Correcting application errors after submission … or not

Applying to College
321

@candylovexo -Thanks for your kind words. I am actually about to go on vacation so my assistance will diminish significantly. Everyone be warned!!

Don’t worry about your error. That 4.0/5.0 scale issue is confusing, and lots of kids screw it up. The college folks can figure it out from the transcript and school profile. They really won’t be paying attention to what you wrote on your application. Besides, most admission officials are very familiar with Boston Latin. So relax. You’re fine.

322

Hi, Sally! Thanks for your help. I have three questions:

  1. I may have misunderstood some application language, but I uploaded my resume for Columbia in the supplementary section. Was that a bad idea? :/ Well, I suppose it's too late, regardless.

“If you feel it is necessary to provide additional information, you may submit a PDF of your resume as part of the Columbia Writing Supplement to the Common Application, where we allow for the submission of professional resumes.”

  1. I accidentally noted that I would do orchestra for both semesters, when I'll only be in it during the fall. I think the GC report will correct this(?) and so it would not be worth it to do anything/notify colleges, right?
  2. Is there anything I should be doing right now, like looking through school websites for interview policies?
323

Hi Sally!

Do you think I’ll be able to fix the descriptions of my activity after submitting my application? There are some grammar and capitalization mistakes I want to fix, and also I feel like I could clarify some of them too.

324

In my personal essay I wrote about 9/11. I accidentally said that I was 5 at the time when I was really 3. Do you think that I should contact the schools I’ve applied to or will they realize it was a typo?

325

Hello there, I’m a senior who is due to graduate in as little as four months. I just completed my fafsa and well, I clicked the wrong college entry term. I selected 2015-2016, instead of 2016-2017. How big of a deal is that? I really messed up, right? How do I fix it?

326

@marilyne25 -You made a mistake but it’s not a big deal and is easily correctable. For information on how to fix a FAFSA error, go to: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa/next-steps/correct-update#how-change

You will see these instructions:

**How do I make changes to my FAFSA?

You can make changes in one of the following ways:

Make changes at fafsa.gov:

        Click on the "Login" button and provide the information requested to get into your account.
        On the My FAFSA page, click “Make FAFSA Corrections.”
        Enter your FSA ID (username and password).
        Change your information.
        Submit your new information.

Write in the corrections or updates on your paper Student Aid Report (SAR), sign it, and mail it to the address provided on the SAR.
Check with the financial aid office at the school you plan to attend; the school might be able to make changes for you electronically. **

So just follow those instructions and you’ll be fine.

327

@Bhorgan -Leave it alone. The college folks will not spend any time computing what your age actually was back then.

328

@teaxcupcakes -The only way you can “fix” Activity List mistakes after submitting an application is to snail-mail a resume to colleges that will accept one (which means almost all) and make sure that the correct information and clarifications (and capitalization, grammar, etc.) are on the resume.

Of course, if you are using the Common App and have already sent it to some of your target colleges but not yet all, you CAN correct your Common App although the revised version will only go to the new schools and not to the ones you already applied to.

329

@Anonymoose3 -

  1. You didn't follow Columbia's instructions exactly but if you don't get accepted, I promise you that it won't be because of this.
  2. Leave it alone
  3. Checking for interview policies is a good idea. You can also email your regional rep in 4-6 weeks with an update if something truly major has occurred in your life since then ... like you just got your first novel published or won an national science award. (99% of all teenagers will have nothing along these lines to report. However, if you were already deferred from an Early Action or Early Decision college, then a more comprehensive update letter IS appropriate).

Otherwise, relax and try to enjoy the rest of your senior year, putting college-related anxiety on the back burner as much as possible.

330

p.s. I’m on vacation, folks, and thus I may not reply promptly to your questions (and maybe not at all) [url=<a href=“http://www.desismileys.com/][img]http://www.desismileys.com/smileys/desismileys_3409.gif[/img][/url”>http://www.desismileys.com/]

http://www.desismileys.com/smileys/desismileys_3409.gif

[/url]

So just keep in mind that most application errors should not be corrected once the application is submitted.

The only big-time mistake that needs to be fixed promptly has to do with citizenship. For students applying for financial aid, being a US citizen or Permanent Resident is a huge plus. So everyone who is applying for aid should be sure to answer the citizenship question correctly.

331

Hi, I posted on my common app under awards that I was an ap scholar with distinction, but I was really just an ap scholar with honor. I was not trying to trick anyone (not that intent really matters here) it was an honest mistake. Should I send an email to the admissions office? I’m allmost 100% sure I will be an ap scholar with distinction by the end of this year though- I’m taking 6 aps and in the past I have never scored lower than a 4

332

@Sally_Rubenstone I submitted my common app essay to 18 schools, and there was one bit that required 2 (…) ellipsises- however, the format came out weird, and it turned into (…) and (.) instead of (…) (…). the essay still makes sense, it may just seem a little weird D: like i dont understand punctuation or something. Do u think I should email in and correct it? thank you!

333

@mghnyh -NO!! College admission officials would need an MIT degree themselves (preferably an advanced one) to distinguish among all of the AP honors. And the titles of those honors are meaningless to them. The college folks will presumably see your AP scores–how many exams you took and how well you did on them. So please leave this alone. I promise you that no admission official will notice your honest mistake.

334

@Marcelleparcelle -I hope you’re kidding. I know this is a stressful process but if THIS is what you’re stressing about, you’re going to have a tough time in college. You’ve got to learn to distinguish between serious problems and unimportant ones. And this falls squarely into the latter category.

So please enjoy the rest of your senior year and the waning hours of your vacation and, everyone, please let me enjoy mine. Don’t post on this thread unless you are convinced that you’ve made a mistake that warrants a correction. Admission officials will not think kindly of you if they have to open and read (and possibly respond to) a separate email regarding a change of punctuation or some other minor matter.

335

@Sally_Rubenstone Thank you so much, I was very worried about this issue!

336

I made a mistake on self-submitting my scores on CommonApp. I marked my best score to be 10 points higher than it actually was. It was an honest mistake, and I’m questioning whether or not I should let admissions know that I made the error, or let it sit as it’s relatively insignificant. What should I do?

337

@amateur–Please don’t contact colleges about this. They will receive official score reports and are highly unlikely to notice the small discrepancy.

338

@Sally_Rubenstone Alright thanks! Really takes a weight off my shoulders.

339

@Sally_Rubenstone : Hi Sally ! While going through my son’s common application details, I found out that there was an oversight in reporting our marital status as “never married”. How do I rectify this ?

340

@Rainytrip -I’m not clear on what happened here. Did your son report “Never married” though you ARE married or did he skip the question entirely or maybe you aren’t married and he didn’t accurately convey this? If your son is applying for financial aid, then it may be important to email the college with a correction. I’d really need to know more about the situation to weigh in responsibly, but it sounds like —whatever it is–asking your son to email a quickie correction can’t hurt.