Are "likely letters" ethical?

<p>Okay. I withdraw my question in light of this: <a href=“http://admissions.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/2013IvyLeagueStatement.pdf[/url]”>http://admissions.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/2013IvyLeagueStatement.pdf&lt;/a&gt; (could not find it on the Dartmouth site but many of the other Ivies make it easy to find). It seemed to me that likely letters were jumping the gun on other schools (sort of like the now-defunct plan on law clerk hiring for federal judges, since the judges kept cheating on each other), but that premise was false, since the eight schools have all agreed on the controlling principles.</p>