Yahoo Movies University offers students full tuition after it accidentally told students they won full-ride
DETROIT — Central Michigan University mistakenly told 58 prospective students that they had won a full scholarship that includes room and board.
University officials apologized for the error Wednesday night, and offered the equivalent of a full-tuition scholarship to each of the 58 prospective students affected.
"We deeply regret the disappointment and frustration caused by the test message error in the student portal," CMU spokesman Aaron Mills said in a statement. "To make it right, we will be reaching out to each of the 58 students who saw the congratulatory message regarding the Centralis Scholarship and offering ... the equivalent of a full-tuition scholarship."
The error occurred over the weekend while employees were testing out new messaging technology and accidentally posted a message about the Centralis Scholar Award to certain students' portals.
"CMU sincerely regrets this mistake and understands the disappointment and anger these students and their families must be feeling," Mills said. "The message appeared to indicate the student had received the Centralis Scholarship, when in fact they had not. CMU’s executive director of admissions personally contacted the families of students who were identified as being in the portal during testing on Sunday to apologize for this miscommunication."
The Centralis Scholar Awards are the school's most prestigious merit scholarships, according to the website, and are awarded to high school seniors. It includes admission to the honors program, full tuition, room and board for four years and a $5,000 study away award. Eligible students must have a high school grade-point average of at least 3.7.
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CMU, located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, estimates its yearly tuition to be $12,750 for U.S. residents.
Parker Christensen, a 17-year-old senior at Newaygo High School, was one of the recipients of the accidental message, he told Central Michigan Life, CMU's student newspaper. He was so excited to have won the full ride that he told his friends and family, and his mother posted about it on social media.
The joy he felt quickly dissipated when he learned it was a mistake, he told Central Michigan Life.
"Colleges are supposed to make your dreams come true not destroy them or make you second guess if they are achievable," Christensen said.
Follow Emma Stein on Twitter: @_emmastein.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan school offers students full tuition after scholarship error
