"In at Berkeley!!! No, wait..." Share your experience...

[ColombianDude]

I received the acceptance email on Friday night as well as the invitation to the colored event. Since I am Hispanic everything seemed coherent. Besides, I did not received the short apology that most of you received 15 minutes after the initial acceptance email.
Adrenaline flowing trhough my veins, I woke up my wife and called my mom (It made her cry!!) to tell her about the good news. My mother, after we hung up, called every single relative to share the news. On Saturday morning I had 7 messages from different relatives and friends congratulating me. Minutes later, my mom called to tell me that she had made reservaions for lunch at the White House in Anaheim to celebrate...
I cannot express in words the humilliation and frustration that I felt when, at 1:53 on Saturday, I received the "ANOTHER APOLOGY" email. I had to  return every single phone call to explain the mistake and, to my great regret, brake my mom's heart. To my request, she canceled the reservation and we ended up eating at Pollo Loco...LOL
I'm sharing this tragic story with all of you guys so that those who think that this is not a big deal realize the magnitude of Boalt's error. My sincere condolences to those who had the misfortune to live something similar. I know there must be plenty. Schools have no right to play with people's emotions in this way. Any thoughts??

[ColombianDude]

Thanks for your sympathy Manny! I think that I forgot to mention that I was accepted in Hastings, so is not like I am empty handed. However, Berkeley would be a dream come true...
To your question, I have to confess that I have never seen the word 'Columbianee' before, but if what you mean by that is that if I was born and raised in the republic of Colombia, the anwer is yes. It wasn't scary at all, actually, it was great. I miss it very much.
Good luck in your apps!!

[sea dream]

uh, your acceptance is probably legit. the only email that was sent in mistake was the invitation to the people of color event. An email you received before that would be perfectly fine, and the apology emails were sent out to a lot of people, many of whom never received the email in mistake. the 2nd apology clearly states what the subject line of the (only) email sent out by accident was, which was "You Are Cordially Invited…"

this is only if you meant it when you said you got an acceptance AND the invitation.

[Stencilasnusky]

uh, your acceptance is probably legit. the only email that was sent in mistake was the invitation to the people of color event. An email you received before that would be perfectly fine, and the apology emails were sent out to a lot of people, many of whom never received the email in mistake. the 2nd apology clearly states what the subject line of the (only) email sent out by accident was, which was "You Are Cordially Invited…"

this is only if you meant it when you said you got an acceptance AND the invitation.

Hmm..not sure if I follow but I think you might be right. The easiest way to clear this sh$t is just call them

[sea dream]

Hmm..not sure if I follow but I think you might be right. The easiest way to clear this sh$t is just call them

well i hope it works out for you, but i don't think you need to be worried. Did you get a separate email of acceptance, aside from the one titled "You Are Cordially Invited..."? If so, then you're golden. Of course, call to put your fears to rest, but the 2nd apology email at least specified which email was in error (which the first brusque and useless email did not) and it was only the invitation to the event, which "implied" acceptance (in Edward Tom's words)

edited to add: this was actually directed to the OP. for some reason i thought Stencilasnusky was the OP replying to my point. Sorry!

[ColombianDude]

I received on Friday at 2:58 pm an email titled Boalt Hll. It was followed by the Colored Admitted Student Event email sent at 5:58 and a Matching Tuition Financial Aid email sent at 6:22. On saturday I received at 1:46 a final email titled "AN EXPLANATION AND ANOTHER APOLOGY" The first email and the final email are the following:

Dear Mr. XXXXXX,

Congratulations!  I am delighted to invite you to join the entering class of 2006 at the University of California at Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall).  Your formal admission letter and packet will leave Berkeley late next week.  It will include a copy of the Boalt Hall Resource Guide, which contains details about our interdisciplinary curriculum, concentration areas, faculty, general information about life at Berkeley, and much more.

Your packet also will contain a request that you let us know your initial response to my offer by April 14.  Your response may be tentative at that time, and I will not require a final enrollment decision until mid-June.  No deposit will be required at any time.  You are about to enter a profession in which your integrity, candor, and word of honor are more important than your money.

Our Financial Aid Office will be informed of your admission by the end of business today.  Details about financial aid will be included in your admission packet.  Please feel free to contact them directly at financial-aid@law.berkeley.edu, or by phone at (510) 642-1563 if you have any questions in the interim.

You should know that the Berkeley campus is a stunningly beautiful place.  I encourage you to visit us.  We will host an Admitted Students Visit Day on Friday, April 7, 2006, and your packet will contain information about an airline travel subsidy to facilitate your attending this event.  If you can't wait until April, you are most welcome to visit Boalt Hall at any time.  Guided tours of the campus are available to the public Monday-Saturday at 10:00 a.m., and on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. They begin at the Campus Visitors Center, 101 University Hall, located at the corner of Oxford Street and University Avenue.  Contact the Visitors Center at (510) 642-4636 for information.  

You should also know that a number of Boalt Hall graduates around the country have volunteered to provide you with information about Boalt Hall.  To locate them, go to our alumni search engine at: www.law.berkeley.edu/perl-bin/alumni.pl .  
  
I congratulate you on an outstanding application and on this opportunity to study at one of the premier institutions of higher education in the world, and I very much hope that you will join us here at Boalt Hall in August.  

Please contact me if any questions arise.  

Sincerely,

Edward Tom

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AN EXPLANATION AND ANOTHER APOLOGY  (Saturday @ 1:46pm)

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 inferred 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

[doode]

“Our admissions process is proceeding smoothly” – hows that for a kick in the rear?

[ColombianDude]

I really do not want to revive any kind of hope. This whole situation has been stressing and embarrassing enough...
However, I see Stencilasnusky's point. I will call on Monday and either tell them to @#!* themselves or thank them dearly. To be honest, at this point both options seem equally pleasurable...

[sea dream]

I really do not want to revive any kind of hope. This whole situation has been stressing and embarrassing enough...
However, I see Stencilasnusky's point. I will call on Monday and either tell them to @#!* themselves or thank them dearly. To be honest, at this point both options seem equally pleasurable...

DUDE! please. seriously. you've been accepted. i would bet money on it. Please reread the apology letter and every point i made.

edited to add: sorry if i sound brusque myself, it's just that i really don't think you need to be worried. for very good reasons that i pointed out twice already

[aqualung]

Congrats ColombianDude!
Enjoy your celebration dinner!
Take Boalt by storm.