Getting into college is a formative moment in any student’s life.
For these students, however, it turns out that getting accepted to a prestigious University of Kentucky program was actually too good to be true.
The school’s College of Health Sciences usually accepts 40 students per academic year, at most. But an acceptance email sent in mid-March inadvertently went to - wait for it - 500,000 prospective students.
"We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into the selective Clinical and Management program in the University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences for the Fall 2021," the congratulatory email said.
That’s when the confusion started.
"I was like, 'Mom, I just got accepted into the University of Kentucky,’" high school senior Mary Dougherty told WLEX. "And she's like, 'Oh, I didn't know you applied to University of Kentucky.' And I was like, 'Oh, I did not.'"
Dougherty, like many who got the acceptance email, didn’t even apply, visit the school or go to Kentucky’s website. The emails were reportedly sent using the school's Customer Relationship Management tool, which may have gotten the students' information any number of ways, the school said.
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Less than a day later, the school sent a follow-up email explaining the earlier note was a mistake.
"Only a handful of those on the prospect list had been admitted to UK," University of Kentucky spokesman Jay Blanton told the station. "The vast majority had not, nor had the vast majority of these students expressed an interest in the program. Nevertheless, we regret the communication error and have sent correspondence to all those who were contacted, offering our apologies."
He added that all students who were actually admitted later got their acceptance letters.
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