More than 150 first-years received an e-mail Wednesday evening informing them they will be Lowell House next year, half a day before they were officially supposed to be notified.

In an e-mail message sent out to administrators yesterday morning, Lowell House Co-Masters Diana L. Eck and Dorothy A. Austin apologized for the premature e-mail.

"This was the honest mistake of our hard working House administrator who stayed at work far too late on Wednesday night in order to prepare a complete facebook of our new students and put everything in order in the office before a well-earned break," they wrote.

Students who received the e-mail housing assignment were unsure, initially, of whether or not it was genuine.

"We were kind of confused--we heard it was a hoax, so we didn't know what to think," said Jacquelyn A. Cronin '04. "It wasn't really a surprise when we found out this morning."

But the mistake did not dampen the spirit of rising Lowellians.

"At first I thought it was fake, but after my roommate and blockmates got it, I believed it was official," said Tracy A. Fong '04. "It made me happier though--I certainly didn't mind finding out early."

The housing officials, too, were caught off-guard by the e-mail.