Howard University readmits 200 of 502 unenrolled freshmen after backlash

・Howard unenrolled 502 incoming freshmen on July 22 (roughly one in five of its incoming class) for missing a July 10 deadline, three weeks before classes start.

・However, many families said this was done in error, and started providing receipts.

・More than 200 have since been readmitted, a roughly 40% reversal of Howard's own decisions. About 300 students are still out.

Howard University unenrolled 502 incoming freshmen on July 22, weeks before move-in. It has since readmitted more than 200 of them — a roughly 40% reversal of its own decisions. That number alone tells you the university got this wrong. These are families who had already committed to a school where the cost of attendance runs past $66,000 a year.

The handling of this entire saga was worse than the decision. Students learned by email that they had lost seats they had spent years earning. Families could not get through by phone. The deadline Howard enforced does not appear on its public-facing pages, and the university's explanation has changed five times in nine days. For most families, paying the college bill is already the most confusing part of the process without a school moving the target.

There is also a second thing that is true at the same time, and it matters for every family reading this: some of these students did miss real requirements, and checking your student account is your job. Knowing how to read your financial aid award letter (and what it does and doesn't guarantee) is part of that. Both things belong in this story.