<p>So, what exactly is this "likely letter?"
Is it an email from a minority recruitment commission (or something like that)
telling that the school would really encourage me to apply to Harvard?
Or does it have to be a formal letter saying Dear Mr. Koo, we want you, here's your annual half a million dollars to continue your study.</p>
<p>Of course, I didn't get the latter letter (I love saying these words),
but I got a couple through email and a phone call from Harvard.</p>
<p>The question is: should I get my hopes up?
I know a friend who went to Boston to take on-campus interview (supposedly, Harvard asked her to come, but since this was her mother speaking, I wouldn't believe it too much; but she did fly to Boston from So Cal, so...)
And she didn't get in. (She got in to U Penn instead)</p>
<p>I know from the connotation that a likely letter is not definitive, but still, is it enough to get one's hope high?
Or the phone call and the emails that I received do not even count as likelies?</p>
<p>I apologize for the long thread. The big mouth did it again haha.</p>
<p>First off, likely letters always come AFTER an applicant sends in an application. Any contact from a college asking that a student apply is merely marketing and should never be construed as, "Harvard is recruiting me. I'm IN!"</p>
<p>A small percentage of students get likely letters sometime after apps are received and before decisions normally come out. There are also usually worded in a manner that leaves a tiny bit of ambiguity, thus the term, "likely," as in, "As we review our applications for this year, we have gone over yours and are quite impressed. We are sending you this notice to let you know that it is LIKELY that we shall be offering you admission on April 1 and we hope that you consider attending our fine institution, particularly in light of our reaching out to you at this early date."</p>
<p>The Ivy League gives likely letters to athletes who will most likely get in because they aren't allowed to give scholarships and they don't want the kids to take an offer at a different school. If you're not an athlete, I don't know what it means.</p>
<p>At Harvard, the vast majority of likely letters are sent athletes. Nevertheless, the tiny fraction of academic likely letters still exists. That portion is reserved for true academic superstars. To understand what an academic superstar is, think of all the Harvard applications, all ~27,000 of them. Now pick the top 25 or 50. </p>
<p>It is also reserved for other VIP's, such as URMs who have incredible credentials.<br>
I remember a post last year (or the year before?) of a girl, passionate for engineering, who got a Likely from Harvard. In her case, she not only had bright potential, but also two X chromosomes, which are sadly rare among the top engineers. She also boasted of excellent qualifications in other fields.</p>