Fordham University sent acceptance letters to 2,500 students by mistake. This isn't the first time a university made this error-and it likely won't be the last. In 2012 alone, UCLA sent acceptances to 894 seniors on a wait list, Vassar sent letters to 76 early-decision candidates, and the University of California, Los Angeles, sent letters to 900 wait-list candidates, most of whom were later rejected.

At Fordham, the letters came as a financial aid notice sent to 500 students who were rejected and 2,000 who were deferred admission. A spokesperson for the university said,

"Oversight errors don't just come about, as you know. It occurred when data was transferred from a staging environment to our development environment and it was a member of our database services team who made the error."

In a statement to The New York Times, Fordham wrote,

"Fordham and its undergraduate admissions staff are acutely aware of the high hopes prospective students and their families have regarding college acceptances. The University deeply regrets that some applicants were misled by the financial aid notice. The admission staff is working with S.A.S. to find out what went wrong."

Although the note is heartfelt, some students may never forgive the university:

Discussion Starters:

• How do you suppose the error happened? What does the spokesperson mean by the "staging environment"?
• Write two apology emails to the Fordham applicants. What would you say differently to those who were rejected and those who were deferred?