Congratulations, you're not the next contestant

As a commenter points out below, and as mentioned in this article by the Yale Daily News, Boalt Admissions made a SNAFU by sending an e-mail to applicants inviting them to a reception that implied admission, when in reality, they may or may not have been admitted. I've been sitting on the e-mails for a couple of days, but for a variety of reasons I decided not to post. I think the third e-mail is the only one that's relevant and that I'm willing to post.

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"At approximately 3:00 p.m. California time last Friday, February, 17, an e-mail was generated and sent in error to a portion of our applicant pool. The subject line was "You Are Cordially Invited…" and implied that the recipient had been admitted to Boalt Hall. The body of this e-mail was an invitation to an annual event hosted by two of our graduates. It was not an offer of admission. The e-mail was generated in the context of a software training session, and was sent in error. If you did not receive the e-mail in question, you need not read further.

To those of you who were recipients, I wish to express our deep regret for any confusion or disappointment our error may have caused. I realize that many law school applicants are particularly anxious while awaiting the arrival of decision letters, and it is most unfortunate that our mistake may have added to this tension. Immediately upon discovering what had happened on Friday, a retraction and apology e-mail was sent to the same list of addressees. Some of you have contacted our office, and I wish to express our thanks to those who were understanding about this regrettable situation.

Our admissions process is proceeding smoothly and we anticipate that, as in other years, it should be completed toward the end of March. Decision letter mailings may begin in the next 2-3 weeks.

Once again, please accept our heartfelt apology for any distress our error may have caused.

Sincerely,

Edward Tom
Director of Admissions"

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ANALYSIS: This is much ado about nothing. Maybe all the technological shortcomings make stories like this something about Boalt that everyone loves to hate, but it's really not that big of a deal. I was invited to "Honors Day" at UCLA about 3 weeks before formal admission. It was clear that all those invited had been admitted, but it wasn't formally stated. Granted there was no mistake in the invitation, but again, if such is the practice mistakes are bound to happen.

I think Edward Tom handled it very professionally. And I want to add that I think the Admissions Office is in good hands under him. Again, I don't think this worth the pages of any school newspaper, let alone one with maybe a handful of students who are applicants.

UPDATE: To those Class of 2007 mod 9ers who appeared on NBC 11's coverage of this (must be a slow newsday, see above) I only have this to say: Looking good ladies, looking good. =)