OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – The college admissions process is already extremely stressful for students, and what happened earlier this month at Oakland University made it even more stressful.
In January, 5,500 students were told they received close to full-ride scholarships -- only to be told later that it was a mistake.
A glitch with Oakland University’s undergraduate student application system left some prospective students thinking they were getting a full ride.
The email stated the students were eligible for the Platinum Presidential Scholar Award, $12,000 a year for four years, Oakland University’s highest award. A correction was issued within two hours.
Read: Central Michigan University’s admissions director out after scholarship error
All qualified for varying levels of scholarships, but not the presidential level.
School officials said the message went out inadvertently when staffers were testing a new messaging technology.
A similar incident happened at Central Michigan University and they are honoring the full-tuition scholarships. Oakland University said that’s not feasible in their case.
Read: Central Michigan University’s admissions director out after scholarship error