This doesn’t sound very transparent. lol.
Unfortunately many schools don’t issue athletic likely letters. Of those that do make use of LLs, some don’t always get all of the athletic LLs out before EA/ED/REA/SCEA decisions are communicated.
@alwaysmoving: My statement is relative. Compared to the other process where you never knew who you are competing with, never got any communication where you stand and never knew how and who you lost to, it’s much more transparent. A lot of times it’s the athlete who did not fully understand where they stand or assumed things( e.g green light on pre-read is an offer, risk associated with soft support) . Coaches do change mind from time to time - that mostly happens when players sit on borderline qualification.
@Mwfan1921 : You are right that some schools don’t issue likely letters. I did learn through the process all ivies, UChicago, JhS, Duke, Stanford and many top liberal art schools do. So one should alway find out on that 1st and maybe take that into consideration if you have choices. Ivies can’t issue LL before Oct 1st, but other schools issue can issue them any time ( in my sons case, in early August, within 2 days of submitting complete ED application(He does have 36 ACT, 3.9GPA, ASB leadership role, EC etc to go with being a D1 player choosing D3 school).
It would be red flag if have not received LL from Ives by Nov 15 ( assume get act together and put in app by Oct 1) or within a couple of weeks after submitted ED at other LL issuing schools. Then it’s prudent to ask direct hard question and activate backup plan, in my opinion.
Always prudent to have a back up-plan. But every year there are Ivy recruits who did not receive LLs before notice of their admission, whether ED or SCEA, including one CC poster in the last month. Stressful, but aside from staying in contact with the coach, out of their control.
None of the NESCAC schools, which contains many of the top LACs, issue LLs.
Duke and Stanford issue likely letters?
Question for the 2020 recruits: how many prereads did you go through?
TIA!
My son submitted to 6-7 schools for pre-read( more asked for it, but decided not fit so did not respond). Then 5 schools came back with slot offer, one offered soft support.
Yes, I believe that’s true.
Stanford issues LLs to many recruited athletes and a few non-athletic applicants.
Not sure whether Duke issues to both athletic and non-athletic applicants.
There are a few threads on CC where kids have gotten LL. Apparently it is not well publicized but done nevertheless.
My daughter was a 2020 recruit. Pre read- 7, mix of D3s and D1s. They all came back positive within a few weeks. One other school asked for the material to be sent to them in August.
At least two of the LACs (Williams and Pomona) offered LL to us.
Passed 6 pre-reads (3 D3 & 3 IL). She decided against pursuing 2 other D3s whose coaches requested pre-reads. All requested early application. Slots offered by the 3 D3s. The IL she will attend was straightforward about process. Another IL was not - this was not misinterpretation. Though I initially thought this was where she would end up, I’m glad she will be elsewhere after over one year of odd, erratic and, in the end, false statements by coach. The 3rd IL did not offer a slot but estimated 60% chance of admission with a strong letter of recommendation that is “rarely provided” by this coach. I may be wrong but I doubt that could be accurate for a school with less than 6% admit rate. Nonetheless, this school wrote and called frequently, invited her for junior days and for OV (she declined the latter). We later heard from a girl we met at junior days that her slot from this school was retracted (presumably for stronger athlete). This left her scrambling for another school late in the game. I think it’s fair to say that things could go swimmingly well for some and not so well for others and this is probably highly variable for each athlete at different schools. When it doesn’t go so well, there shouldn’t be an assumption that an athlete or parent heard what they wanted to hear (though I’m sure that happens). I didn’t expect it to be easy and I was right. I’m relieved it’s all over and thrilled with the final outcome!
Appreciate the answers re: number of prereads (keep them coming!). Also, appreciate knowing that Williams might issue likely letter.
I can add to the discussion by saying I know Emory also issues likely letters.
I haven’t heard of Williams admissions issuing likely letters, but obviously policies and practices can be dynamic. In the past, Williams has issued ‘early writes’, which is formal notification of acceptance well before the stated notification date…but I have only heard of this happening in the RD round.
Do keep us updated as you go thru the process!
Just want to clarify one thing since the phrase “likely letter” is loosely defined.
In the letter my son got, it clearly states “ provincial offer to join class 2024 as long as keeping up with academics etc”. Our GC said it’s much more serious and contractual in nature than the other likely letter “ to inform you that you are likely to be offer admission”.
Yes, there is a lot of variations, jargons, terms, risk etc to deal with in this process, in addition to the tremendous efforts kids have to put in. Two years ago, looking from outside, we thought “ it looks pretty easier”. After going through it, I agree with the statement made by another member earlier “ it’s not for the faint of the heart”.
What your son received sounds like an early write, which is quite different from a likely letter.
Huh, I’ve never heard the term early write (I love how much I learn on CC!) so I should clarify that the Emory letter I’m familiar with would be an “early write” then, not a likely letter.
Stanford doesn’t. They issue something called a Pink Letter. I don’t believe Duke does either. I believe LL are only issued by Ivies. Other schools have their own versions of it, but they aren’t called “Likely Letters”.
I have never heard of the early write, either. So interesting.
Just to clarify, we have not seen an actual likely letter from any D3 schools since my daughter end up committing to an Ivy. Since my daughter was open with all the coaches as to where she was being recruited (and her list included a few Ivies), that might have prompted the coaches to discuss the LL (or something similar) to her as an option.
The only likely letter we saw was the one from Ivy where she submitted her early application (and we were SO glad to finally reach the end of the long recruiting journey!).
My daughter was recruited/did pre-read to an another NESCAC as well but there was no mention of a likely letter (or something similar) even after a favorable pre-read result/OV invite.
When my kid went through the recruiting process, we were told that it was against NESCAC rules for a member college to issue a Likely Letter. Is this rule no longer in effect?