So, my DD’22 applied to the following schools regular decision. Anyone know if they send out “likely letters” and if so, when?
Macalester (accepted EA)
UVA (applied EA; awaiting results by Feb 15)
William & Mary (I’ve heard of the cipher postcard)
Vassar
Bryn Mawr
Wellesley
Smith
Mount Holyoke
UMass Amherst
UConn
Brown
Seriously, you owe it to your daughter to not stress out over this. The vast majority is accepted applicants to universities that issue Likely Letters will not receive one. So let’s not refresh the email every 5 seconds expecting one to pop up.
I’m not “stressing out” about it— I simply asked a question. I think that’s one of the reasons this website exists, right?
I assume she’s a recruited athlete? If not then there are very few colleges that send out likely letters to super-high stat students, and I am not aware of any in your list doing that.
Your comment on another thread belies that statement:
Regardless, it’s your daughter who’s applying, so I am unclear why it’s not her asking (or actually, googling the question).
Brown, off the top of my head.
But to correct a misconception, for those colleges that send out Likely Letters, they use them to target specific applicants. They are not necessarily “super-high stat students.”
And with very few exceptions, all LL’s for athletes would have been sent in the ED/EA round.
So many likely letter/early write threads…so few unhooked students receive these it’s not something to even talk about at the water cooler!
Of the schools on your D’s list:
W&M sends the cypher postcards, they are out now.
Smith typically does some early writes in March.
As already noted Brown sends out RD likely letters, but relatively few and they are surgically targeted.
I’ve heard rumors Mount Holyoke sends likely letters, but can not personally confirm that.
skieurope/ Why is my daughter not asking the question/googling it? Perhaps she is-- I’m not talking with her about “likely letters” because she feels really good about her applications and is enjoying getting back into “real life.” That doesn’t mean I’m not curious about it or don’t think this is the perfect forum to find out more about it. And yes, I check my mailbox daily. Most people do.
Mwfan1921/ Thanks-- very helpful. I appreciate your straightforward input!
I remember coming across a student who mentioned that she received a likely letter from Wellesley. Good luck!
Good luck to your daughter. While not on your list but in case others are drawn in by the title, Duke also (infrequently) sends non athlete LL.
As does Yale.
If we are building a list of schools beyond OP’s that send likely letters I’ll add:
All the Ivies
Stanford
UChicago
CWRU
Grinnell
Early writes:
Cornell COE
Amherst
Vandy (mosaic)
@Mwfan1921, just to confirm: this is the list that sends LLs to non-athletes?
Any idea what the criteria is, and timelines?
(Disclaimer: I am not expecting my D to receive one from any of her schools 
, but just curious to learn more)
The criteria, to repeat what I said upthread, depends on the school. Yale, as an example, uses them to target URM STEM applicants. In most other cases, colleges are not transparent on criteria.
When they send, and if they send all at all once, also depends on the school. Ivies generally send the beginning of March, although a couple start the end of February.
Yes to non-athletes.
Beyond that, as ski says, the criteria differ, and schools aren’t transparent what their criteria are, and I expect they might even change from year to year…so my personal experiences may not reflect the bigger/more complete picture.
Likely letter committees at the Ivies meet at least a few times a month throughout RD, and send letters out from the those meetings.
Early writes at Cornell COE and Vandy Mosaic are mostly URM AFAIK, happen in late Feb because there are campus visits (maybe virtual now) in March for these peeps.
Thanks @Mwfan1921 and @skieurope
Oh, so they are sent in waves. Interesting (although not expecting any for my D22).
Along with notification of finalist status for competitive merit, Davidson and Washington & Lee.
(I believe this is one type of “likely letter” being referred to?)
Also, should proxy likely letters be included, such as being notified that you’re a finalist for McCabe Scholarship at Swarthmore?
I was following some of these schools last year when D21 applied, and there seemed to be fewer early/likely letters than in past years. No mention here or on Reddit of any from MoHo, though in past years (2020 and before), people had reported getting them. (Grinnell, mentioned in the thread but not on your list, had also sent them in the past but didn’t seem to send any last year.) Not sure if it was a one-year blip or if either school is changing the practice. I don’t think Bryn Mawr has ever sent them. Smith sent some last year, as they usually do. Like others here, I got the sense that the letters were few and far between, and sometimes targeted. Conn (College, not U Conn), for example, sent early writes to candidates from diverse backgrounds.