For some students who applied early to Cornell University, the already angst-ridden admission process was made even more painful on Wednesday, when they received an e-mail mistakenly stating that they had been accepted. The e-mail was sent out to approximately 1,700 students, nearly 550 of whom had actually been denied admission in the early decision pool. Cornell Dean of Admissions Angela Griffin-Jones called the accidental e-mail a "very serious error" in an e-mail statement. The problem arose because an admissions office staff member accidentally input the names of students who had been rejected under the school's early decision program, in addition to those who had been accepted, when sending the e-mail. This incident is one setback in the gradual inclusion of technology and the Internet in the college admissions process. Besides sending out mass e-mails to applicants, Cornell allows students to apply online and provides significant amounts of information via its Web site. But, clearly, there are still problems with the system. "The office immediately began reviewing the causes for the situation and will implement means to insure that errors of this kind will not occur in the future," Griffin-Jones said. "We have asked the Cornell Audit Office and the Office of Information Technologies to lend us their expertise and involvement in creating guidelines and procedures that will prevent further problems." To prevent any similar mistakes at Penn, the Admissions Office has taken a slightly different stance on the usefulness of the Internet. Instead of sending out mass e-mails to applicants, Penn has set up a secure Web site through which students can use individual PIN numbers to access their admissions decision, according to Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Lee Stetson. All of the applicants are mailed their PIN numbers. They can use these numbers to check their status after 5 p.m. on the day decisions are released and mailed. For many students, this alternative method eliminates the possibility of such an admissions-related nightmare. College sophomore David Johnson said that if he received a similar accidental acceptance letter, he "would feel like [his] whole world was shaken up." "It's obviously their mistake, and they need to get to the heart of it quickly," he said. "I would be extremely disappointed and frustrated at Cornell." Stetson echoed students' concerns, explaining that Penn's notification system is designed to guard against such errors. "We prefer to control the information [with secure PIN numbers] so there is less chance of error," Stetson said. Stetson added that using PINs "avoids the confusion sometimes related to social security numbers. "It is a safer, more secure manner of reaching students." Penn used the Internet to notify last year's regular decision applicants of their admissions decisions. This year, Penn extended the system to include early decision. According to Stetson, about 80 percent of applicants checked their status online within a few hours of the posting. The switch to Internet notification was made in part because of the "sluggishness of the mail system. Some letters were taking two weeks to arrive, even if they were sent priority mail," Stetson said. Students are also taking advantage of the Internet in applying to colleges. Penn, along with other schools like Cornell, Harvard and Stanford universities, has begun offering applications online. This year, about 35 percent of Penn applicants applied online, and Stetson believes that figure will reach nearly 50 percent next year.
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