OMG. College just called me and told me that my D's acceptance was a mistake.

Likely my first comment to this was not accepted by CC as I implicated some unkind words towards the school, but this is completely unacceptable. Definitely call the artistic head and the School Presidents office to see if they will honor the acceptance.

@type1mom yes, I am 100% certain it was the director of admissions. I have met and spoken with her before.

@CMB625 She applied to Tech not drama. @momof2lefties I am so so sorry that this happened to you…Don’t know what to say

Ok, if they sent her letters and an admission packet and her portal changed and asked for a deposit, they really NEED to honor that! That’s not just “oops, we called you by mistake,” which would be bad enough. But they actually got the acceptance/matriculation process rolling! Please fight this as much as you can!

That is so awful. Love and solidarity to you and your daughter. This process sucks in general, but that’s the worst thing I’ve ever heard.

@marg928 yep, I edited my response after I saw that.

What would you say if you called the head of the D&P department? I am a bit calmer now and am trying to organize my thoughts. The DofA told me that she read the list wrong and that the acceptance was supposed to go to the person on the line above and that my D should have gotten a letter that said to reapply next year. Deep breaths.

I hate to even suggest this because I truly believe they should simply admit her but if you need other suggestions, maybe ask if they have a wait list. Ask if there is often movement off that waitlist if there is one? Maybe request that she be first on the waitlist?

I would be very gracious but very insistent that the university honor the offer it extended to her (especially if she has withdrawn other apps because she was admitted to her dream school). I think the point is to stand up to her (politely) so that she realizes the futility and general evilness of trying to take away the admission. The mistake could have been corrected numerous times through their process (reviewing the list before printing the letters, reviewing the list of packets as they were assembled, reviewing the names of kids getting the fat envelopes before the envelopes were mailed) and it was not, and now it’s unfair to ask an 18 year old to bear the costs of them not doing their job properly. Basically their process broke down and they are asking too much of a teenage student to pay the price.

Also say things like “I am sure you can find a way to accommodate her” because of course they can adjust their class size by 1 person given that it’s February and they can’t expect 100% of the admitted kids to attend.

ETA - you could also let the director (nicely) know that you are prepared to follow up today with the university president and the trustees on the matter because I would guess that the director has not told them about her massive goof and is hoping that your child will quietly go away and make things easy on her.

It’s likely also a violation of the principles of NACAC so perhaps you could mention reporting it to them? I just checked and the college is an institutional member of NACAC so I’m guess that withdrawing an acceptance in this way could be a no-no in NACAC’s list of rules.

That may be the most unprofessional thing I have heard of. What an absolute crappy way to handle a huge error.

If you have a letter etc- I would be on the phone to a Lawyer ---- isn’t that breach of contract?

Yes — I’d apply pressure. Especially with the “apply again next year” in the “real” letter. They should honor the offer. I assume you did not deposit yet…

@momof2lefties - Have you paid the deposit? That’s an argument that the offer was extended and accepted. I’ve read where this has happened to people before and they told the school “I’ve been accepted and I’ll be on campus to attend; fix it and make it right” I would send a letter to that persons supervisor, Dean of Admissions??, and the Dean of the school. They should honor the offer. One more student isn’t going to kill them.

https://concurringopinions.com/archives/2012/01/vassars-mistaken-acceptance-letters.html

Because I have had this nightmare, I have done some reading on the topic. Not deep research, just reading. Here is an interesting article.

I would absolutely be calling. Polite and professional at first but I, too, would notify the University President and Trustees if necessary.

No, we did not make the deposit yet. I am of two minds on this. One side is very angry and wants them to make it right and find a place for her. The other side is also very angry, but wonders if the professors who she interviewed with and then who did not want her would be prepared to put 100% positive energy behind her if they made a spot for her. With only 8 or so kids in the class, I just don’t know.

Consider contacting the local media.

Not to mention, something sounds fishy. This was not just one phone call error. There were also multiple letters and a change in the portal. Did they send any financial info with the offer?

@momof2lefties - Is the portal still available to make the deposit?

Never should happen. Demand that she be admitted, or go directly to the media in order to shame them. Here a few links to publications to contact to generate an interesting media “outing:”

Just in case your “good news” does not prove fruitful:

The Chronicle of Higher Education: https://www.chronicle.com/page/Contact-Us/613?cid=cheftr

Inside Higher Ed: https://about.insidehighered.com/contact-us

The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/help/index.html

@momof2lefties I think your point about wondering if the professors would be less than perfectly thrilled to have your D is a good one to ponder as this gets worked out.