I don’t know how it happen, but the unthinkable occurred. she worked so hard, perfect grades, great AC T score, etc and somehow sent the first draft of the essay to the colleges :(((
From what I’m reading online we can call the schools and probably email the corrected version. My question is, is this going to be looked on unfavorably? is it going to affect her as a candidate? will it affect any scholarship? She is very concerned that it’s going to have a negative affect. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!!
How different is the final draft from the draft sent? If it is materially different/better, I don’t think you have any choice but to make the correction as each school instructs. No doubt many, many applicants have hit the “send” button prematurely, so I suspect there will be some level of sympathy from the AO’s as they understand the stress that these kids are under. Support your kid and try to make light of this. No sense adding stress and anxiety to the situation.
Just as a tip for future applications/online submissions. Draft them in Word and paste in the final draft when completed. Do not keep prior drafts. Edit over the existing draft. If for some reason you feel it is necessary to keep an interim draft to be re-purposed later, save that in a separate folder with a completely different name.
Paste in the final draft…but proof it.
@MommaBear02 - You could also ask Sally on this forum. She’s been very helpful.
bksquared: Thanks for your comments! I would say the first version would be fine as a homework assignment but the final draft really pulled it all together, made it fluid and readable. Like I said, she’s just concerned that contacting them will make it worse…
Thank you, Tabitha18!
Looking forward: paste it into the common app? how? thanks
^Draft essay in Word. Edit over same version in Word so that you do not have have multiple drafts on your computer. I had my kids print the “final” version on paper and do a final check there. Sometimes when you change the medium, you will catch errors and typos that you missed when viewing the text on screen. Make any final changes. Copy over essay to computer clipboard and then “paste” what you copied onto the Common App space. Looking Forward is absolutely right in advising to then reproof what was pasted over in case something was lost in the copying (e.g. cursor missed the last words or lines).
BKSquared, I’m not sure I understand, but my exposure/familiarity with common app is extremely limited…
Just to clarify, it was already sent…
colleges already downloaded the “1st draft” version…
I was referring to any apps not already sent. You can go back and “amend” the common app for any subsequent schools. Yes, it is too late for apps already submitted. To fix those you will need to research the process by school.
I’m sure this is not the first time this has happened. It’s probably the ten thousandth. Have her call the schools and very politely explain what happened. My guess is there’s a protocol in place for this situation.
What a difference 30 years makes. I wrote my essay and then copied it (by hand) onto the paper admissions form. I left out a line so I made an asterisk and wrote the line in at the bottom of the page.
A mistake was made and I would bet the schools are willing to work with you to make it better. Call.
Just adding: I would have my child contact the reader for our area directly and calmly (and maybe with a little humor and self-effacement) explain the situation and see what they direct her to do. I know this feels like a crisis, but it’s really likely not. Good luck!
thank you bksquared and 4gsmom!