the 3,118 unidentified applicants were presumably delighted when they were accepted as freshmen by the university in gainesville for the fall after sending in applications for traditional first-year slots .
but after reading their congratulations notices , they apparently realized they would need to agree to spend a year taking online classes .
the classes are part of a new program - the pathway to campus enrollment -lrb- pace -rrb- - which started in 2015 and aims to accommodate a higher number of students , the washington post reported .