<p>i always want to see any writing from admission officers. so if you get one, congrats and stop complaining. a lot of ppl do not have a chance to see what the officers say about their applications/essay</p>
<p>I understand that I should “stop complaining,” but if it weren’t for CC I probably would have thrown my likely letter away because it was so…cryptic! I didn’t even know what a likely letter was before CC and if I just read the letter, I wouldn’t have seen anything more than “hmm, UVA is a nice school that says thank you for applying, we hope you come here [if you get in].” So yeah, a bit confused, and thank goodness for CC.</p>
<p>“likely letter ≈ accepted”</p>
<p>is as true as</p>
<p>“acceptance letter ≈ accepted”</p>
<p>likely letter ≈ acceptance letter is also true.</p>
<p>Why? Because people point out how there’s a possibility of not getting accepted despite receiving a likely letter because of falling grades or misdemeanor. Guess what? That applies to an acceptance letter as well. A university has every right to rescind your acceptance after they give you an acceptance letter.</p>
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<p>They’re not messing with it. In all likelihood, you’ll get your official acceptance letter. They can’t send an official acceptance letter, because of league policy or a similar technicality. And if you don’t like how the admissions at UVa operates, maybe you should have shot them an e-mail saying so: that you’d them rather not send you a “likely letter”. Other people do like receiving them. Sorry the world cannot alter itself to accommodate your single needs.</p>
<p>I’ve been thinking a lot about likely letters in the last few days. I’m having a hard time understanding why people are angry about these letters and can’t help but wonder if this is partly a result of a day and age when everyone gets a trophy and 44 people are ranked #1 in the class. Instead of seeing the letters as a nice gesture to one student, are they being seen as a “no change” message to everyone else? Why?</p>
<p>I received one of these letters from a college in mid-February back when I went to school. Of course, I shared the news my friends and I remember us all being a little shocked, but excited. It seemed like a sign of good things to come.</p>
<p>I realize that times have changed and I wonder if the change in expectations means we should stop sending these letters. As I wrote, I always saw it as a nice gesture, but if students don’t feel the same way, perhaps we should adapt.</p>
<p>These days, what is the scene at school when someone shares the news that they got one of these letters? Are people excited or are they mad because they didn’t get one?</p>
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<p>This is how I feel. People tend to sensationalize every aspect of the application process. I’ll be honest, though: when I applied, I fully expected a likely letter (based on what I’d seen on CC from the year before), but my credentials weren’t as borderline as those of some people on here who seem to be expecting letters, and I’d also gotten letters from schools higher up in the food chain.</p>
<p>Dean J
Keep sending the letters, it is a great marketing tool. People who do not receive one are just envious. I didn’t receive one and I am still visiting the UVa campus next Thursday and Friday. Trying to show patience. Congrats to everyone receiving a likely letter, be proud.</p>
<p>Dean J: With all due respect, the generic likely letters get the kids very excited about attending UVA, but it also makes other well-qualified students feel left out. When a student hears that others have received a letter and he/she didn’t, that disappointed student might start to look toward other schools and perhaps lose interest in your university. Unless you’re going to customize a likely letter for a particular candidate whom you really want to lure to UVA, I would reconsider how you handle this practice, IMO.</p>
<p>A poster on another thread in the parent forum made a very good observation, and one I had not considered. The Likely Letter is sent to your very top applicants, and correct me if I’m wrong, to keep UVA on their radar screen knowing that they probably are looking at several attractive alternatives. One rail down, at least in the ad com’s reading of the applications, are applicants who are also very high achieving but just not tip top. The issue is not only that it may be taken as and insult to these students to not receive a letter, but that they realize that there are other universities that will value their presence to a greater extent, and they feel that there might be more opportunities at these other institutions. </p>
<p>I think bruised feelings are often a by-product of a lot of the admission’s process unfortunately, but the Likely Letter does give applicants an indication of the pecking order, which allows them the opportunity to act accordingly.</p>
