<p>controlling</p>
<p>That "likely letters" are often effective as a recruiting tool to use with candidates who are "desirable" for whatever reason is precisely why the use of this tool is expanding exponentially.</p>
<p>For their own reasons, elite schools are battling each other fiercely for the top athletes, the top URMs, and now even the top <em>students</em>!</p>
<p>USNews rankings, bragging rights, yield rates and the success of future fundraining campaigns hang in the balance!</p>
<p>Its neither good nor bad, but simply a fact of life.</p>
<p>Redjayhawkm how do you suppose your kid got a likely letter when I have determined with 100% certainty that Yale has not yet begun reading---AT ALL?????</p>
<p>"Redjayhawkm how do you suppose your kid got a likely letter when I have determined with 100% certainty that Yale has not yet begun reading---AT ALL?????"</p>
<p>Is it possible that Redjay's kid submitted an RD app pretty early and it was ready to go after the holidays (or even that admins took it home over the holidays)? It would be weird if Yale wasn't done reading some RD apps considering it's three weeks into Jan. already.</p>
<p>The so called "likely letters" are mailed in the first or second week of February. That is what my sources confirm.</p>
<p>Hi jamimom, thanks for that very thoughtful message. I see your point and now realize that it's just part of this whole process. I'm not sure why I found the likely letter thing to particularly push my buttons but I suppose it represents to me one more of the many inconsistencies of this frustrating process. There are so many mixed messages. Another one is the submission of tapes and supporting materials. Quality of the music aside, depending on what you read or who you listen to they're either going to throw your tape into the circular file or it will help boost your application. It seems to me that there could still be room for colleges to encourage/recruit desired athletes, URMs etc and still be consistent and respectful of all other applicants. None of these practices are a surprise to me, having read about most of them before my s applied, but experiencing them first hand is another story. This is most definitely not for the faint of heart!</p>
<p>Hate to say this, but many kids are better off if the tape or cd is pitched. A very proud mother gave me a cd of her son playing the Mendelsohn violin concerto which is a piece that is very well known with every great violinist playing a version. Well, let's just say the kid came up short. On paper he is a fabulous violinist, and better it's kept on paper. If you send that stuff , you'd better have someone very honest tell you if it's going to make people wince. I love tapes of kids I know playing, but if it is a piece that is to be assessed, it has to be very, very good. </p>
<p>I also do not care for the likely letter, and will exercise my write to tell Yale so. That is everybody's right to do, and I frequently do this. I know some people like them; I don't unless, selfishly they are directly mine or someone I know who benefits from them. And then it is not the letter so much as the relief of knowing the decision. The Early process alone is really a lot of stress for those who did not apply early and who are deferred or turned down. They then have to go through another round of the same in April. And if your kid's favorite school is one of the last to respond, the tension can get unbearable. Especially when someone else hears before you do.</p>
<p>jamimom, but what about the college's ostensible policy on accepting the tapes. To me it seems like they tell people not to send them in but clearly many do anyway. These kids have no idea if their submission is actually listened to or not. I'm guessing that if they get accepted that they probably think that the tape helped---whereas it may not have even been listened to. On the other hand there are probably some very good musicians who listen to the college's admonition not to send in tapes and then wonder if they should have because everyone else has done so. It's a fuzzy business.</p>
<p>First of all I would not send in a tape if the college specifically says not to do so. But there are a number of schools that do welcome and even request tapes, if that is one of your strongholds. Those colleges have a moral obligation, my opinion, to have those tapes assessed. And I don't mean just replacing the admissions office Muzak soundtrack with them either. Unfortunately, from what I have heard from adcoms, this does not always happen, particularly at the height of the season. Too much to do, too many tapes to listen, and the music profs say "enough!". I was once told that often they will only forward those tapes that have either a spectacular resume attached to them, or if the student has shown a strong interest to join a music group or be a music major. Enough so that they have contacted the appropriate people in those groups. Someone from the inside who wants you is always a very strong hook, even for non athletes. But the effort has to be more than just seeking a name from the list or e-mailing someone. These efforts take time. You need to visit and watch a concert and catch the conductor afterwards to talk to him. Sit in on a class. Get a go between to introduce you. It can't just be another effort to get a leg up, but a genuine interest in the program there. If you have an interesting chat with such a contact, and tell him that you would like him to listen to your tape, he may well be interested. If you then send the tape to admissions with a note that Professor A wants to hear the tape of XYZ, you are much more likely to have it passed on to him, and hopefully you send a note to him as well with some background on the music maybe relating it to the performance you heard or a lecture he made, and if it very good, he is likely to put in a good word for you with admissions. As you can see, this is not a quickie, but a long, long courtship. And even then it does not always work, but you do have a better chance then sticking a tape in with your app and asking for an appraisal of it. Big difference in approach, big difference in results.</p>
<p>Momof2inca, they may well be readin now, but they were not as of that post. Fact.</p>
<p>:( I want to get a likely letter. It's so early too.</p>
<p>awww i want one too :(</p>
<p>....as you've been accepted ED to better school already, lol.</p>
<p><em>runs and hides</em></p>
<p>jk, everyone. Yale's cool too.</p>
<p>Hey Shrek, whereabouts are you in Arizona? I'm at Brophy in Phoenix.</p>
<p>Yale is better :D</p>
<p>Yea shrek, don't get greedy now.</p>
<p>Does a "likely letter" imply a 100% chance of admission anyway? Or could the adcom decide to change their minds if say they sent likely letters to too many people?</p>
<p>I've never heard of a likely-letter recipient getting rejected, but perhaps it's happened. If so, that would probably be an anomaly...I should think that the adcom would think long and hard before rejecting someone to whom they previously gave the thumbs up. it just seems so terribly cruel.</p>
<p>And since likely letters are only sent to around 100-400 ppl, I doubt that they would retract any b/c of having sent too many out.</p>
<p>Is it really as high as 100-400? 100 has been documented by several people who've seen actual letters from Yale in the past year or two, but has anyone besides Byerly's 'knowledgeable source' ever heard of a figure higher than that? </p>
<p>If there's no further evidence, I wouldn't necessarily worry that more than 100 out of all of the RD applicants ever receive such letters.</p>