UCLA wrongly welcomes wait-list applicants

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LOS ANGELES, April 11 (UPI) -- UCLA has apologized to nearly 900 high school seniors mistakenly notified they were accepted to the California school but in reality were on a waiting list.

University of California Los Angeles spokesman Ricardo Vazquez said the error occurred when updated notices of provisional financial aid were sent during the weekend to admitted students and to students on the waiting list for possible freshman admission this fall, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The note to the students on the waiting list mistakenly included the sentence: "Once again congratulations on your admission to UCLA, we hope that this information will assist you in making your decision to join the Bruin Family in the fall."

"We realize this is a particularly anxious and stressful time for students and their families as they try to make decisions about college admissions," Vazquez said. "We sincerely apologize for this mistake that may have led some of them to think they were admitted when they remain on the waiting lists."

The e-mail directed to the 894 wait-listed students included a link to a financial aid letter that clearly said they were on the school's waiting list, the Times said.

UCLA's financial aid office Monday sent messages telling the 894 that they were, in fact, not admitted and apologized.

Vazquez attributed the mix-up to human error and said UCLA officials were looking into how the mistake was made.