College admissions is incredibly stressful for everyone involved. When you submit your application, you want to know the result. Wouldn’t it be nice to have all of the doubt alleviated early on in the admissions cycle by a communication from the school of your dreams, essentially ensuring that you’ll get in once decisions come out? For some highly competitive students, this is the reality. Elite colleges send “Likely Letters” to their top Regular Decision round applicants to cinch their interest in the school as early as possible before any other schools have made an impression. 

In 2024, Likely Letters will come in the form of an email (as do acceptance letters!). Still, their primary function has remained the same: get the best students in the applicant pool as interested as possible as early as possible! Imagine the relief the lucky students who receive these letters from places like the University of Pennsylvania or Stanford University feel. Assuming they maintain the academic performance and clean disciplinary record that impressed the school by the time Regular Decision notifications come out, they know an elite undergraduate education awaits them!

What Does a Likely Letter Look Like? An Example from Columbia University

Here is a Likely Letter one of Ivy Coach’s clients received from Columbia University.

“Dear _____,

I am writing to inform you that your application to Columbia University has been carefully evaluated and that you have earned designation as a likely candidate for admission to Columbia College. As long as our midyear review finds that you are maintaining your current level of academic progress and good standing, you can expect to receive favorable word when admissions packets are mailed on March 30th.

The Committee on Admissions was deeply impressed with your scholastic and personal achievements, and we look forward to all you might add to our rich campus community. I offer you my sincere congratulations on your accomplishments thus far and eagerly anticipate those that lie ahead.

If we can be of any help to you, please do not hesitate to contact the Admissions Office at ugrad-ask@columbia.edu or 212-854-2522. Please save these dates for Columbia College Days on Campus for admitted students: April 10th and 11th or April 17th and 18th, when events will include a hosted overnight visit, a chance to sit in on classes, tours of New York City and much more. I hope you can join us.

All of us here wish you the best during the exciting months ahead.

Sincerely yours,

Jessica Marinaccio:

Dean of Undergraduate Admissions”

College Likely Letters Trace Their Roots to Athletic Recruitment

The Likely Letters system was first pioneered by Ivy League schools (which offer no athletic scholarships) seeking to secure the admission of top athletes, who might otherwise be drawn to other Division I programs offering generous scholarships. Ivy League Likely Letters are thus usually sent out sooner than letters from other schools, between October 1st and March 15th. Recruited athletes are all but assured of their future admission, and according to the Primacy Effect of social psychology — which tells us that the first thing in a sequence of things is often the most well-remembered and coveted — the earlier a Likely Letter is sent, the more likely that student will matriculate once admitted.

Likely Letters are not sent out during the Early Decision round because these schools don’t have to compete for these applicants after receiving their applications — the students have already made binding decisions to attend. And Early Action decisions come out months before Regular Decision notifications, so the Primacy Effect is already in play!

Do You Have to Commit to the School that Sends You a Likely Letter?

Rest assured that you do not have to commit to a school that sends you a Likely Letter. You are under no obligation to attend, but your prospective school is also under no obligation to admit you. So don’t get complacent during your senior year. You might think you have an elite college acceptance under your belt, but a major behavioral infraction or academic lapse could jeopardize your case for admission. It’s more common than one might think! 

Still, you should be proud that you received a Likely Letter from a top school. It means you were among the best applicants they reviewed that year and it means you’re indeed getting in! In the context of dwindling acceptance rates and application pools expanding to record numbers, your stellar candidacy for admission should not be taken for granted.