<p>I’m doing the worst possible thing I can possibly do…I’m looking back at my common application I sent to Princeton last evening.</p>
<p>It’s a solid application, with amazing essays. They are well written with good grammar and solid writing skills presented. The rest of the application is decent as well. However, when I got to looking at my activities page, my heart sunk.</p>
<p>I made tiny little mistakes all over the place. Here are some examples:</p>
<li><p>Assisted the attorney’s in their daily courtroom procedures…</p></li>
<li><p>Assist incoming freshman in passing their classes…</p></li>
<li><p>I have played the violin for 13 years and the piano for 10…</p></li>
<li><p>I participate in these activities at my church for all four years of highschool…</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The reason I brought up my essays is that I am very good at grammar and the English language in general!!! But looking at these stupid errors, you wouldn’t know it. </p>
<p>Am I freaking out unnecessarily? Are these little errors big things to worry about? Did I make too many errors?</p>
<p>I don’t think that you will get rejected for the sole fact that you made those minor mistakes. Lots of other applicants have made mistakes all over the place, so your mistakes probably won’t be so memorable.
Speaking of mistakes, I am not sure if I had made one myself, but if I have, will someone please be so kind as to enlighten me: (this is a sentence from my short-answer)</p>
<p>“These programs were greatly enriching, enabling me to realize that art has become…”</p>
<p>I don’t know what each of the mechanics of grammar are specifically called, but can someone tell me if there is a grammatical error in just that sentence segment?</p>
<p>You’re probably better off saying something like “These enriching programs enabled me to realize that art has become…”</p>
<p>I got accepted into Princeton and I’m pretty sure that I made some grammar mistakes. I have trouble sometimes with ending sentences with an article (is that the term for it?). Such as, “he didn’t know where he wanted to go to.”</p>
<p>What, if anything, can I do? My essays are really good, my English teacher has a really good rec about my spoken and written English skills. Will Princeton think that someone else did my essays if those typos are in my activities page?</p>
<p>You have no clue how flustered I am. I feel like I’ve been rejected already.</p>
<p>Don’t worry. I had a bunch of spelling mistakes on my Stanford early action application (actually, that’s not a good example, considering I got rejected >_>). I honestly don’t think it’ll matter too much in the end. Think about it: would a school reject a future Nobel Laureate because he misspelled a few things? No.</p>
<p>So what should I do? I’m sending this same app to Yale and George Washington U. Can I change those errors for those schools? Or am I stuck with this?</p>
<p>Please, somebody, tell me 4 hard years in highschool will not be worthless because of a few grammar mistakes…</p>
<p>You should definitely correct the errors for the other schools. </p>
<p>No, I don’t think that the admissions office will think someone else wrote the essays. I think that they will realize that while you had your essays proofed, you didn’t thoroughly proof the activities listings. </p>
<p>Since the Princeton deadline has not yet come, is there any way you could resubmit it? Could you call Princeton to see if you could issue a correction?</p>
<p>They will notice the errors. But they will definitely notice them if you tell them you made the mistakes. I would just let it go and hope they are reading quickly. It won’t make or break you probably, but it WILL be noticed.</p>
<p>And just create another copy of the CommonApp and send that to the other schools. Instructions are on the website.</p>
<p>I’d chill out. The cumulative effect of the errors is likely to be negligible, especially since adcoms read such a high volume of apps. They’re unlikely to notice and be repulsed by a couple of minor typos/grammar mistakes.</p>
<p>wow eh, you have fantastic SATs! i wouldn’t think you have a problem with language. I don’t think they’ll think of your errors as anything more than mere errors.</p>
<p>they’ll probably attribute the errors to the fact that you tried to rush it by their Dec 15 deadline.</p>
<p>As for other schools, you can create a duplicate app and change that one. Just read the “help” section on the Common App. It has instructions on how to do this.</p>
I had a bunch of spelling mistakes on my Stanford early action application (actually, that’s not a good example, considering I got rejected >_>). I honestly don’t think it’ll matter too much in the end. Think about it: would a school reject a future Nobel Laureate because he misspelled a few things? No.</p>