- Brigham Young University will admit nine students who received mistaken acceptance notices due to a systems error.
- The university provisionally admitted them on Wednesday, requiring a 3.0 GPA for full admission.
- Aaron Johansen expressed gratitude for BYU's decision to honor the acceptance.
PROVO — Nine prospective students who were mistakenly told they were admitted to Brigham Young University will be allowed to enroll there after all.
This comes nearly a week after KSL reported that a systems error led to those applicants being told they were accepted to BYU when, in fact, they were not.
"We recognize this circumstance has caused stress and confusion," the university told KSL in a statement on Wednesday. "BYU has provisionally admitted each of the nine students, and the university's admissions team is working with the students individually to ensure they have an opportunity to both attend BYU and meet the university's academic standards."
Aaron Johansen, whose son Owen was one of those who received a mistaken acceptance notice, is grateful for BYU's decision to admit his son and the others.
"I think we ended up in the right place," he said in an interview from his home in Oakton, Virginia.
Last month, Owen Johansen, 18, received a notice in his online application portal that said he was admitted to BYU. He and his family celebrated the news and began making plans.
But about a week later, the university reached out to say the acceptance was a mistake, blaming "an unfortunate error in our admissions decision notification system." BYU said its admissions department was working to ensure it didn't happen again.
Last week, the Johansen family told KSL they wanted BYU to do the "right thing" and honor the acceptance. The university has now agreed to do that for him and the eight others who were impacted. Based on the information the family received from BYU admission officials, Owen Johansen must get at least a 3.0 GPA his first semester, after which he can be fully admitted.
"We're grateful that the school gave him an opportunity to go there and to prove himself," Aaron Johansen said.
He added that a university administrator reached out to his son directly to give him the news, and to apologize.
"We're grateful that BYU reached out to Owen personally," he said.
Owen Johansen is now excitedly making plans to study at the same place his parents did, even if the road getting there was a little rocky.
"He has a tremendous future ahead of him," said Aaron Johansen, "and I think BYU will be a great place for him to learn and to grow."
