Kicker - An accidental scholarship

NICK EICHER, HOST: Dozens of college students are accidentally getting a full-ride, paid-for college education.

It all started with an email that went out to 58 students.

High school student Parker Christensen of Newaygo, Michigan said he couldn’t believe it when he checked his email.

Central Michigan University informed him that he had won a prestigious scholarship from the school. That meant he would receive full tuition, room and board, all the books he needed and even a $5,000 study award.

Christensen told TV station WXMI:

CHRISTENSEN: Parents were both happy, family was all blown away. Friends were happy for me; teachers.

But a few days later he received another email that essentially said… Oops, sorry.

Yup, the school mistakenly sent the email to Christensen and 57 other students, each of whom had spent days celebrating with their families.

The school explained it accidentally sent the email while testing its servers.

But they’re making it right by awarding each of the students an annual scholarship worth nearly $13,000 per year, the equivalent of full tuition.

So in the end, a happy accident!

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