So likely letters for Brown should start coming out this month! Has anyone gotten one yet?
I didn’t even know they gave likely letters.
Most of the top schools do, and Brown is no exception! This is around the time people start receiving them, but only the very best and most coveted applicants do.
I thought likely letters were out last fall?
^^Those are mostly for recruited athletes, I think. They do send a few to non-recruit RD applicants this time of year
I have no personal knowledge about non-athlete likely letters. No one I know has received one.
Here is some information about Brown likely letters from right here on CC. Two years old, but 93 posts worth.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/brown-university/1461303-brown-likely-letters-2017-p1.html
Brown does send them, but it’s a safe estimate that 95+% of the students who are accepted will not receive one prior to their acceptance so don’t waste any time worrying about getting one.
Has anyone gotten any Brown likely letters yet? If so, please tell!
Seriously everyone, calm down about likely letters. The only people I knew at Brown who got them were athletic recruits.
I don’t even get the point of them.
The point: For very highly qualified and sought-after students, the idea is to get an acceptance in their hands before they hear from Harvard, MIT, Stanford, etc. That’s a whole month or two of thinking, “I got into Brown! I’m going to Brown!” It’s a psychological strategy.
Especially if one is a highly recruited athlete. Since the Ivies + MIT do not have an official “signing day” commitment ability, by offering LLs, they firmly place themselves in the running with athletes who may be tempted by other colleges’ offers.
The move to send LLs to non-athletes was a logical step in the marketing mindset of admissions offices, too.
But like Bruno14 says: it’s a supreme waste of energy and emotion to be longing for a Likely Letter. Just put it out of your mind. Period.
Schools that are part of the National Letter of Intent program and provide athletic scholarships (“grants in aid”) have specific “signing periods” that vary based on the sport. For many sports the early signing period is usually the second week of November, with another signing period in April. Football is a notable exception, with the signing period in early February.
The NLI program only includes schools that provide athletic scholarships, so the Ivies and D3 schools are not a part of it.
So here’s the situation for an athlete that has been offered a grant-in-aid (athletic scholy) for a November signing sport by a D1/ex-Ivy school, and who is also a candidate at an Ivy. The athlete knows he/she will be accepted at the NLI school and knows how much money will be offered by the second week of November at the latest. The athlete (without a likely letter) does not know whether he/she will be accepted to an Ivy, or the non-athletic money involved, until the ED/SCEA notification date usually in mid-Dec.
By issuing likely letters, Ivies can better compete for athletes against schools in the NLI program. Athletic likely letters may be issued after October 1 each year. (I’ve got a cites for lots of this stuff, but strangely my credibility has been questioned because I post citations, so unless someone asks, I’ll spare you all).
As has been described above, the concept has been carried over to non-athletes in the regular decision round. I am not sure of its efficacy. Did I read somewhere on CC that the yield from likely letter recipients is 30%? Can’t find that now.
Anyway, I think the warm feeling for a school that a candidate might get from receiving a likely letter would in many cases be offset by a boost in confidence that there would probably be other top acceptances to come–resulting in a neutral effect. That is unsubstantiated opinion, can’t prove it. Many schools are doing it, so they must see a benefit.
has anyone gotten one??
@Langgirl2 One of my friends got a likely from Brown last year during the first week of March. So, I think they’ll be sent out around that time.
I got a likely letter in the mail yesterday!
Congrats @yukicha!! How exciting! Would you please share your stats?
Did anyone else?
Congrats btw!!! 
@yukicha Did your portal change?