Are "likely letters" ethical?

T26E4
Thu, 07 Feb 2013 22:20:29 +0000

The genesis of Likely letters was for recruited athletes not to be fluttering in the wind. Yesterday was Nat’l Letter of Intent day. Imagine the pressure the kid would have with non-Ivy schools, showering tons of money etc. on them and all they had was the verbal “promise” from the Dartmouth Football or Women’s Field Hockey coach. With an official LL, it would put the student and his/her family at rest – that they could bank on a Dartmouth accept come “Ivy Day” – the date which is set in stone (unlike the other schools who might be courting the athlete). I see nothing wrong with this and all eight Ivies and a few other private schools, use them.

As for the anxiety of students about the whole thing: this is the same pool who avg 3.9GPA and above yet fret if they hit the submit button 5 seconds after midnight, who wonder if (despite colleges accepting Jan SAT scores) the scores they sent in December will arrive in time, who wonder if one word cut off from the Common App essay will diminish their chances, who consider emailing all schools b/c they placed 5th and not 6th in some competition— there’s no hope for some of these kids.

The anxiety should be (and often is) corrected by knowledge of what a LL is and who gets them (about 1% of applicants – 2/3 of whom are athletes). If they still want to pine away in anxiousness after being informed of that stat, I haven’t an iota of pity for them

I slightly disagree w/Starter. Non athlete Likely letter recipients are just as likely to receive multiple LLs. Then what? Everyone I’ve met for my alma mater, also had one or more from other schools.