The University of Kentucky (UK) committed a major blunder when the school accidentally sent out 500,000 acceptance letters to high school students for a program that accepts 35 to 40 students annually.
Clueless seniors received the email on March 15 and were surprised to read that they had been “accepted into the selective Clinical and Management program in the University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences for Fall 2021.”
A university representative told WLEX-TV that most of the students who were mistakenly accepted did not express any interest in the program.
“Only a handful of those on the prospect list had been admitted to UK,” spokesperson Jay Blanton said. “Nevertheless, we regret the communication error and have sent correspondence to all those who were contacted, offering our apologies.”
Email Error
The technical snafu was caused by the school’s customer relationship management tool used to distribute information. However, within 24 hours, UK was reported to have followed up with an official apology and explanation.
Some students who had not applied to the school but received the erroneous email said that they were worried, thinking that they had done something wrong and taken the spot from a more deserving student.
“I’d be heartbroken. Reading that ‘congratulations you’re in’ for students who really wanted it, that must have been horrible like I cannot imagine what that felt like and I’m really sorry,” Texas Senior Gabriel Botello said.
UK’s Blanton clarified that the student may have expressed interest or could have applied to the university at some point, explaining why the school had their email addresses. Rest assured, high school seniors who rightfully earned their acceptance to the program have been notified.