---
title: Columbia Accidentally Told 277 Students They Got Admitted
description: Columbia University sent some 277 students they earned an acceptance—only to rescind the offer an hour  later.
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  - name: Lucinda Shen
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published: '2017-02-18T15:50:44.000Z'
modified: '2024-04-17T05:15:45.000Z'
section: Education
tags:
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word_count: 150
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> **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/).

![Students sunbathe on the steps of Columbia University's Low Memorial Library, foreground, April 29, 2015 in New York. Butler Library is top center. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)](https://img.money.com/2017/01/columbia-university.jpg)
*Columbia University's Butler Library seen from the Low Memorial Library in New York on April 29, 2015.*

It was probably a rollercoaster ride of emotions for applicants who opened the email.

[Columbia University](https://time.com/4645241/columbia-university-slavery-ties-report/)'s Mailman School of Public Health accidentally told some 227 applicants that they had been accepted to the program, only to dial it back within the hour, [CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/18/us/columbia-university-application-mistake/index.html) reports.

According to a statement from Columbia University's Vice Dean for Education, Julie Kornfield, the mistake was a result of human error.

"We deeply apologize for this miscommunication," Kornfield said in the statement to CNN.

Unfortunately, [other colleges have walked the same road as](https://time.com/3637980/college-admissions-mistakes-johnshopkins/) Columbia before. Just to name a few, Johns Hopkins University sent out rejection letters in 2014, and later told some 300 of those applicants that they had been accepted. [Johns Hopkins](https://time.com/3637181/johns-hopkins-rejected-students-mistaken-acceptance-email/) then had to send a third letter to clarify: The bad news was the right news. In 2015, [Carnegie Mellon](https://time.com/3712677/carnegie-mellon-admission-mistake/) mistakenly sent 800 acceptances. The correction email that followed was less congratulatory.

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