There’s a rule in sales: don’t celebrate until you get a real yes. “Looks great!” “This is exactly what we need.” “Really impressive.” Phrases like those sound promising. But none of them are the same as an actual “Yes!” A yes is a commitment to buy. It’s when paperwork is signed and the deal is done. Experienced salespeople never celebrate until they get a real yes.

There are some scenarios where college admissions works the same way.

A coach tells you you’re a great fit for their program.
A college sends you a letter based on your PSAT scores that praises your accomplishments.
A college interviewer tells you you’d be a great fit.

Good signs? Maybe. But a good sign is not a yes. And I’ve seen many cases of college admissions heartbreak because of it.

I don’t think those folks are ever trying to deliberately mislead a student. But given the stress of the process and our tendency to look for evidence of what we want to be true, it’s easy for a teenage college applicant to take those expressions as a yes.

Please remember that nothing means you’re in—nothing is a yes—until 1) it’s actually a yes, and 2) it comes from the admissions office.

One potential gray area? Some admissions officers send promising applicants (those who’ve already applied) letters or emails indicating that the student is showing a lot of promise during the admissions process. In admissions, these are called “likely letters” and are meant to generate some interest and excitement from a student who’s almost certainly going to be admitted. It’s a tentative yes in the interim while the school prepares to send the bulk of their decisions to all of the applicants.

If you get a letter like this, please show it to your counselor so he or she can help you interpret it. A likely letter is absolutely a good sign. But it’s still not a yes.

It’s not a yes until it is.