University mistakenly sends 5,000 students acceptance emails

More than 5,000 prospective students were mistakenly notified by email that they had been accepted into an upstate New York university.

University at Buffalo spokesman John DellaContrada says in a statement the mistaken email was sent Wednesday to students whose applications had not been fully reviewed by the university.

DellaContrada says a second email was sent about three or four hours later notifying the students of the mistake and apologizing for it.

The university posted a statement on its website saying the "miscommunication occurred when an incorrect email list was generated from an applicant database."

The statement says it's "important to note the students who received the mistaken email are still being considered for acceptance."

The University at Buffalo has about 30,000 students.