Hi all,
today I emailed Yale, Cornell and UPenn to request for help in adding something to my application. I wrote my Yale email first, with the subject title being “Request for assistance with Yale application”. I then forwarded the email to Cornell and Upenn, but stupidly forgot to change the school name in my email subject title…
How much will this affect my admissions chances? Should I do anything about it? Or, is there anything I can do?
Thanks and really welcome all your advise and input.
Well, it won’t make your chances better, but no one has a good chance anyway. I have read numerous times that officers see many essays where the applicant forgets to,change the name of the school. I imagine this isn’t much different. Sorry not to sound more positive, but in your shoes I would probsbly asume the worst.
I don’t think this is EXACTLY like putting the wrong school name in an essay, because you were trying to add something to all the schools, and it was probably the same thing (correct me if I am wrong). So, they’ll probably understand- they can probably guess if you’re applying to them you’re applying to some peer schools too.
@yonceonhismouth @Lindagaf hi guys thanks for your opinions 
do you know if the person reading the emails are the admission officers who will also be looking at my files?
Look, you know how hard it is to get in, right? I am not going to give false hope. None of us knows for sure exactly who reads each email, but you sent it to the admissions office, so it will be seen by someone in admissions. You might be happily surprised, but don’t count on it. It’s done. Let it go and dont think about it agian unitl March 31. It might not be an issue, and least it won’t matter for the one you sent to Yale.
Try not to worry too much. Adcoms are well aware of this problem.
In all probability the email will be placed in your file. Correspondence is part of your record and does tell part of your story. Will everyone read every piece of correspondence? Unclear. Will that mistake be highlighted in yellow or underlined with a comment in pencil? Maybe.
Adcoms know that this happens and that while amazingly smart and responsible, you are also young and somewhat inexperienced. They tend to chalk up such things to the “inexperienced” part of that equation. Because: duh you will be contacting all of your schools, right? They know that. And do they think they are the only school you’re applying to? Not at all, They know you’re applying to several others. They also know their “peer” schools and know which schools they compete directly with for top contenders. In other words, what they know is that you weren’t careful when you sent those emails. Also adcoms have made similar mistakes, hitting reply all when they meant the info to go to just one person. That sort of thing. We are all human.
Who knows how all of that will add up in the adcom minds. If you’re a top student otherwise, it won’t really matter. If you are barely there and borderline, they might say, well this other borderline person dotted one more I and crossed one more T, let’s go with that person.
It’s hard to say. Each school also has different sorts of classes they’re trying to create, different types of communities. Where you’re borderline for one, you may be top dog for the other.
There’s nothing you can do now. Just try not to worry about it too much. YOu will find a great school that’s just right for you.
It sounds like a simple, nnocent mistake, but with so many qualified candidates, adcoms are often looking for reasons to not accept. They may think your error indicates carelessness or lack of attention to detail, or lack of passion for their school. Do you have any hooks to over-ride this mistake? But you probably should move on with a good lesson learned.
I 100% disagree with #6. Colleges aren’t tracking email subject titles. They could care less
It’s done and you can’t reverse it
No one has time to link those minor errors. that’s absurd.
You’ve applied to some great schools which indicates you’re a top student – come back in three months. Enjoy your last semester of school. Run with scissors. Leave the cap off the toothpaste. You’ve worked hard. Now make more memories.
^^ When you say no one has time to link those errors, that’s not necessarily true. Most schools automatically add correspondence to the application file, so it’s there for the adcom to see. Now maybe they’ll say it’s a common mistake and won’t give it another thought, but as @lindagaf says, it certainly is not going to help.
My guess is some secretary or work-study student gets to see your error!
Thanks everyone for your advice :’) Really appreciate it. Would you guys recommend that I call the admissions office and apologise for the error? @redpoodles @wisteria100 @T26E4 @Dustyfeathers @Lindagaf
No, that is just digging a deeper hole. Let sleeping dogs lie.
No! Don’t call. Let it go.
Really, it’s okay.
Don’t call. These types errors happen so why bring attention to it.
omg, don’t call, talk about making a bad situation worse. Do NOT call.
The idea to over correct applications when students have had months to complete them is not appealing to admission’s officers. Let it go, it is what it is, you will never know if it impacts your application or not, just how it is. Forget about it and enjoy your last months as a HS senior! It will be fine.