UAC apologises after thousands of university applicants mistakenly sent rejection letters
The Universities Admissions Centre has been forced to apologise to 13,000 students who were mistakenly told they had not been successful in gaining a university place.
Education
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Thousands of hopeful university applicants have been sent a rejection letter by mistake after a system error this week.
About 13,000 students received rejection emails on Thursday morning, with a follow-up email later that day from the Universities Admissions Centre advising them the notices had been sent in error.
“Please disregard the email you received today telling you your application was unsuccessful,” the follow-up email read. “It was sent in error.
“Not all institutions make offers in December round two. Also some institutions wait until January round one (or even January round two) to make offers to some courses.
“Our sincere apologies for any inconvenience.”
On Friday, UAC general manager marketing and engagement Kim Paino again apologised for the bungle.
“UAC sent unsuccessful letters in error yesterday and sincerely apologises for any confusion it may have caused,” she said.
“We’re here to help applicants unsure about their preferences for the next offer round and encourage them to contact us.”
More than 34,000 students are understood to have received an genuine offer of a university place on Thursday as part of the December round two offers for study in 2023.
The students who received rejection letters by mistake this week may well be successful in January, with round one offers released on January 12, and round two offers on January 25.
It’s the second bungle for this student cohort in as many weeks — after a system error on December 10 allowed some HSC students to get their results early on the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) website.
Students were able to use their student login to find out their individual subject marks — but not their ATAR — for two hours before the breach was discovered and shut down.
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