<p>my parents were undecided on what to give me for a last name. so they took each of theirs and stuck a hyphen between them. my birth certificate, passport, drivers license, and SS card have my hyphenated name on them. all was well until my mom enrolled me in school. she decided that, because her french, impossible-to-spell-or-pronounce last name is 14 letters long, and my dad's is only 6 letters long and a little easier on the tongue, she'd give my teachers a break and sign me up with only my dad's name. well, i took the SAT under my dad's name, and my transcripts are under my dad's name, but the ACT is under my hyphenated name, because my mom signed me up online as i couldn't move b/c of my broken collarbone. anyway, on the common app i listed my name with the hyphen because it asked for the "official" name. under previous names, i put just my dad's. so, do you think the adcoms will hate me for the confusion?? is there anything i can do to sort the situation out for them?</p>
<p>You could write a letter and explain it to them.</p>
<p>i could, but should i bother? will they think it's an insult to their intelligence?</p>
<p>Yes, I would say an explanatory letter is probably necessary for any college about which you are truly serious. If you're not serious, don't bother them - they're busy.</p>
<p>I grew up with a last name that not one person outside of the five central counties of Iowa could pronounce - ever. I was so glad to change my name when I married. My eldest sister was appalled when we did not give our firstborn my "maiden" name for his middle name. YUCK! I was thrilled to ditch that moniker.</p>
<p>Now, you'll have to consider - will your children have three last names?</p>