Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
(Logan-AP) -- Utah State University, which last spring mistakenly awarded scholarships to 500 prospective students, decided to honor the offers. Administrators now say the mistake turned out to be a good investment.
The 380 students who accepted the awards and joined the student body at U-S-U this fall have helped make the current freshman class the strongest in the history of the school.
Officials say the average A-C-T score among U-S-U's freshman class is higher than ever, and the average freshman grade-point average is also at an all-time high.
The mix-up happened when letters announcing full-tuition four-year scholarships to recipients of the U-S-U Dean's Scholarship Award were also sent to students who qualified for a new half-tuition four-year scholarship called the Academic Merit Scholarship Award.
The mistaken mailing could cost U-S-U about 400 thousand dollars in the coming academic year. The cost will be paid out of a "rainy day" fund reserved for unanticipated expenses.
But officials say they like the results so much they might broaden their scholarship giving.
Students have visited the president's office to thank him for honoring the scholarship commitment, and a number of parents have written thank-you letters saying it wouldn't have been possible for their children to enjoy such an educational opportunity without the assistance.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
