<p>In my “What got you interested in Brown” short answer, I referenced a particular professor who I’ve seen at readings / whose work I’ve really enjoyed.</p>
<p>HOWEVER, as I was just looking at my bookshelf, I realized I absentmindedly wrote the name of the wrong person (a professor who, I just found out, thanks Google, works at a different Ivy League school, ouch) who has a strikingly similar name. Even worse is that the Brown prof is female and the other prof is male, so it looks like I don’t even know the gender of the person I’m talking about.</p>
<p>Please, please, please tell me there is some way to retract this moment of idiocy. I feel like a huge shlump and I’m terrified the admissions officers will think I have no interest when, in reality, Brown has been my dream school for the last 4+ years and I agonized over the supplement for months.</p>
<p>Chill. Don’t panic. At most, maybe send no more than a short “Whoopsie!” (What’s in a name?) email? My D sent supplemental emails to several schools about an award she received. She sent the email intended for school B to school A! After a few minutes (hours?) of PANIC!, I helped her compose an “Whoops!” email. </p>
<p>Epilogue: D was accepted into school A and loves it! At their admitted students day, I spoke with an admissions officer who remembered reading (and getting a chuckle) from the “Whoops!” email. She told me they know students are under a lot of pressure and while it’s possible some admissions officers (not at her school, of course!) are looking for any excuse to eliminate a candidate, most are not grading your proof-reading skills on short essay #357 or playing “gotcha!” games on something of very small impact on the admissions decisions. Personally, I think the reason admissions officers remember the essays “for school B sent to A” is for the calm-down part of the presentation they give before campus tours.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t mention that you know the name you wrote is a real name of a different prof. You want this to look as much like a typo as possible so just say you spelled/typed it wrong.</p>
<p>If they’re similar enough for you to be able to pass it off as a type you should be alright.</p>
<p>If they’re so different that its clear that you just wrote the wrong name… I’d say you’re only HALF screwed. Its just one question, there were like eight on the supplement!</p>
<p>I would let it go and not even call it to their attention. It’s possible the admissions committee isn’t even familiar with that professor, anyway.</p>