So I spent over two hours proofreading my application to UIUC, however one of the most subtle of mistakes sneaked into my essay…
I misspelled a word originally, and it seemed to have autocorrected to a similar word which had a difference of two letters but did not fit in the context of the sentence at all. I had 3 family members proofread this essay along with me so it was hard to believe how this grammatical error snuck in!! Does it look worse than a simple typo if identified, since it’s completely out of context?
I barely make the 50% percentile in terms of stats my intended major and despite having an otherwise up to mark app, this careless error has been troubling me, perhaps since UIUC is where I want to go, and it is tougher for me since I’m an international. It hurts to think that extra bit of care in proofreading would have stopped such a sloppy error from happening.
I know you’re kicking yourself, but try to forgive yourself. You’re under pressure now, but someday you will be glad you did well in college no matter where you go.
–That’s as long as you researched and visited schools first, and applied only to schools where you’d be happy to attend–even the “safeties.”
Mistakes happen to everyone at some point.
It’s possible admissions won’t notice, they’re reading a lot.
You know that the essay is the least important aspect of the application. It makes a difference primarily when choosing between similar applications. But it can’t compensate (usually) for being out of the general ballpark.
Just be sure to correct the mistake before sending it out with other applications.
You can make corrections on the CommonApp, but not on the version that already went out, as you seem to know already.
Go for a run or do something that makes you feel good about yourself.
I called and spoked to the admissions office and they said one or two mistakes are not considered sloppy in any case. Thanks for all the replies, I believe it was just my OCD getting the better of me. And yes the “clam fart” thread was gold! @IvyGrad09@Lindagaf@poblob14@bopper
