific examples gives everyone a healthy sense of how very real those exceptions are.</p>
<p>They will be issued around mid February or later for RD.</p>
<p>I have seen people get them from many different schools. Not many from Harvard since Harvard reintroduced SCEA but but they issued them regularly until 2011.</p>
<p>Usually Harvard will issue them to big name prize winners (Intel, Siemens etc) and the Intel 100k prize winner receives one in Mid March if not already admitted but applied.</p>
<p>I got a Likely Letter as a recruited athlete in early November. My brother got one a few years back RD in January</p>