37 Wrongly Told of Acceptance at UC Berkeley

The letter said, “Congratulations on your acceptance to UC Berkeley.” But for more than three dozen students who hoped to transfer to the elite public institution, the letter was wrong.

Because of a computer error last month, UC Berkeley’s financial aid office prematurely sent the congratulatory letter to 841 applicants for transfer. For 804 of those applicants, the letter was correct, though it was supposed to have been sent later, after the students received notification from admissions officials.

But for 37 students, UC Berkeley spokesman Jesus Mena confirmed Friday, the letter was mistaken.

“Those 37 people have received a personal letter from [director of financial aid] Richard Black apologizing for the mistake,” Mena said.

The mix-up has frayed the nerves of many community college students. Brenda Johnson, the assistant dean of transfer at Santa Monica College, said that during the last few weeks she has heard from about 40 jubilant students who believed they had been accepted. She had the unpleasant job of telling them that until this week, when the admissions office began sending acceptance letters, they couldn’t be sure.

“It’s a big fiasco,” she said.