We wouldn't wish this twist of fortune on anyone: This week about 50 applicants to the Kellogg School of Management received an acceptance letter from the school, only to find out later that it was the result of a computer glitch, and that they in fact had been rejected.
The applicants each received an email message with an attached acceptance letter. Kellogg official blamed the mistake on a "technical glitch" that occurred in an automated mail-merge process. The Kellogg web site always had the correct information, which applicants could see when they logged onto the site to check their status.
Understandably, some applicants prematurely started to celebrate. The Chicago Tribune quoted one applicant who excitedly called his parents and enjoyed a celebratory dinner before learning the bad news on the web site. Kellogg is going to refund his and everyone else's $235 application fee, but of course that's small consolation.
Something tells us that Kellogg won't be doing any more mail merges any time soon...
For more information on applying to Kellogg, read about the 2008-2009 Kellogg admissions essays and application deadlines.