<p>Listen…who the hell cares about a likely letter? Honestly. Let’s think for a second, two people, one has slightly lower stats than the other…the one with higher stats gets a likely letter. Come March 29th, they are both accepted. It doesn’t matter anymore. If you get in, you get in. The fact that someone would have their feelings hurt or be upset because they didn’t receive a likely letter is ridiculous. If you get in, you get in, it doesn’t matter how. If a student were to make his or her decision based on whether they received a likely letter from a school then they would be nothing short of ■■■■■■■■. The sad thing is that we are all so anxious that it stinks to be waiting around until march 29th, but I can tell you for one that no one in their right mind would have hurt feelings because they didn’t get a likely letter. Schools send likely letters to keep the interest of top applicants. This may show a schools preference for one student over another. Yet 80% of admitted students DON’T get a likely letter. Does that mean they should be less happy about getting in? No. </p>
<p>Step back and realize what you are saying once in a while. A kid is going to go where he wants to go based on a million things. Getting a likely letter rather than a normal acceptance a month later should not be one of them.</p>
<p>call me an idiot but I really wanna see their personal notes…</p>
<p>Sorry to get out of topic, but the only thing I don’t 100% get about UVA is “Mr. Jefferson,” and it finally struck me when I read the likely letter post with his name on it. Yes, Thomas Jefferson founded the University which was the first of its kind at least in Virginia; a public non affiliated institution for higher learning. But I don’t think he would have wanted to be martyred.</p>
<p>For any of you UVA students who posted on here, how is Thomas Jefferson regarded? At Jefferson’s school, W&M, he is held in high regard as being our most distinguished alumnus and as founder of the honor code, but he is definitely not martyred. I just wanted to know.</p>
<p>Could you explain the “martyred” comment? Jefferson was the founder and architect of the original campus, but I don’t think anyone here sees him as one who suffered for the University.</p>
<p>Maybe I should reword martyred to something else, but I think he receives a huge deal of praise compared to founders of other highly reputable universities; maybe because he was a president. My sister went on a tour to UVA a couple of years ago, and she heard that “Mr. Jefferson” founded the University. Jefferson founded the honor code, Jefferson’s vision was this, and he influences a lot. My father was rather displeased from the tour because of that. I don’t think Jefferson suffered for the University, but did he found UVA and expect to be marketed the way he is 180 years later? That I doubt. </p>
<p>I don’t think most UVA students think of Jefferson like God of course, but from my sister’s words and my dad’s, Jefferson was regarded like that. Hope that helps Dean J.</p>
<p>TJ was the first U.S. Pres to send troops into conflict in the Middle East, but he was also the first U.S. Pres to use diplomacy to get them out. He is a god, and if you go to UVA or visit C-ville, you’ll understand just what he means to the school, the area, and the country. IMHO of course!</p>
<p>Not being a native of the area, I understand the surprise at Jefferson’s prominence. The entire region is very proud of the three presidents that have ties to the area and you’ll find references to Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe everywhere. I guess I could compare the feeling for Jefferson here with the pride Bostonians have for Sam Adams and Paul Revere.</p>
<p>Remember that tour guides are generally happy students and probably enjoy talking about the history of this place more than the average student. Jefferson is important to us, but I don’t think every student here is obsessed with him.</p>
<p>The current students should probably chime in with their thoughts, though.</p>
<p>Dean J,</p>
<p>I sympathize with your grievances and your second-thoughts on the value of the likely letter. But let me insert my own story here.</p>
<p>I am a recipient of one of these letters. When I first received it, I didn’t really know of the existence of these letters, and had to come on CollegeConfidential to see what it actually meant. Finding out its implications, I had decided to make a visit to the university on the next school recess I had, coming all the way from New York. The visit let me get a much better perspective and feeling of what the university was about. This will no doubt allow me to make a more thoughtful, and most importantly–insightful–decision on where to attend next year.</p>
<p>Just remember, you can’t always please everybody.</p>
<p>amievil, IMO, you met the objective of the likely letter - to keep a student’s interest, encourage him/her to go visit the campus and come to a decision…</p>