IvyIsGreen

Since there have been a number of questions about this, this is off of Dartmouth's website under a Calendar for Volunteer Interviewer program:

February/March: Maintain contact with top prospective applicants and keep the Admissions Office informed of any significant developments in their candidacies. Be aware of possible "Likely" letter actions. A candidate may receive a letter during this period telling him/her that, as of the sending of the letter, his/her application has been reviewed, and the probability of acceptance in April is very high. By Ivy League agreement, all such letters must be sent by early March. A photocopy of the letter is also sent to the candidate's guidance counselor. It is important to stress that only a relatively small number of exceptional candidates may receive such a letter; hundreds of students who will ultimately be accepted by Dartmouth may not be sent an early indication. Those who do not receive such a letter should not think they no longer have a chance!The theory behind the letter is simple. We are very confident that the applicant will have several excellent schools to choose from in April. Our early indication of probable acceptance may help take some of the uncertainty out of the entire waiting process for the student. Further, this early assessment gives the candidate more time to think about his/her ultimate decision, plan a visit to Dartmouth, and to zero-in on those factors that may cause a decision "for" or "against" Dartmouth. There is, however, no commitment required of the candidate at this time. Accepted candidates will have until the Common Reply Date (May 1) to respond to our offer. Use this information to "fine tune" enrollment efforts. Telephone calls to the applicant or counselor (except 48 hours before and after Decision Letters are sent in early-April) are certainly appropriate, as are early invitations to post-acceptance gatherings, and other forms of special attention.It is important to remember that the interview is both an evaluation as well as a recruitment tool. Thus, you should feel free to schedule an interview with those candidates who have received "Likely" letters so that those individuals can have contact with members of the Dartmouth community and have their questions or concerns addressed.

Calendar

sybbie719

The overwhelming majority of students admitted during the RD cycle will not receive likely letters

Likely letters are a 2-edged sword. I know the likely letters are suppose to a stress reliever, but I think that the process creates more stress than it relieves.

If you have not received one yet, it does not mean that you won't get one or you have a slim chance of being admitted as the process is not over yet. The mailing of likely letters are not finished yet (as the process goes on until ~ mid march).

Take a deep breath and have faith in the process that when all of this is over and done that you will end up where you need to be.

Arch3r25

They're kinda like love letters. Based on your applicant profile, Dartmouth has determined that you are one steamy bachelor(ette). They know that there'll be other souls out there trying to seduce you, so they're attempting to catch your attention...a wink, a nod, whatever it takes.

hmom5

My theory is that they're sent to those Dartmouth knows will get into HYPS, they are taking a stab at snagging some loyalty. My guess is that they don't yield most who get the letters so I wonder what purpose they really serve. They must do something, because these school approach enrollment management is a very sophisticated fashion, but I honestly can't think of what they would really achieve.

Arch3r25

That's what I thought too hmom5. As people posted, I checked out their post histories, and half were Yale SCEA deferrals (to be fair, some were admits). But I guess that attests more to the difficulty of Yale's early program than their aptitude as students (I'm a MIT deferral).

My theory would have to be that Dartmouth processes their applicants and then triages them. The strong academic cases are the ones that get the likely letters. Then they continue examining and check for URM status, special conditions, or merely personality-based admits. Dartmouth's student body is extraordinarily diverse.

hmom5

I'm sure they've already sorted for thing like URM status, they want to snag the top URMs too.

wingless

the way i understand it, they send likely letters to 1-read applicants. this means that the admissions officer who read your file felt that the case is strong enough to skip the committee process all together. so for these cases, they go directly to the director for approval, and if he/she approves of it, then they send you a letter under the theory that this letter will increase their yield.

Arch3r25

^That makes a lot of sense.

b'smom

But folks, don't get your hopes up about also getting into HYPS with a likely letter-may not happen!

jdjaguar

much rather have S attend D than HYPS anyway.

fwiw.

knickknackpatty

this brings me back to last year, when it seemed like everyone around me was receiving a likely letter (most of them ended up rejecting Dartmouth despite the likely letter for other schools like HYPS. Don't let it get to you, it is true that most students here find out around april. whatever happens, happens. One thing I regret during my senior year was worrying about 1) movement on likely letters and later 2) movement on the waitlist.