University of Michigan Mistaken Acceptance Letter
The University of Michigan sent out acceptance letters in error this year (photo credit: AndrewHorne).
Just about every year, a university mistakenly sends offers of admission to the wrong batch of students. The school then realizes the error of its ways and quickly sends out corrections. This year, the culprit is the University of Michigan. In past years, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, Tulane University, University of California – Los Angeles, George Washington University, New York University, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are among the universities that have sent out offers of admission in error — either at the undergraduate or graduate level.
University of Michigan Sends Out Acceptance Email in Error
As reports Matt Harmon for “Michigan Daily” in a piece entitled “Admissions sends out premature transfer acceptance email,” “The University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science and the Arts sent an email Monday to prospective transfer students congratulating them on their acceptance to the University and inviting them to LSA’s Transfer Student Days in April. While normally a moment of celebration for most students, the email was met with confusion and questions — students who received the email had not heard back in an official capacity from a University office in regards to their admission status at the time of LSA’s email. Addressed by Transfer Recruiting Coordinator Kristin Heinrich, the email was reportedly sent to prospective students still waiting to hear if their transfer to the University was accepted or rejected. ‘Congratulations on your admission to the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts!’ the email read. ‘I am sure this is an exciting time for you. Are you interested in learning more about LSA? Do you want to meet current transfer students and professionals from across campus who are here to help YOU? We invite you to attend one of our LSA Transfer Student Days in April!'”
But the offer of acceptance was premature indeed as the university hasn’t yet rendered final decisions on their transfer applicants. Michigan would soon notify the students who received the email that it was sent in error — much to their disappointment. And while it never surprises us that universities walk back these mistaken acceptances, they really should honor these letters if possible. If a store mistags an item as $10 when it’s supposed to be $100, that store is supposed to honor the $10 tag. We think colleges should honor their mistags too.
But what do our readers think? Do you agree? Disagree? Let us know your thoughts by posting a Comment below. We look forward to hearing from you!
You are permitted to use www.ivycoach.com (including the content of the Blog) for your personal, non-commercial use only. You must not copy, download, print, or otherwise distribute the content on our site without the prior written consent of Ivy Coach, Inc.
3 Comments
I knew someone who received a mistake letter from Tulane and ultimately did not get in. It is indeed devistating. But the remedy of sticking by the admission seems out of whack. If there is one mistken letter, it may have some appeal. But 150? 500? Then it seems to be more problematic. Admission is limited and while one student at the margin may not matter, 500 surely would. 500 fewer spaces for those that otherwise would have gotten in. Leaving them out seems perhaps more unfair, as, absent the mistake, they would have gotten in but now there is not enough space. In my opinion, if the remedy is not right for 500, it is not right for one. So all the school can do is apologize and take whatever steps it can to try to prevent this from happening again. Isn’t admissions about getting the best class possible? And don’t they let the rest of the class down in the event that they admit someone by mistake? Admittedly it is an art more than a science but one assumes that the admissions professionals are doing their best and we should honor that by admitting those whom they intended to admit.
Back in December 2012, my daughter received an email accepting her into LSA at University of Michigan. This was a just few days before the official notification date in December. She posted about it, and all her friends thought she was lying, which was deeply offensive to her. It turned out she was officially accepted a few days later and ended up going. If you are wondering, I do not think it was worth the money as an out-of-state resident. It did not differentiate itself from our own state schools in any way, except by the horrible weather. On the other hand, my other daughter goes to Duke, and I think it is worth the money.
I’m actually currently going through this situation. I got accepted into a masters program with a full ride a month and a half ago, April 5th 2019. Throughout that month ,I received several emails asking about my shirt size for the program. Only to get a rejection letter from the school of graduate studies on May 23rd 2019. My acceptance email did not say anything about my program acceptance being contingent on the school of graduate studies acceptance. Within that time, I was excited, signed up for an apartment, put in my 2 weeks at work all for them to say “ooohh sorry,the program shouldn’t have done that.”Mind you, I’m 5 years out of undergrad so it’s not like my grades slipped. Thoughts on what to do?