Who gets likely letters from Harvard?
Asked by: Maybell Lind DDS | Last update: October 5, 2025Score: 4.9/5 (11 votes)
Likely Letters are just another manifestation of the special preference given to student-athletes, as coaches tell admissions officers which students they would like to recruit, and these are the students who end up getting letters.
Who are likely letters sent to?
What is a likely letter? A likely letter is a message sent to select students before an institution makes its official admissions decisions. In the letter, a school will indicate its intent to admit the student; in other words, they are “likely” to be accepted.
How rare are likely letters?
Are Likely Letters Rare? Receiving a likely letter is rare. The majority of students who ultimately receive offers do not get them. They usually only target the highest-performing students and recruited athletes.
How likely is it that I get into Harvard?
The acceptance rate at Harvard is 3.5%.
In other words, of 100 students who apply, only 4 are admitted. This means the school is very selective. Scores are vital to getting past their first round of filters. After that, you will need to impress them beyond just your academic scores.
Who does Yale send likely letters to?
The Yale Admissions Office sends “likely letters” only to those applicants who have received an early review and who we believe are exceptionally strong as scholars, student- athletes, or contributors in other areas of special interest to the Yale community, including music and the arts.
COLLEGE DECISION REACTIONS | 16 YEARS OLD | HARVARD, YALE, PRINCETON, COLUMBIA, AND MORE | 2021
What is a likely letter from Dartmouth?
All Ivy institutions use a small number of likely letters as a way to reassure highly recruited athletes and other outstanding applicants. Most students do not receive likely letters; it's not the usual path to an acceptance. But if you get one, athlete or not, congratulations are in order!
Who does Harvard send likely letters to?
Sometimes, admissions officers will call students instead of sending them a letter. According to an article published in The Crimson in 2022, “the College uses likely letters to target students from rural areas or otherwise underrepresented backgrounds.
Can a 5.0 GPA get me into Harvard?
To have the best shot of getting in, you should aim for the 75th percentile, with a 1580 SAT or a 36 ACT. You should also have a 4.2 GPA or higher. If your GPA is lower than this, you need to compensate with a higher SAT/ACT score.
What's the hardest college to get into?
The Harvard acceptance rate is 3%, tied with Caltech for the #1 spot on our list of hardest colleges to get into. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard is a quintessential New England school globally recognized for its rigorous academic programs and influential alumni.
Can I get into Harvard with a 3.5 GPA?
In summary, while a GPA of 3.5 is less than average for Harvard admits, you shouldn't count yourself out automatically. Focus on strengthening the other components of your application, demonstrating dedication through your extracurriculars, and showing your unique perspective through your essays.
What does it mean if Harvard sends you a letter?
Colleges send likely letters to prospective students to notify them they are likely to be admitted on the official decision release date. To receive one is rare: In the past, Harvard College has sent roughly 200 to recruited athletes and 100 to non-athletes.
How rare is the letter C?
C is the twelfth most frequently used letter in the English language (after E, T, A, O, I, N, S, H, R, D, and L), with a frequency of about 2.8% in words.
What happens if you don't get a likely letter?
If you haven't received a likely letter, there's still time for the acceptance notification you've been waiting for. In the meantime, you can read about another common situation students find themselves in, and that's being deferred or waitlisted for admission.
Do likely letters guarantee admission?
While “likely letters” do not guarantee admission to schools, they are a good indication that students will be accepted to a particular school. This is, of course, as long as students keep being ideal students (i.e. keeping their grades up, not getting arrested).
What does it mean if an Ivy League emails you?
Though colleges do sometimes personalize the emails they send to students, their doing so doesn't mean that you are being personally recruited; it's largely a way of driving up interest in their school. Schools will often advertise even to students they don't think have a chance of getting into their institution.
How many letters does Harvard send out?
For the Class of 2018, Harvard sent out more than 114,000 letters and admitted 2,047 students.
Is Yale or Harvard harder to get into?
Yale has a slightly higher acceptance rate at 6.5%, compared to Harvard's 5.3%. Which university has a larger campus and student body? Harvard has a larger campus and student body.
What is the #1 university in the world?
Harvard University
United States|Cambridge (U.S.)
What is the hardest school to get into in Canada?
What is the hardest university to get into in Canada? The University of Toronto, McGill University, University of Alberta, and University of Waterloo among others are the hardest universities to get admission in Canada.
What GPA is needed for Oxford?
Undergraduate qualifications
If your graduate course at Oxford requires a 'first-class undergraduate degree with honours' in the UK system, you will usually need a bachelor's degree from a recognised university with an an overall grade of 85% ('A') or 'Excellent', or a GPA of 3.7 out of 4.0.
What's the lowest GPA Yale accepted?
We do not set a minimum GPA, nor do we attempt to re-weight GPA's to any standard other than what a school provides.
What kind of students get likely letters?
Likely letters are used by colleges as a recruitment tool to attract top-level applicants. These are students who would bring something to the school, academically or athletically, that they want to secure.
Who does Yale send letters to?
A Likely Letter is essentially an acceptance letter Yale sends out to Regular Decision applicants before they can technically send out acceptances. It all but assures Yale's top applicants of acceptance, barring any major disciplinary infractions or major drop in grades, when decisions eventually come out.