<p>I submitted an application for stanford under restrictive early action. I just looked over my submission just for fun today (I originall submitted it almost a month ago)...and to my horror saw that I had checked the box for writing an essay about "ethnic diversity" instead of checking the box for "overcoming a personal obstacle" essay-- which is what I wrote my essay about.
How serious is this mistake? Is it worth it to email/call Stanford...or will they realize i intended to answer a different prompt selection? And i plan to apply to a few other colleges, and Common App is locked since i submitted my application already, so will all the other colleges be fine with it?</p>
<p>I AM REALLY WORRIED...did i just lose my chance at getting into Stanford?</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s any big deal. They read the essay as an essay and if it’s a good essay, they could probably care less about the “prompt.”</p>
<p>As far as being “locked in,” understand that you can create up to 10 different versions of your Common App. So, just create a new version (everything automatically copies over from the original without any re-entering, except for the essays parts). Of course, if you have already submitted the application to the other colleges (presumably RD), then you can’t change.</p>
<p>You can also do what the earlier poster said and write a letter – it will go into the file and can’t hurt. At least it shows you were attentive and made the attempt to correct the error.</p>