"Thank you so, so much for your application to our Department. We were overwhelmed with the enthusiasm with which the scientific community rallied around our job posting, and to date with have received 1,217 applications (and counting!!!) from kindhearted individuals across the country. I'm sure you will agree that this is a very special achievement, which we could never have managed without your contribution." - ellbeecee

"As I am sure you will appreciate, it was very difficult for us - after we had read through the documents of all the incredibly talented hotshot Ivy League academics (each with their own truly inspiring pedigrees and publication record) - to narrow the selection down to just one eventual winner. We wanted to award all of you a tenure-track position in our department! But in the end we had to make just one choice, and I am sorry to say that your application didn't quite make the cut. " - ellbeecee

I just am amazed by this as a rejection letter. I can't decide if it's real or if someone made this up. - ellbeecee

They're both fake and part of a writing contest the blog owner is running (http://science-professor.blogspot.com/2014...) - Soup in a TARDIS

I know it's a contest, but it is open to real (albeit anonymized) letters, and tbh, I can imagine someplace writing a letter like this. :) - ellbeecee