<p>I can easily understand how you come to your feelings (I would probably have them as well) and this thread makes it seem that at least 50% of the applicants get these likely letters, but of course that is not true. </p>
<p>If you are ultimately accepted, you will be part of the very largest pool of acceptees, you will be 100% a desireable candidate to Dartmouth, your pool of acceptees will contribute to the campus equally as much as the ED component or likely letter component - and Dartmouth knows it. And your pool of acceptees will benefit from the opportunities at Dartmouth in equal measure to those who receive likely letters - you can count on that.</p>
<p>If you do attend, you will likely find that no one will ask you your class rank, SAT scores, gpa, etc., let alone what date you recieved your acceptance. You will be attending college with those whose stats put them in the uber reaches and some whose stats, if you knew them, would really strike you as low. But what will surprise you more is how amazing each of your classmates is.</p>
<p>So, to the majority of you who recieve your acceptances in the standard round: to the extent that Dartmouth is your number one choice - don't cut off your nose to spite your face - to quote another proverb. Whatever drew you to it in the first place remains valid. After March 31, 2006 (or whatever date those letters reach home), everybody who accepts an offer from Dartmouth to be part of the class of 2010, is on the very same page. Where you go with your education is up to you. Much as in life in general. </p>
<p>Good luck to all and may the days of this particular month pass VERY quickly!</p>
<p>ohmadre, thanks for responding,..my posts often kill the thread or are ignored. If a candidate accepted RD without a likely letter has to choose even between stinky Harvard and Dartmouth knowing Dartmouth sends out an abundance of likely letters, then why would that candidate swoon over the kinder, gentler Dartmouth even if she were inclined to favor D because of 'fit'? It's a sour taste sort of thing,..accepting another school's offer is hardly cutting off one's nose. This is a panic/stampede strategy on Dartmouth's part, a calculated wooing and as such the dignified maiden resolves to favor other suitors who have not already cast their nets into the sea ,..</p>
<p>I love Dartmouth, and I'm not trying to minimize the academic strength of the students. But there are probably very few students who will not get a likely letter from Dartmouth, who will get into Harvard. (maybe a Harvard legacy or something). And in those few instances, I think admissions would understand losing out to "stinky Harvard".</p>
<p>exactly, Former, which is why the Dartmouth likely letter is a canary in the mineshaft for the student applying to a host of ivies, becomes a signifier beyond the up or down for Dartmouth and thereby creates angst by jumping the gun,..</p>
<p>Ah, but for the applicant it's nice to be loved. Even with one SCEA acceptance in the bag, the love letter from Dartmouth might effect a difference in attitude while waiting for any other regular admit letters.</p>
<p>"We do these letters to try to introduce some 'humanity' into the pressured admissions process," says dean of admissions and financial aid Karl Furstenberg.</p>
<p>Humane for those who receive one, inhumane with a menacing twist for those who don't. Those in the lifeboat often thank god and see how he had a plan for them all along. Dartmouth is disguising self-interest as charity and kindness. Either send one out in advance to everyone who eventually will be accepted or play by the rules,..</p>
<p>Why all this anger? College is a business and this is nothing more than a strategy to maximize profits. Try to take the students who may have other "better" choices..I see nothing wrong with it.</p>
<p>"We do these letters to try to introduce some 'humanity' into the pressured admissions process," says dean of admissions and financial aid Karl Furstenberg.</p>
<p>ro rosen
dartmouth isnt the only school that sends out likelies, so its not a completely unheard of practice. Also stop writing in your cryptic metaphors, they kind of sound like you are trying to impress someone. Yeah we know you proably aced the SAT verbal but seriously.
"a calculated wooing and as such the dignified maiden resolves to favor other suitors who have not already cast their nets into the sea."</p>
<p>Sure, all elite schools use the shady "likely letter" device now. In a competitive atmosphere, to decline to do so would be a form of unilateral disarmament.</p>
<p>But Dartmouth, currently, has carried things to a ridiculous extreme.</p>
<p>To the extent other, stronger, competitors respond, Dartmouth may ultimately be the loser, since the "likely letter" is effective only to the extent it beats the competitor to the punch.</p>
<p>If the top applicants all have a fist-full of "likelies" - as is sometimes now the case - then we are back to square one, and the same old pecking order will prevail.</p>
<p>If the old April 1 notification date is, as it appears to be, honored in the breach by schools such as Dartmouth, then, before too long we will have "rolling admissions" with love letters sent earlier and earlier.</p>
<p>Will the Ivies some day be sending "wink wink" likely letters to 7th graders admitted to the CTY program??</p>
<p>The agreement on the common admit date - like the agreement to award only need-based aid and not tuition rakeoffs in the form of so-called "merit" aid actually benefits the second tier Ivies - honoring such common policies in the breach is a counter-productive approach for them, IMHO.</p>
<p>sat 2320
sat ii 800, 710, 660
rank 1/435
gpa weighted 10-12 = 4.99
gpa unweighted all = 4.0</p>
<p>hook: dono really, i didnt get an interview or have any special awards, i held some leadership positions in school including key club prez and captain of tennis team for 3 years. i guess they liked my essays. i think its funny cuz i didnt know much about dartmouth, i just heard it was a good school while i was doin my common app and tacked it along with the other 7 schools</p>
<p>"i think its funny cuz i didnt know much about dartmouth, i just heard it was a good school while i was doin my common app and tacked it along with the other 7 schools"</p>
<p>I'm rolling on the floor laughing..............not</p>