DS submitted his application. In one of his essays, he writes about an award he received and the date which he applied for this award. Unfortunately, his date is off by several months. I’m sure his counselor will mention this award as well. Would it look strange to the AO if the dates are different as reported by the counselor or would they chalk it up as just a minor error/memory slip?
My guess is it won’t be noticed or seen only as a minor error. But you might want to try posting here where you can get a pro’s answer:
A larger error yes. I’d say 100% that your error is minor and not worth updating in the slightest. Rest easy.
Son realized his high school had sent the transcript packages (very early in September) before class rank had been determined. He called one university that lists “class rank” as an “important” consideration to ask if the transcripts should be re-sent with the rank added. Admissions there advised him to resubmit the transcripts, so the high school resubmitted the updated transcript package to every college he had applied to.
The university he called was the one he attended and graduated from.
Being off by a few months isn’t worth calling attention to. Not a show stopper. (Not for what you’ve told us.)
google “College Confidential clam fart”
If he got the name of the award wrong, I’d call, but a date doesn’t matter a bit.
Agree…I’d only call if there was an egregious error which this is not.
Well. It turns out he has another oopsie. He referenced the wrong building in his supplemental essay. Question asked why do you want to attend our school. During the campus tour, the student guide pointed out a green building that was built by a bunch of engineering students. Apparently, the kids enter a green contest every few years. DS mentioned the building he saw on campus in his essay. Unfortunately, the building he referenced in his essay no longer exists. It was moved off campus a year or two ago.
Yes. I saw the clam fart thread. Hilarious. He was really upset with himself last night. The rest of his application is strong so I’m hoping they overlook his mistake.
I just reread my post…sigh… let me clarify. The building he reference in his essay was another green building the kids built a few years ago but has since moved off campus. He thought the building he saw on the tour was this particular one. The essay prompt asked why he liked the campus and now he’s written a short essay about a building that is not even on campus anymore.
That’s a tough one. Maybe have him send a brief e-mail to his regional admissions officer to express his strong interest in the school, and mention that he now realizes he made an error regarding the name of the building in his essay and that he hopes they will overlook that? In some cases contacting them means you’d just be calling attention to a mistake they might not notice, but this sounds like it’s going to be more obvious. Still, this sort of error does not constitute misrepresenting himself, so it’s not the end of the world in that sense.
The name of the building was only mentioned in one brief sentence. It was not peppered all over the essay which btw was very short in length.
He essentially just mixed up the names of the buildings.
@T26E4 I just read the first 14 pages of posts of the thread you referenced (I had to know how it turned out), totally worth the time, it was so awesome. Thanks for the reference to an oldie but goodie. CC Classic for sure. Still laughing.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/470497-clam-fart-oh-my-god-what-did-i-do-p1.html
I think CC should have an admin post the clam fart thread every year. It’s always great comic relief. Hace to say wasn’t sure it was real til The Neurotic Parent wrote in her guide that Yale had confirmed it was true!
Think I agree with The GFG but it really depends on how he wrote it, whether it’s a strong answer with this one goof or likely to raise an eyebrow. I saw a kid once mention the allure of a street near campus, for all it’s nightlife and shops. But she named a quiet street at the edge of campus where the main activity is kids crossing traffic.
He was listing things that he liked about the campus, and I guess the green building was on there. I’m hoping they’ll probably think he just mixed the buildings up since both have similar names.
If they have Green buildings every year, who is to say the guide or the literature he was given didn’t list the old name? Really, how would he know the name of the old building that is gone unless someone mentioned it?
If the admissions officer is anything like me, he’ll still call everything by the old name. I call my brother by his original name even though he’s used a nickname for 25 years. I call businesses by their old names, married friends by their maiden names, my uncle Rob when for 60 years he’s been Bob to everyone (his mother called him Rob, so my mother did, so I do). Very minor issue.
DS said he talked to his counselor and he told him not to worry about it. It’s not a big deal. They do the green building every few years. Actually, it was the more recent building he named in his essay, which for some reason they decided to take off campus. It’s the older building that’s still there.
@twoinanddone - That’s exactly what I was thinking. The guide could have gotten the name mixed up. DS said he saw the name of the house on a campus map (maybe an old one?) online somewhere and thought that was the house he saw on the tour.
Sounds like something anyone could be confused about and in this case, especially a new visitor.