Admissions mistake angers students
February 6, 2012
No one said that waiting to hear whether or not you got into the college of your choice is easy.
However, dozens of Vassar College hopefuls were recently devastated when they learned they were not accepted, even though they were initially told they were via the school's website.
Apparently, 76 students were erroneously notified via email that they were accepted at the New York college due to a computer glitch.
The New York Times reports that officials mistakenly sent a letter of acceptance out to all 122 applicants for the learning institution's binding early admission, while only 46 were truly accepted. Hours later, the school notified students that there had been a mistake.
"Each of those students was informed of the error and received our deepest apologies," Vassar president Catharine Hill said in a statement. "We are full of regret and we will be making changes to our notification system."
Understandably, many students were devastated that they did not get into the college after initially being told that they had. The school has apologized and offered to refund each of the affected student's $65 application fee.
What they haven't decided is to allow those who were mistakenly notified to attend the college, as some schools who have made similar mistakes in the past have done.
The Washington Post reports that an admission expert said that if a mistake affects a small number of students, the schools often honor their acceptance, provided they meet the college's admissions requirements.
"The admissions process is a careful set of decisions made over a number of months, intended to give every student a fair assessment and full consideration for admission," Hill said, according to the New York Times. "To do anything but honor that process would in effect deny places in the class to other students who are counting on that fair assessment."
Other colleges that have dealt with similar admissions mistakes include The University of California at San Diego, New York University, George Washington University and Northwestern University, according to the Washington Post.
Time magazine reports that the University of Delaware and Penn State have also had to admit to admissions mistakes in the past.
While waiting for an acceptance or rejection letter or email can be stressful, mothers who decide to pursue a college education don't have to stress out about paying for school. In addition to loans, various grants for parents and scholarships for mothers exist to make pursuing the dream of getting a bachelor's degree a reality for many.
