Full-ride scholarships offered to dozens of students after Michigan university mistake
What started out as a mistake is now a real full-ride scholarship offer for dozens of prospective students who applied to Central Michigan University.
It all started when 58 Central Michigan University applicants were told they had won the Centralis Scholars Award, the university told McClatchy News. That message, accessible through the university portal, informed students they’d receive full tuition and fees, free room and board for four years, a $5,000 “study away award” and access to honors classes as part of the award program.
That offer was the result of an accidental message.
“While testing a new messaging technology over the weekend, CMU staff inadvertently posted a message about the prestigious Centralis Scholar Award that was seen by students who were logged into the system at that time,” a university statement says. “The message appeared to indicate the student had received the Centralis Scholarship, when in fact they had not.
“CMU deeply regrets the disappointment and frustration this mistake caused for students and their families,” the college continued. “To make it right, we are reaching out to each of the 58 students who saw the congratulatory message regarding the Centralis Scholarship and offering to increase their award amount to the equivalent of a full-tuition scholarship.”
One student who mistakenly received the award offer, and his mother, spoke to the university’s student newspaper regarding the incident.
Parker Christensen, 17, said he was notified he received the scholarship award on Friday, Jan. 21 and began telling everyone about his full-ride, according to Central Michigan Life. He says his mom even posted about it on Facebook.
“He was absolutely over the moon when he got the message,” his mother told the newspaper. “He was having an out-of-body moment. We all were just shaking with excitement.”
But two days later, the Christensen family learned this was a mistake.
“CMU’s executive director of admissions personally contacted the families of students who were identified as being in the portal during testing on Sunday (Jan. 23) to apologize for this miscommunication,” university spokesperson Aaron Mills told The Detroit News.
The new scholarship being offered to those 58 students will not include other perks of the Centralis Scholars Award, but they will get four years of free tuition if they accept.
A year of tuition averages $12,750 per year, according to the university.
The Centralis Scholar Program includes the “premier merit awards” at Central Michigan University, according to its website. The top award offered within the honors program is the Centralis Scholar Award.
Central Michigan University is located in Mount Pleasant, about 155 miles northwest of Detroit.
This story was originally published January 27, 2022 at 2:38 PM with the headline "Full-ride scholarships offered to dozens of students after Michigan university mistake."