College Retracts 1,500 Accidental Acceptance Letters

The college application process can cause a lot of stress for students. So, imagine thinking you got accepted into a school, just for it to be retracted. Unfortunately, this recently happened to 1,500 students. CNN reported that over 1,000 Georgia State University applicants received a “welcome” email for the 2024-25 school year – before discovering their new status resulted from an error by the school’s admissions office.

“The email to the prospective students wasn’t an official acceptance letter, it was one of several communications sent to accepted students after they are admitted,” Andrea Jones, vice president of public relations for the school, told CNN in a statement Monday. “This particular group of 1,500 had incomplete applications,” said Jones.

The good news is that the school immediately sent the applicants a follow-up email explaining the error and encouraged them to complete their applications so they could be considered for admission.

One of the disappointed applicants was stunned by the news that she had not been accepted to GSU, her mother told WSB-TV. “She really won’t talk about it. She wouldn’t come out of her room all day. She’s just very disappointed,” Vanessa Peters said. It’s worth mentioning that Peters’ daughter later received an acceptance letter from the university to Perimeter College, a two-year college within Georgia State, her mother told CNN.

GSU is an Atlanta-based public education institution that was founded in 1913 with a 61% acceptance rate, according to U.S. News.

Other schools have had similar errors in the past. In February, the University of Illinois’ College of Veterinary Medicine mistakenly sent acceptance emails to 44 students who were actually supposed to be on the waitlist, according to the school’s student newspaper.

Northeastern University in Boston has made this mistake twice. Most recently, in December 2023, 48 master's degree applicants received an incorrect acceptance email, according to Boston.com. The previous year, Northeastern mistakenly accepted 3,930 former and 205 current law school applicants. According to a statement shared with CNN from the university the decisions had not yet been finalized. The law school “quickly sent a clarifying email explaining the error.”

Many students start college in the fall after they graduate high school, but their planning and applying starts years before. Application deadlines may be in the fall or winter of senior year. Students typically graduate in May or June and then start college in September of that same year.

Most schools let you choose when to submit your applications through various admissions plans, each with its own deadlines, requirements, and sometimes rules. The main types of admissions plans are early decision, early action, regular decision, and rolling admissions.

For early action or early decision, you need to apply by November of your senior year. Regular decision applications are usually due a few months later, in January or February.

While many lessons are taught in classrooms, more life lessons are learned on campus, in dorms, and at social gatherings with friends.

Relationships are why audiences are often drawn to TV series that illuminate the interactions and intricacies of college life. Stacker surveyed TV history and chose 15 of the best series about college life. To qualify, the show had to have at least a 6.5 on IMDb and have 2,000 votes. Shows were organized by IMDb user rating.

Some of the shows took on controversial topics while others made audiences laugh or yearn for their college days. Relive the moment when Rory from “Gilmore Girls” had to pick between Harvard, Yale, or Princeton, and watch Denise Huxtable grow up as she attends the fictional Hillman College in the first season of “The Cosby Show” spinoff “A Different World.”

Don your college sweatshirt and continue reading to discover 15 of the best shows about college.

- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Years on the air: 1998–2002

Keri Russell stars as Felicity in the series of the same name, as she follows Ben, her secret high school crush, to the fictional University of New York. The series, created by J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves, centers around Felicity and her friends as they learn hard lessons about love and life. Other notable cast members include Donald Faison, Scott Foley, and Amy Smart.

- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Years on the air: 1987–1993

The sitcom, a spinoff of “The Cosby Show,” explores college life for Denise Huxtable and her cadre of friends at the fictional Hillman College, a historically Black college in Virginia. The groundbreaking series addressed topics including racism, riots, and AIDS. During a 2021 episode of E!'s “Reunion Road Trip,” Lena Waithe, Emmy-winner and creator of “The Chi,” said she was so heavily impacted by “A Different World” that she named her production company Hillman Grad Productions.

- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Years on the air: 2008–2015

Brad Neely’s animated sitcom features the Smith brothers, a pair of professors who lower the bar of learning. The duo swap education for popularity, to the delight of their students. The notable cast includes Greta Gerwig, Gary Anthony Williams, Chelsea Peretti, Hannibal Buress, and Hulk Hogan (along with his daughter Brooke), among other big names.

- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Years on the air: 1989–1997

Fans of “Coach” enjoyed nine seasons following the life of college football coach Hayden Fox, played by Craig T. Nelson. The popular sitcom, which won two Emmys, sees Fox switch teams and also marry his girlfriend Shelley, played by Christine Armstrong.

- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Years on the air: 2015–2016

“Scream Queens” is a black comedy that unfolds at a sorority at Wallace University. Emma Roberts and Jamie Lee Curtis star in the hilariously dark series, where murders unfold as sorority drama escalates.

- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Years on the air: 2007–2011

Fans of ABC Family's “Greek” watch the Cartwright siblings maneuver Greek life at the fictional Cyprus Rhodes University. The intrigue escalates when Rusty rushes a fraternity and upsets his sister’s picture-perfect reign on the sorority scene.

- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Years on the air: 2015–2020

Lee Grossman’s trilogy about students who are recruited to the secretive Brakebills University for Magical Pedagogy made for a captivating fantasy TV show. The SyFy series illuminates the dark sides of magic and imagination.

- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Years on the air: 2011–2016

“Fresh Meat” invites viewers into the lives of six college students who share a house. Drinking, drugs, and debt are on the roster in this British comedy-drama that explores modern student life. Standup comedian and actor Jack Whitehall stars as one of the six main characters.

- IMDb user rating: 7.9
- Years on the air: 2001–2003

Created by Judd Apatow, “Undeclared” follows the transformation of Steven Karp from nerd to man on campus at University of North Eastern California. Viewers watch Steven and his friends fumble through the love, lessons, and lunacy of freshman year.

- IMDb user rating: 8.1
- Years on the air: 2000–2007

Audiences tuned in as Rory received acceptance letters from Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, having followed her and her mother through her high school years. “Gilmore Girls” gives us a picture of student life at Yale in the early 2000s—however, it turns out the show wasn’t actually filmed at Yale.

- IMDb user rating: 8.1
- Years on the air: 2014–2020

Viola Davis stars in this dramatic TV series that centers around a university professor, her students, her associates, and a secret that keeps them bound together. The series focuses on the dark past that the group can’t escape, and the layer of lies that won’t allow them to move on.

- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Years on the air: 2010–2011

Football and friendship are the foundation of the TV series “Blue Mountain.” The show follows a quarterback and his quirky best friend as they fumble through college life.

- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Years on the air: 2016–2020

“Last Chance U” opens the curtain to reveal what is going on beyond the field and locker room in a junior college football. The docuseries looks at the lives of players at East Mississippi Community College and the challenges they face.

- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Years on the air: 2020

“Normal People” follows Marianne and Connell, first through their years at a secondary school and then at Trinity College Dublin. The series explores the friends’ relationship with each other, their families, and their peers.

- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Years on the air: 2009–2015

A Spanish study group formed by a charlatan lawyer who faked his college degree creates the storyline for “Community.” The group forms a surprising bond as they learn Spanish and life lessons.