Opening up a post-secondary acceptance letter can be one of the most exciting moments in the lives of young adults.
For some soon-to-be high school graduates who applied to the University of British Columbia, that moment quickly turned sour.
“I was pretty surprised that such a mistake could happen,” Noah Bensley, a Grade 12 student at Elgin Park Secondary in Surrey, said.
Bensley had applied for multiple programs across the different universities in the province, but his dream is to attend UBC’s Sauder School of Business.
He thought it came true last Friday when he got an email from the university’s admissions office.
“I was over the moon; I celebrated with family and friends and was just so excited for the opportunity and also for what’s to come in the future,” he told CityNews.
But while soaking in the moment, Bensley got another email.
“Stating that they had made a mistake, and it should have actually been my second-choice program the Bachelor of Arts which I should have been admitted to. So, the UBC Sauder Admission was revoked,” he explained.
Bensley was not the only one — 215 applicants were affected by what UBC is calling a “processing error.” Bensley says he’s worried for his peers who may have already turned down other school offers.
“I’m sure they’re devastated and even more stressed out and anxious than I am. If they had accepted that offer from UBC and declined others, well then they’re going to be wondering, ‘How am I going to get that back from the other schools am I going to be left with nothing now?’” he said.
“As for what’s going to happen to my application for the Sauder School of Business, I’m left feeling a bit unsure,” Bensley added.
UBC’s office of the registrar told CityNews in a statement, “While all the students who received these offers have been admitted to UBC, the error was related to their choice of program. We sincerely regret this mistake and understand how disappointing and frustrating it is for those affected.”
UBC says it takes full responsibility for the error and is reviewing its admissions process to ensure this does not happen again.
source & photo: CityNews
