Girls complain of favoritism in university enrollment

About 300 would-be students, some with accompanying mothers, congregated at the enrollment office after they learned that all seats were taken for the upcoming semester. At around 10 a.m. shouting broke out and water bottles were thrown at university staff.
One student complained that her university aptitude test results were average despite earning high marks in high school. Many students complained of favoritism and discrimination in the enrollment process, according to a report in Thursday's edition of Al-Madinah newspaper.
“The university’s evaluation center denies seats to deserving candidates in the name of an aptitude test," said one angry parent.
“If any such incident is detected the university will take necessary steps to rectify it and be fair to applicants,” replied the university's Vice President for Education Affairs Thamir Al-Harbi. “Most of the girls who had to return were those registered for programs which were already full.”
Undersecretary for Enrollment Ameena Rice said the first-come-first-served admissions process started as usual on Wednesday. Two hundred students were enrolled in specialized majors until the seats were filled.
“But we were surprised when more than 300 girls and their mothers began to shout demanding admission because they had received the letter of registration. But they did not understand that their letters specifically mentioned that they would be enrolled only if there are vacant seats. Once the seats are filled, the letters are not of any use,” Rice said.
Despite reports of thrown bottles of water, there was, "no damage to furniture or injuries to officials as some Web posts suggested,” said Rice. She dismissed the charges of favoritism, citing the automated process: “The enrollment system is fully computerized. No one can tamper with the system. No girl with less than 80 percent marks have been admitted.”