@ogaiollehto -Don’t worry. This isn’t a big deal. Just send an email to the admission office at the UC’s and any other colleges yo applied to and mention that you omitted the mandatory religion classes because you didn’t realize that you should have included them. You’re wise to make sure that your application and final transcript are congruent, but this really is a minor issue so don’t lose any sleep over the omission.
@Sally_Rubenstone
Hi Sally,
I realized recently that I made an error on the Activities section of my Common App to USC. For a volunteer activity, I accidentally said that I had participated in it during both 11th and 12th Grade, when in reality it was only in 11th Grade. It was a minor activity that was only for 11 hrs/ 1 week, and I listed it in ninth place of ten on my list. I’ve already been accepted to USC, so what course of action should I take? Should I email my admissions counselor? Do you think there will be any serious consequences for this error? It was an honest mistake. Thank you so much!
@cc2389-This minor error will have NO impact whatsoever on your acceptance. In order to clear your conscience, you might want to send a quick email to your USC admission rep and explain the mistake. But I promise you that it won’t do any damage. Congrats on your acceptance.
Hi Sally,
I accidentally wrote that my company’s income this year is $3000 more than it is, and I realized this after looking at the numbers received from my partner. Do you think I should contact the college to correct this error? If so, how should I go about it? Thank you so much for your time and help.
@rlatnzjt -You’ll have to give me more information. Are you a student or a parent? Where did you make this error … on the application itself or on a financial aid form (which is more critical)? What is your company and what is its actual income? For instance, if you have a lemonade stand that grosses $50/per year, and you wrote that it grosses $3050, that’s probably an error worth correcting. But if your business grosses $500,000K/year and you added $3000 in error, then that’s a different story, if it’s on the application. If your mistake was on a financial aid form, simple email the financial aid office at all of your target colleges. Not a big deal but financial stuff is always worth correcting.
Hi Sally,
Thank you for your reply, and sorry about that, I forgot to mention that I’m a student. On the application, I accidentally took into account next month’s predicted income to the accumulated income, resulting in $14,000 instead of $11,000. What should I do? Thank you again.
@rlatnzjt -I still don’t know where on an application you would list your company’s income. Usually that goes on a financial aid form unless you’re including it in an activities section or essay to describe what you do outside the classroom. If that’s the case here, just leave it be. The difference isn’t significant.
I am including it in the activities section and essay to describe one of my extracurriculars; I guess I will leave it be. Thank you so much for your advice!
@rlatnzjt -Yep, in that case just leave it be … and you’re welcome.
I was recently accepted into my dream school! It is very selective and overall prestigious, but I never thought that I would be accepted. It was my first application that I worked on and I didn’t decide to apply early until the last two days. I rushed through my essays and that is the main problem - I made a huge mistake. My involvement in my largest activity was out of chronological order. I said in my application that I joined the activity my freshman year and did a lot of significant events, but it was really my sophomore year that I got super involved. I noticed the mistake a couple days after the deadline had passed. I didn’t notify the admission office because I never thought I had a chance at getting accepted - I legitimately thought that I would be declined. I was deferred from early admission but then accepted during regular decision. I was ecstatic at first, but now I’m worried and anxious over the mistake that I made. I really want to attend the university. Yet, I’ve heard stories about students being expelled from colleges and having their degrees revoked years in the future because not everything on their application was entirely true. I’ve been thinking about attending a different college entirely because of the mistake. However, it was my dream school that I got admitted to and they gave me a financial aid offer so significant it’s almost impossible to refuse. I have no idea what to do and the anxiety that I feel is terrible. I fear that if I decide to go I will always be paranoid and anxious about the mistake - while I’m there and even afterward. I have no idea what to do.
@adarya-I don’t think that this is a problem. Admission officers rarely care if a student was in 9th or 10th grade when beginning an activity. But I do feel that it will make you feel better to write a brief note to the admission office. You can say that you are really excited to be accepted and that, in the throes of this excitement, you reviewed your entire application and noticed that you said that you started making your major contributions to this organization as a freshman but then you realized that it was really not until sophomore year that you got super involved.
You don’t HAVE to make the correction but I think you’ll feel much better about starting your new adventure at this college if you do.
Hello @Sally_Rubenstone. I recently applied for SCEA to Princeton for the year 2018-19. I had prepared a document that I planned to attach in the “Upload” option in the Princeton Writing Supplement. However, the document failed to upload and my application has been submitted. How should I send the document across? Would they accept it if I email the document to the Undergraduate Admissions Office? Thank you!
@intlnavigator Yes, you can email the document to the admission office and you can explain in your email why you’re sending it this way. However, before doing so, ask yourself if this is definitely something that should be included in your application portfolio. While application forms don’t always allow students to tell colleges what is most important about themselves, there are also many times that students send superfluous documents that merely irk the admission folks. So just use good judgment when deciding what to submit.
@Sally_Rubenstone My S submitted his apps with his class rank # and total class size. His class rank # didn’t change but the class size went down by 9 students. Does he need to contact all his schools to let them know of the change? His correct class rank will be on his official transcript. He is concerned about it looking dishonest if he leaves it uncorrected. He was in the top 20% and this change pushed him just below it. Any advice?
@pkchamp89 -The guidance counselor will put the most official, updated rank and class size on your son’s school report and that’s what the colleges will use. It will NOT look “dishonest” if your son’s data and the counselor’s do not mesh. That’s pretty standard. The college folks probably won’t even notice the discrepancy and, even if they do, I promise that they won’t hold it against your son or even give it a second thought. So let it go and don’t worry another second.
Hello! I have sent in my college application today, and realized that my SAT score was miss-written on my Resume, basically it was the wrong score. I have emailed the college already but Im scared they will not accept me because of that mistake, I have already sent my actual scores through collegeboard. Any advice ?
@n20cs1 -Go have a nice cup of tea … or, better yet, a hot fudge sundae. This is not a problem for you in the least. I promise you that if you are not accepted by this college, it isn’t because of your very minor error. You have already done all the right stuff already (emailed the college; sent your official scores). So just relax. You’re fine.
@Sally_Rubenstone Thank you so much for helping everyone! I have a question of my own. In the “Additional information” section of the Common App, I accidentally wrote that I was part of NHS for grades 10-12, when in reality it was only grades 11-12. Is it worth sending emails to all the schools, or is it no big deal?
Thank you!
@AimingTop50 -No big deal. Leave it alone. Of course, if you happen to be in an interview situation or you find you have to email any of your colleges for more important reasons, then it’s fine to say, “Oh, by the way, I guess I wasn’t very ‘honorable’ when I mistakenly added a year to my NHS involvement on my application!” 
But, trust me, no one will notice this tiny mistake, and it will be far more noticeable–and annoying–if you were to send a correction.
@Sally_Rubenstone Appreciate it!
My college counselor mirrored what you said (just in case anyone is in my shoes in the future).