Omitted word in essay - big problem?

Parent Cafe
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<p>I was just reading over an app. that my son submitted (safety, I think), and found an omitted word in the essay. He and I (and a friend) read the essay several times but didn't catch it originally. It's along the lines of this:</p>

<p>(Place) may not the most interesting place in the world...</p>

<p>(It's supposed to be "may not <em>be</em> the most interesting place")</p>

<p>I haven't told my son yet as there is nothing that can be done and I didn't want him to worry. What do you all think? Is this a horrible thing?</p>

<p>Thanks for any input.</p>

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<p>i don’t think that would be any problem. i’m sure there will be a lot more errors or omissions in the hundreds or thousands of essays the ad coms read. i have heard though that when proof reading things you should read the sentence backwards, and you will find more errors…when reading we often assume/insert words as we assume they are the normal flow of the sentence</p>

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<p>Adcoms don’t take a lot of time to read each essay - they read thousands and can scan quickly to get gist of content and voice. They are unlikely to notice or care about a missing word. Don’t mention it to DS; it won’t make a speck of difference.</p>

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<p>Agree with previous posters – not a big deal, or even a little one, IMO. I actually filled in the missing word when I read the sentence.</p>

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<p>If you want a chuckle about accidental app errors please do a search for the “clam fart” thread but be forewarned you will be laughing out loud. Make sure you aren’t taking a sip of tea or coffee while reading.</p>

<p>here’s the link:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/470497-clam-fart-oh-my-god-what-did-i-do.html?highlight=clam+fart[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/470497-clam-fart-oh-my-god-what-did-i-do.html?highlight=clam+fart&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Thanks for the reassurance. I’ll be so glad when this part is over!</p>

<p>That link was funny…thanks!</p>

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<p>Can anyone link to the hilarious CC thread about No. 2 pencils mentioned in the Clam Fart thread? I couldn’t find it, but it was a hoooot!</p>

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<p>ellemenope-</p>

<p>Was that #2 pencils thread in the old (classic) cc, where the urban moundbuilders thread is?</p>

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<p>Probably–I tried the new Google CC search and couldn’t find it and wondered if the new Google search omits the old cc threads in its searching.</p>

<p>Can we still get to the old stuff? There used to be an archive button at the bottom of the page, but I don’t see it now.</p>

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<p>

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<p>What is this new Google CC search?</p>

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<p>Thanks, jym626.</p>

<p>[College</a> Confidential Discussion](<a href=“http://www.collegeconfidential.com/discus/]College”>http://www.collegeconfidential.com/discus/)</p>

<p>This takes you to the archives or “College Confidential Classic” as it is called.</p>

<p>Then search “World’s Best Pencil”</p>

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<p>From a business perspective, I find that it is much better to tell my boss that I’ve found and corrected my own mistake, rather than have her call it to my attention. So I would be inclined to find out who at the school was responsible for the initial processing of my application and send that person a brief explanatory e-mail with the corrected essay attached.</p>

<p>But I’m pretty anal.</p>

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<p>Thanks…I see that is an old CC page, but I’m still confused about where a “Google CC Search” would be?</p>

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<p>When you click on the search button now, you are given the option of using Google CC search.</p>

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<p>As I recall, one of my kids wrote an essay (or it may have been a cover letter) and actually typed in the name of another college that he also was applying to rather than the name of the college to which he was directing the information. He didn’t realize it until long after it was sent. It didn’t matter–he still received an acceptance notification.</p>

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<p>ellemenope - I missed that thread last year. Both H and I just read. We were laughing so hard. I did stop drinking my coffee first.</p>

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<p>I guess I’m seeing a different page…when I click on “message search” on the left, I just see a “keyword search” form, nothing mentioning Google. It’s okay though, no big deal!</p>

<p>Thanks again for the input all!</p>

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<p>ellemenope-
Thanks for finding the title of the thread-- I was torn between looking for it and watching the Kennedy funeral (I somehow feel compelled to watch it-- its the end of an era). I also noticed that the Political discussions in the old CC classic only had 80 posts!! Ahhhh, those were the days!!</p>

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<p>I would let him know, however, so he doesn’t copy and paste the error into another application.</p>

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<p>I agree that he doesn’t need to correct it as I like others blipped right past it. OTOH you can send a corrected version. My son’s best friend had typos in his essay. I think he’d sent him off electronically before his Mom proofread and she was appalled. (Several typos I think not just one.) Anyway, their printer was down, so the essays ended up getting printed at my house. This was all going on in January after the deadlines. (He got into Princeton BTW - so sending corrections after the deadline did not hurt him.)</p>