Some John Hopkins hopefuls are going to be getting a big dose of “humbug” this holiday season once the university corrects its email error.

Johns Hopkins University says nearly 300 applicants were mistakenly sent welcome messages when they were actually rejected or deferred.

University officials tell The Washington Post it was a mistake of human error. Vice provost David Phillips says a contractor who works with Johns Hopkins on electronic communications pulled a wrong list of emails.

The students had applied early decision to the prestigious Baltimore university. Of the 294 applicants who received an erroneous message, 285 had actually been denied admission and nine had received deferrals.

Cathy Stephenson of Culpeper County, Virginia, says she’s irate that her son received a mistaken admission notice after an earlier denial. The email subject line was “Embrace the YES!” and the body welcomed her son. She says university officers should make personal calls to apologize.