As Colleges Use ‘Wink’ Letters To Snare Top Students Early points out, competition between schools for top applicants is getting fierce:
In increasing numbers, colleges are wooing their top choices with notes of praise and hints of acceptance letters and scholarship money to come. The idea is to win their affections by getting them some good news before the competition does. This courtship, which can take place up to several months before formal acceptance letters hit students’ mailboxes, comes in various forms: everything from “likely” letters — which tell students that they’re likely to get admitted — to “love” letters, or handwritten notes from admissions offices complimenting a student’s essay or some other aspect of the application.
I love the way Dartmouth is using these “likely” letters:
Most Ivy League schools generally send out such letters only when pursuing an athlete who may be getting sports scholarships from non-Ivy institutions. In fact, all the Ivies are bound by a rule that requires them to mail out their acceptance letters no earlier than April 2. Dartmouth says its “likely” letters aren’t a violation because they don’t outright admit the applicant, they just hint at it.
“It’s not an acceptance; it just hints at an acceptance.” Riiiggght.