Vassar Accidentally Accepts 76 Students It Rejected

'System error' gave false hope to rejected applicants
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 30, 2012 12:19 PM CST
Vassar Accidentally Accepts 76 Students It Rejected
   (Shutterstock)

This weekend, for a few hours, 76 students thought they had been accepted to Vassar College—though, in reality, they had been rejected. The early-decision applicants saw the erroneous acceptance letter when checking their application statuses online; a placeholder "test letter" was mistakenly not replaced and was seen by scores of students between 4pm and 4:30pm. An additional 46 students who had truly been accepted also saw the letter.

Disappointed students share their tales of woe with the New York Times: One had already purchased two Vassar sweatshirts; the mother of another had informed nearly his entire family. Two hours after the error was discovered, the college notified the students of the "system error" and apologized, and a spokesperson says no further steps are planned. Some parents, however, have requested a refund of the application fee; the parents of one student are even considering legal action, since the decision was supposedly binding. (Read more Vassar College stories.)

We use cookies. By Clicking "OK" or any content on this site, you agree to allow cookies to be placed. Read more in our privacy policy.
Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X