<p>Oops! But, then again, I have severe RA and gnarled hands, so typing is painful for me at almost any time of the day or night!
NEVER did I intend to make anyone feel badly about themselves,nor was I calling the OP a liar-which really is an extreme reaction- but I hate to see a talented, driven kid held back due to something as easy to correct as spelling and grammar. I’ve been on the admissions end at college and I know what happens- there are a lot of kids trying to get in and believe me when I say that writing is a way that is used to winnow the piles of applications down a size that we could manage. You all know that there are Admissions Reps on these boards and that they can easily put two and two together and figure out who someone is, should it be necessary. Why take the chance? A simple typo or two is understandable- I make them myself and never contend that I am perfect- but we’ve seen kids who put up post after post, full of errors and then, we end up reading that they haven’t been accepted to the schools they wanted. It might not have been their talent-no one is questioning that- but, with budget cuts and belt-tightening, those same schools are cutting back on the teachers who were there to provide remedial classes to those kids who needed a bit of extra help in order to ease into their freshman year. Even the departments that were in place and govt funded are either disbanded or very much smaller than they used to be.
If you think that I am being harsh or that I am “berating” kids, then I will leave the forum. I love young people- I spent my working years, before health forced me to retire, helping them, teaching in the inner city, and then moving on the college arena. I’ve had many students thank me for enabling them to be the best possible person they could be- I’m content with that and I know that I was good at what I did. Good night and Good Bye.</p>
<p>Mezzo’sMama - I do not regret my post but neither would I want you to leave - you are obviously a knowledgeable and compassionate person and are always so willing to help. The written word often takes on a totally different feeling from what you intended. </p>
<p>As far as admissions reading informal posts and denying an applicant because he mistypes words - I think that is very far fetched. In fact if admissions were using that as a guideline, I would not want my child in that school. It is far more likely that they would read the CONTENT of what is written and make judgements on that. That too is pretty far fetched as I would imagine they have far too much work to do to ■■■■■ the boards for perspective students trying to dig up dirt on them. It is much easier to log into MySpace and Facebook where students are very easy to locate and often pour out way too much of themselves.</p>
<p>Mezzo’sMama, I’m with you on this. So many of the HS kids slip into casual usage all of the time instead of just with their friends. DD used to laugh that even when texting her I used correct language, not abbreviations, as she then did in return. What she has found now is that it is easy for her to switch back and forth for the audience she is addressing. It is an important skill. Students who seek advice from the parents in the forums should adapt, take time to proof their posts, and use correct language. We all make typos, that is not the issue. Using adult language skills is.</p>