<p>Over this holiday weekend, I received several "Ask the Dean" queries that reminded me that students (and parents) continue to fall prey to common admission myths. As stressful and confusing as this process can be, the rumor mill can make it even more so. </p>
<p>Below are the three such myths that landed in my in-box this weekend, followed by the real story. </p>
<p>Perhaps CC members can add to the list.</p>
<p>**MYTH: Mistakes on an application are a deal-breaker. Colleges will discard applications with errors.</p>
<p>REALITY:** Application errors are common. It does irk admission officials to encounter essays that clearly haven't been proof-read or spell-checked, but that's not the same as the occasional typo or small mistake. Sometimes, however, it's important to contact the college to make a change when you spot an error. For instance, if your legal name, e-mail address, or phone numbers are not correctly entered, then the college needs to know. If you typed in the wrong code for a prospective major, then you'll want to correct that, too, unless you love surprises ... such as landing in the "Waste Management" program in lieu of "Women's Studies." ;) But if your mistake fell into more typical turf ... e.g., you wrote "form" instead of "from", "their" instead of "there," or you added an "a" to "definitely," then just let it go and lose no sleep over it.</p>
<p>**MYTH: Students who attend high schools with limited extracurricular offerings will be at a disadvantage, especially at the most selective colleges.</p>
<p>REALITY:** Admission officials evaluate applicants in the context of their environment, and thus they understand that students who attend small or rural or disadvantaged (etc.) high schools may not have the same opportunities as those at larger or more affluent schools. BUT .... successful applicants at the most selective colleges have often created their own "EC's". For instance, they have written novels, started volunteer programs, held down paid jobs, developed a unique hobby. etc. In fact, at the most competitive colleges, admission folks can get a bit tired of seeing the same extracurricular activities on hundreds of applications. So if a school doesn't participate in such endeavors, this can actually be a plus for enterprising students who need to "think outside the box" in order to spend their time in a meaningful (but less typical) way</p>
<p>**MYTH: A student who played no sport in high school will be at a disadvantage.</p>
<p>REALITY:** Being a recruited athlete can indeed boost admission odds. But if you have devoted many hours to athletics and yet you're not strong enough to catch a college coach's eye, this can actually work against you, especially if you haven't had time to develop other interests and talents. While most admission officials will agree that taking part in sports is worthwhile, those at the most selective institutions are apt to bypass athletes who won't eventually land on their college rosters in favor of other candidates with EC's that stand out in the crowd.</p>
