I sent my Common App to some schools but noticed afterwards that one of my courses under the “Current or Most Recent Courses” section is listed incorrectly.
It shows as “Chemistry (IB)”, making it as though I take IB Chemistry, but I don’t. It should be “Chemistry (REG)”.
I have already emailed the colleges via their Undergraduate Admissions Office emails about this mistake on my application, apologizing for it and telling them that it was not done with an intention to show my application as containing more rigorous courses.
Should I do anything more? Do I need to upload a separate document to the applicant portals of the colleges notifying them about the mistake?
And additionally, how serious of a problem would this mistake pose?
Note:
The course only appears as “Elective Chemistry” on my transcript, and also on my common app as “Elective Chemistry (IB)”. (instead of “Chemistry (IB)” as I wrote previously.)
You emailed the corrections. Nothing more you need to do.
That is relieving, thanks.
But one of the colleges I applied to is Harvard; they replied to my mail telling me about what I can do through the Applicant Portal which absolutely did not acknowledge the mistake at all. So I decided to send them an additional email asking if the mistake was acknowledged and if I should do anything else, but I received the same automated reply again.
Will they actually read my mail instead of assuming it was solved through the automated reply, or should I upload a writing document explaining the mistake into their portal via the Upload Supplemental Materials function?
You can ask your guidance counselor at school to send an email,to clarify, but the colleges will receive your transcript. Along with your email, which should be on file, I don’t think this is a problem. You’re overthinking this, and you could indeed risk annoying your colleges if you keep trying to do more.
Alright then, thanks for the replies.
I had sent my emails to Harvard (to the mail address fileroom@fas.harvard.edu) using my personal mail address (different from the one I log into my Common App with, but the one listed on my application file). Will they add that to their file, or should I still upload a document into their portal?
Sorry if I am annoying you with this, but their reply said:
“It is not possible to edit or remove essays and other materials after submission, although students may, if necessary, upload additional documents with corrections or explanations.”
That’s why I am specifically worried about this. Thanks in advance for your replies.
They will add your emails to the file. They will not correct the original document. You can upload the corrections to the pirtal, but it’s duplicative.
Agree with ski. Your emails will go into the file and anyone with a question about this will see them.
It could have been another issue if your had not informed them. (We can’t know that any reader will assume what led to this error.) So, good you did take action. You can breathe.