For a Few Hours, Applicants Were Accepted by Law School

Northeastern University's School of Law had something awkward to tell the thousands of applicants it had emailed earlier in the day welcoming them to the Class of 2026. The congratulatory letter was sent by mistake, the school said, blaming a technical error. The first letter went to 205 current applicants and more than 3,930 people who applied last year, the Boston Globe reports, many of whom are enrolled by now at Northeastern or other places. "The school of law deeply regrets this unintended mistake," a statement said. Final admittance decisions will be made later, the school said. For this year's class, the school accepted 234 of 3,877 applicants.

LaKisha Papoutsakis was "over the moon" when she got the acceptance letter at 2pm Monday and began telling friends and family. She tried to pay the $500 enrollment deposit the letter requested, but the website wasn't working. The Early Decision letter also provided a Northeastern ID number, information on a merit scholarship, and instruction to withdraw any other law school applications. The letter was "much more than a 'congratulations,'" Papoutsakis said. Shortly before 8pm, the second email arrived, leaving her disheartened and upset. She wants the school to reconsider her application, per NBC Boston, which was her third. "I'm a woman of color who wound up in a shelter, who lost almost everything, and still has her four kids, but aspires to be more," Papoutsakis said. "After such a detailed acceptance, 'sorry' isn’t going to cut it," she added. (More college admissions stories.)