<p>Well, I hear your point, but I’m not sure I agree. The letter of intent, I believe, is for accepting a scholarship offer. In other words, the school gives money in exchange for a commitment. The school giving the money is holding a scholarship for the student who signs the letter. Before the letter is signed, the student is free to commit wherever he wants to, even if he has been “cleared” for admission.</p>
<p>Some students will make a verbal commitment before the signing day, and a few back out. But those are the breaks.</p>
<p>In this case, no scholarship is offered. The athlete is asked to commit, presumably, before knowing what his education is going to cost. And if a conditional letter of acceptance is the same as a letter of intent, what about the student who wants to shop around, check out the coaches, the program, etc. and needs these sorts of letters from all the schools he’s considering before making a decision?</p>
<p>Not that it matters. If that’s the way the Ivies do it, then that’s the way they do it. But it doesn’t seem right or fair to me.</p>
<p>It should be pretty easy to calculate the cost of the Ivy education, though, since there are no merit or athletic scholarships on the table. We did not look at D1 programs other than Ivies. What is their timeline for finalizing rosters? Can/do seniors get final athletic and merit scholarship numbers in the fall? The Ivies have the unique situation of being so in demand that if student/athletes don’t jump on the opportunity it may evaporate. And, no, this isn’t the same as other D1’s but it is the way it works.</p>
<p>Some other schools give athletic scholarships for D1 sports, as you’ve already said, and the amount varies depending on the school. The signing dates also vary and are governed by NCAA rules. I think it’s fair to say that finalizing the recruit list is done after the LOIs are signed.</p>
<p>If you’re getting a scholarship, you know up front how much money that will be if and when you accept the offer.</p>
<p>Yes, the Ivies are in demand. I know a young lady who turned down full ride fencing scholarships to attend Harvard, but her family is very, very wealthy. It must be tough for kids who aren’t from a background like that to do the same thing.</p>
<p>Ivies give out likely letters, to atheletes and candidates with very high stats. Some Ivies will tell their athelete recruits to take easier courses in order to maintain minimum GPA. OP, I would ask the coach what is Princeton’s requirement for your acceptance or for them not to rescind their offer. I would do it via email.</p>
<p>If you are eligible for financial aid, I would let the school know it is important to you and you would like to know what it would be. If the school wants you bad enough they may be a bit more generous with the package - less loan, more grant, no work study.</p>
<p>tarhunt: a likely letter is not binding to the applicant. Of course he/she is able to eventually decline admission. I interviewed a student two years ago who had received Likely Letters from at least Yale and Harvard. She wasn’t very interested in my school (based upon her enthusiasm at the interview). She matriculated at H.</p>
<p>The Ivies use these specifically because they can’t use “letters of intent” since they don’t offer scholarships. However, it’s a marketing tool for students they know will be in demand – both with non-ivies and within the Ivies. The Ivies have agreed upon official notification dates and have pledged not to offer admits prior to them. The “likely letter” is to sway the student and to put him/her at ease.</p>
<p>I don’t see that their use is fair or unfair. My two cents.</p>
<p>iFencer: congrats again. You’ve got the engagement band but you’re still able to go out on dates! LOL Check out some others that might be able to WOW you. If not, just sit back, don’t fail or commit any felonies – and buy that P’ton sweatshirt</p>
<p>I know someone who applied ED to Princeton last year, also an excellent fencer, who got a likely letter from the coach the same week she got deferred. She was subsequently rejected.</p>
<p>I’d apply to a number of other schools in case something like this happens. Hopefully, it doesn’t.</p>
<p>^ I agree-sounds fishy. The Ivy Admission Statement states that the Likely Letter comes from Admissions. There are tons of these stories on CC. Usually they involve the coach’s prediction or the athlete misinterpreting the coach’s support. You must remember that only admissions sees the whole application package.</p>
<p>The likely letter does come from admissions; it is exactly that, a likely letter, there is a chance that the applicant will screw up somehow and not get admitted - I’m sure the OP won’t - but I think applying to two or three other colleges, one a safety, is a good idea.</p>
<p>Also in MLeigh’s horror story above, there is no way Admissions would sent out a Likely Letter the same week it was sending out decisions. There would be no point.</p>
<p>I have yet to see a post on CC that says “I got a likely letter and I was deferred (or rejected.)” If you’re out there, chime in. It would be a great help to families trying to figure this out.</p>
<p>This is an old thread, but the dialogue contains some valuable insights. While recruiting practices seem to vary greatly from Ivy to Ivy, in general athletic recruiting in the Ivies seems quite different from recruiting procedures followed by colleges that use the national letter of intent. This can be confusing for athletes and their families - especially where there seems to be more information available publicly about the letter of intent process. </p>
<p>In addition to the lack of athletic scholarships in the Ivies, the dialogue between coach and recruit can follow a very different path. All admissions decisions (for likely letters and official admissions decisions) are made solely by the Ivy admissions committee. An offer by an Ivy coach to “support” a recruit is no guarantee of a likely letter or of admission. Similarly, if a coach strongly encourages an applicant to apply for a likely letter, it can still turn out that no likely letter is forthcoming from admissions. Recruits should feel free to leave all options open until there is a clear response (one way or another) from admissions. (This does not mean, however, that a recruit should tell more than one coach that his/her college is the recruit’s “first choice”).</p>
<ol>
<li> This is a likely letter.</li>
<li> The U will assume you will keep your grades at the same level as, or better, than on your application</li>
<li> You committed to the coach this was your first choice or you would not have gotten the letter, it why you were told to apply at the start of the school year rather than waiting.</li>
<li> You do not mention a call from admissions coming before the letter telling you it was coming. Usaually they call and say grades, grades, grades. My fencer took it seriously and maintain a straigh “A” average, and cut back on NAC’s till she was done. NAC record is nothing if your grades go. You are depending on your grades at this point</li>
<li>If you do that, and don’t do anything stupid, the personal side of the statement, you will be accepted and do not need a back up.</li>
</ol>
<p>I know the OP, and he was indeed accepted by Princeton and is currently attending and is on the fencing team. My son recently received his likely letter (preceded by the “grades, grades” phone call hikids mentioned above and is looking forward to joining iFencer and hikids’ daughter at his clear first choice school.</p>