@kaitasticals -Nothing to worry about.
Hi, like a lot of other high school seniors, I am panicking after finding some errors in my Common Application “Additional Information” section. Such errors include forgetting a parenthesis, using the same word two sentences in a row, and accidentally capitalizing a word that I shouldn’t have. I had my father read this section a few times, so I am understandably upset to find these errors. Will these small mistakes make or break my SCEA application? Thank you for being a voice of reason, as I cannot be one for myself right now 
@Sally_Rubenstone Hi, I submitted my University of California application last week and just realized that I didn’t put the name of the company I interned at on the application but just mentioned my position and responsibilities. Should I be stressing about this? The “work experience” section only said titles and responsibilities so I totally forgot to put where I interned. Would the admissions officers think that my work experience is fake because of this? I did mention it in my essay though. (Not the full name but just said a cable company)
@Benji3025-These small mistakes will have no impact on your admissions verdict. If you don’t get the news you want from your SCEA school, I promise you that it will not be due to these errors. Good luck!
@LINA1203 -In a perfect world you would have included the name of the company where you did your internship. But the fact that you did not include it isn’t a big deal and won’t affect your admission decisions. The admission folks won’t think that your internship was fake just because you omitted the company’s name, so don’t worry.
If the admission folks want more information about where you worked, they will contact you or your guidance counselor. It is HIGHLY unlikely that they will, but it wouldn’t hurt to alert your guidance counselor so that he or she will know where you worked if asked.
@Sally_Rubenstone Thank you so much for the reassurance, Ms. Rubenstone. You are so helpful in demystifying the college application process… big kudos! 
@Benji3025 -You’re very welcome, though I wish I really COULD demystify the process. I hate it myself and find it unnecessarily confusing and stressful.
Hi Sally, I recently submitted some of my applications, and upon checking them again, I made a mistake on reporting the time for one of my EC’s. I started that activity in the middle of one school year and ended it in the middle of the next, so I put 10th and 11th grades. I also put in 20 hours, but that was the total amount I had, not per year. Would this be something I should correct?
Also, for the Common App, I didn’t write out the course titles exactly as they were written on my transcript for 2 classes I took— should this be something I stress about?
Thank you so much for your help!
@writerscookie- Ordinarily I’d tell you to forget the correction for the activities snafu (but to try to pick up some good karma somewhere else in your life after inflating your participation). 
But I DO think that you need to send a correction for the course titles … unless the discrepancies were tiny (e.g., if the class was called “Reading the Great Books” and you wrote, “Great Books,” it doesn’t warrant a correction). But sometimes admission officials can get confused when a self-reported class doesn’t seem to mesh with the transcript. So, in your case, you can send an email that clears up the class title discrepancies and then add, “I also wanted to clarify the time spent on an extracurricular …”
@Sally_Rubenstone Thank you! In this case, the discrepancies were small I think. Instead of American Lit I put “American Literature” and for Graph Des I put “Graphic Design.”
@writerscookie -The way you listed those classes does NOT warrant a correction and you might annoy the admission folks if you were to send one. The discrepancies are minuscule.
So let all of this go. Even though you slightly inflated your EC commitment, it’s not enough to make the difference in your admission outcomes … or even to wreck your karma. But if you were to have contact with your college or colleges in the months ahead (e.g., if you have an interview or if the college contacts you with some question), you can mention the minor error and correct it then. But don’t send a separate correction at this point.
@Sally_Rubenstone Got it, thank you for your advice. And I’m sorry to bother you again with one more question, I think I’m just getting really nervous and antsy but I forgot to list a class that I’m taking this year on the Common App. It’s a half class, half club that meets after school but we get some elective credit. Should I email the schools about this, or will it be fine since they got my transcripts?
@writerscookie -No, leave this alone too UNLESS there is a very clear relationship between this class and your intended major … a connection that doesn’t appear elsewhere in your application.
For instance, if you’ve applied as an engineering major but there’s no sign of any interest or experience in engineering in any of your other course listings or EC’s and this is a ROBOTICS class, then it’s worth telling the college in an email now.
@Sally_Rubenstone Okay, I probably won’t send an email then. Thank you so so much for all of your help!
Hi Sally,
I just noticed that for one of my activities (Class Politics) I accidentally listed 10hr/week instead for 12 weeks instead of 1 hr/wk for 12 weeks (yes, I know, huge mistake!!!). This error was submitted in my early decision application to a rather competitive school, which releases its early decision results NEXT WEEK. So now, I am very stressed as to whether I should send an email explaining this error, or if it is too late to do so. I am worried that this relatively high number of hours per week may look like an exaggeration/lie (yikes!!!). All of my other activities were accurate in their hour descriptions.
Thanks.
@aristicslobe - You are going to have a tough time sleeping until your ED verdict rolls in, but probably an even TOUGHER one if you’re having nightmares about this snafu. Whether you are involved 10 hours/week or 1 hour/week for a mere 12 weeks will have NO impact on your admission verdicts. However, because the inadvertent exaggeration is so great, I do suggest a brief correction email right now to your regional rep. If you have some other update to include in that email (e.g., a new activity you’ve just started, an interesting project completed, etc.) then this would be a good time to add it. This error–and its correction–won’t affect your outcome but I do suggest you set the record straight now.
For my common app education section, I accidentally typed “AP Anatomy and Physiology” as a course when it is not an AP class. However I did not select the AP option under the course level question so is it worth emailing all the schools I sent the common app to already? I made this mistake because all my other classes were AP and in the moment, I mistyped the course name. What do you suggest I do?
@stephhhh1881 -Are you applying to colleges (such as UC schools) that do not require a high school transcript until after you’re admitted? If so, you should send a brief correction now. But if all of your colleges require a transcript sent by your high school at the time that you apply, then leave this alone. The college folks will figure it out and it won’t affect your outcomes.
@Sally_Rubenstone No, all of my schools require transcripts for the application process. Thank you so much for your prompt reply!
Hi Sally,
So I submitted my college application that I’ve left around for…a month now while working on my college essay?
Either way, so one big thing that stood out to me when after I submitted it
-I selected yes for having a GED(which I don’t) and put down my hs diploma date.
Will this be a problem or will they know it was an honest mistake since I did send in high school and college transcripts? The site is asking for a GED transcript as well which I obviously do not have.
Also, my father’s military service dates were left blank due to the application not saving it, is this a minor detail that won’t affect my application?