<p>are likely letters sent out only for RD?
or are they for some lucky EA applicants also</p>
<p>Mainly athletes, I thought?</p>
<p>To the best of my knowledge, ONLY athletes at Harvard.</p>
<p>whats a likely letter?</p>
<p>Dunc- some schools (for example, Dartmouth) send "likely letters" to a few hundred students. The letters say "We want to let you know that you will probably be offered admission," but what they really mean is "You got in and we want you." I heard from one Dartmouth student that in the last 16 years, no one who received a likely letter was rejected (I'm not positive on that source, but I'm pretty sure that almost everyone who gets a letter gets in. If there are exceptions, they're VERY rare.)</p>
<p>The reason for these letters is that the Ivies all agreed to have the same RD date- last year it was March 30th, for example- on which they'd release the decisions. This is because it is usually thought that the school who tells the student first gets an advantage in attracting that student. However, some schools get around this by sending letters that aren't technically acceptance letters, but which imply an acceptance.</p>
<p>Other schools use similar tactics- while I didn't get an acceptance letter from NYU until the end of March, in the beginning of March I received an invitation to attend an "Admitted Students Breakfast." They're not terribly subtle.</p>
<p>Anyway, Harvard doesn't send likely letters except to athletes (I'm actually not sure if they send them to athletes either- does anyone know for sure?)</p>
<p>I should also note that not getting a likely letter from schools like Dartmouth does NOT mean you were rejected- only about a third of accepted students get the letters.</p>
<p>yes, harvard does give likely letters to athletes. my classmate got one for crew. damn athletes.</p>
<p>so then is it that all harvard athletes get likely letters or only a select few?</p>
<p>my friend's sister got a likely letter -- not an athlete</p>
<p>Do all recruited athletes get likely letters, or just the redick ones?</p>
<p>Probably the only athletes who get one are those who have scholarship offers on the table from other schools (usually during the National Letter of Intent signing period in Nov.) They are the ones who need to know if they got into H before they sign a contract with another school.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
my friend's sister got a likely letter -- not an athlete
[/QUOTE]
</p>
<p>Interesting- I've never heard of this before.</p>
<p>Admiral is correct. Virtually 100% of applicants who receive likely letters are heavily recruited athletes. This means that they already have an offer from another highly selective school (e.g., Stanford) that are not bound by Ivy League rules. Michele Hernandez describes the athletic recruiting scene pretty well, and if there's one thing that's not "outdated" in her original book, "A Is for Admission," it is that.</p>
<p>Was she Gov. Arnold S's daughter? That might explain it.</p>
<p>A friend of mine got one... and we all saw it coming. He got a handwritten note from the rowing coach in grade 9, and was heavily recruited, so it was expected.</p>