Imagine getting an acceptance letter to the top computer science masters program in the country.
Then imagine being told that it was a mistake.
That’s what happened to 800 applicants to Carnegie Mellon’s esteemed computer science program this week.
The university sent out a statement about the glitch on Tuesday: “About 800 applicants to one of SCS’s master’s programs, the Master of Science in Computer Science program in the Computer Science Department, on Monday were erroneously sent acceptance letters via email. This error was the result of serious mistakes in our process for generating acceptance letters. Once the error was discovered, the university moved quickly to notify affected applicants.
“We understand the disappointment created by this mistake, and deeply apologize to the applicants for this miscommunication. We are currently reviewing our notification process to help ensure this does not happen in the future.”
While the university sent emails to applicants within hours of the mistake, some had already taken some serious steps to change their future. This New York Times piece found a few of those accepted/rejected applicants, some of which called the experience “heart-shattering.” One woman even quit her job.
Ouch.
