<p>I noticed that a bunch of applicants for Yale received likely letters and some from Dartmouth as well. Does Stanford also give out likely letters to highly qualified applicants?</p>
<p>No, because that would be unfair to the kids who do not receive likely letters. Stanford treats all its admits equally, and loves them all. :)</p>
<p>That's good, I guess Yale and some other Ivies adhering this policy are just being unreasonable.</p>
<p>The "likely letters" sent to recruited athletes by the Ivies are hardly "unfair to regular applicants" in comparison to the "commitment letters" and "athletic scholarshps" provided by Stanford. </p>
<p>Last year, Stanford paid ¢12 million in "scholarships" to athletes - without regard to financial need. All Ivy scholarships are granted oin the basis of need.</p>
<p>o, I was talking about likely letters being sent to regular applicants (non-atheletes)</p>
<p>Harvard hands out admissions the way Stanford hands out scholarships. At my high school, Harvard takes the kids that are high B students with SAT scores in the 1350 to low 1400 range (not the normal profile of the Harvard admit) but they are star athletes</p>
<p>It's kind of frustrating for the really bright kids who want to go to Harvard, but who don't have the athletic talent.</p>
<p>I don't think S sends out likely letters to potential academic admits, as Williams, Duke, Cornell, Dartmouth, and a few others do. I would say that likelies to recruited athletes and, to some extent, sought after urm's fall into the same category. I have heard of something resembling a likely letter going out to highly desired legacies.</p>
<p>I agree joemama about Harvard's unpredictable admissions...at my hs, it is a common joke to "see who Harvard will like THIS year"...every year they take someone that makes everyone say "WHAT?!" Who knows what goes on in the minds of all these adcoms!</p>