The sad story of erroneous university admissions letters

This happens almost every year. The news that Carnegie Mellon University mistakenly sent enrollment emails tothose applicants who actually failed was extremely unpleasant for the 800 students who had already been denied admission to the elite program ofthe study of computer science. But - while there is a particular irony that the massively sent email was from the administration of the best computer science university - this kind of confusion that is very upsetting and spoiling the mood, unfortunately, happens quite often. This has almost become a tradition in university admissions campaigns.It all began in the 2000s when applications for admission began to be submitted electronically.So, below is a summary of the most offensive cases of "enrollment by mistake".

17-year-old Elizabeth Micheus was among those who first applied for admission and received a thick envelope with a standard letter "Welcome to Cornell University!" But it turned out that the letters were sent incorrectly"due to a clerical error. "Elizabeth is upset for the second time when she receives a thin envelope again in April with a second denial of admission.Her family threatened the university to sue for a mistake with the envelopes.

In 2002 at the University of California an unfunny date was chosen to correct the error. After 105 applicants have been sent letters of admission, the university next sends emails on April Fool's Day, explaining that the first letters were sent in error.

In 2004 Cornell University again "distinguished himself". This time he sends emails with the text "Welcome to Cornell University, your future alma mater!"almost 550 applicants who had previously received rejection letters in December. To correct the error, the university sends another letter a few hours later.In the same year, a similar situation was repeated in University of California: trouble does not come alone.Initially, the university gives everyone the opportunity to view the personal data of 2,000 applicants, including SAT scores and social security card numbers. Shortly thereafter, he admits that he mistakenly emailed 6,500 applicants that they had won a $ 7,500 scholarship. This is the first year that this university has emailed a scholarship award. “Obviously, we have bugs in the system,” a spokesman told the Los Angeles Times.

In 2006 about 100 high school students receive congratulatory letters inviting them to University of Georgia. And after a few days they receive messages about the cancellation of those letters. As the system administrator explains, someone took the “wrong file” and instead of just being notified of the acceptance of the application, they sent those ill-fated letters. Moreover, in the same year, thousands of law school applicants at the University of California at Berkeley first receive an invitation to a party hosted by those who enroll in the university and then receive a cancellation. “Anyone who made a mistake like this can imagine how I felt at that moment. - says the chairman of the selection committee, who accidentally sent a mailing to the entire list of applicants, - I just fell into a stupor: "God, what have I done?"

2007 was also marked by an unpleasant event: more than 2,500 applicants receive notification of admission to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - and alreadythe next day they receive letters that decisions on their candidacies have not yet been made. “I would give anything to be back by 3:00 pm yesterday to make a difference,” the admissions chair told WRAL.

In 2008 nearly 50 students are invited to the famous Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, although later they are nevertheless informed that they did not pass. Institutional officials say there was a "technical problem" in the "automated mailing system."

In 2009 , erroneous letters were sent to applicants of two more universities. About 500 applicants receive email notifications of admission to the School of Public Service at NYU. An hour later, they receive letters that, it turns out, they have not arrived.However, among all the cases, the University of California at San Diegodistinguished itself, which sent out emails to 28,000 applicants stating that they were enrolled.This was, of course, a mistake.

Over the past five years , every year a well-known university has sent out erroneous letters of admission to its applicants. Among them were: George Washington University, Vanderbilt University, Middlesex University , University of Ulster in Northern Ireland, Fordham University, Johns Hopkins University .