Click here to go to the NEW College Discussion Forum

I made a typo on my Harvard and Columbia essays, the same typo in each and I really want to send a letter clarifying the typo, would this suitable or would this look bad? Also, how would I go about doing this, could someone please please give me some advice because its really bothering me. Thanks

By Vadad (Vadad) on Friday, January 09, 2004 - 03:32 pm: Edit

I think that if the typo makes a difference in the sense of the essay or a point you are making, you should send in a short letter. I think if you are going to lay awake nights worrying about this, you should send in a short letter. Just write a brief explanation and make sure your SSN is on the letter, and it should find its way into your file.
I also think that it's not all that likely it will be noticed, and if noticed, held against you, particularly if the rest of your application reflects the care in preparation that I'm suspecting it does.

By Xiggi (Xiggi) on Friday, January 09, 2004 - 03:55 pm: Edit

Before sending a letter, I would ascertain the importance of the typo. Show the essay to a random person and see if they notice it. Unless it is a glaring mistake, most people won't catch it. If your "testers" do not see it, I would leave it at that. Chances are that, considering the time alloted to each essay, the adcom readers will equally miss it.

Sending a subsequent letter is a 50-50 proposal. On on the one hand, you might correct the issue that troubles you, but on the other hand, you also might draw attention to an insignificant typo and lead the reviewer to believe that you did not allocate the appropriate revision time for your essays.

I also believe that an innocuous typo is different from obvious misspellings. In this era of online applications that use engines that play havoc with the number of characters and formatting, smalls errors are understandable.

All of that to say: relax!

By Marite (Marite) on Friday, January 09, 2004 - 03:56 pm: Edit

I distinguish between typos and misspellings. Misspellings may be held against the writer, but not typos. If it is a typo, let it ride.

By Sandersan (Sandersan) on Friday, January 09, 2004 - 08:52 pm: Edit

Well the word was "reach," and it actually came out as "teacher." It looks kind of funny with the typo, I think the Word automatic spelling corrector changed it. If I were to write a letter, would I send a whole new essay with the right word, or just a brief statement saying which sentence was wrong and how it really should be?

By Marite (Marite) on Friday, January 09, 2004 - 09:18 pm: Edit

Okay. It does change the essay. Send the corrected essay with a note explaining that there is a typo in the earlier version and could it please be discarded? I think adcoms are probably still putting folders together, so there may be time to do so. It's better than just a statement telling the adcoms there is a wrong sentence somewhere, forcing them to hunt for it.

By Marite (Marite) on Friday, January 09, 2004 - 09:19 pm: Edit

PS:
Make sure to have your name and your SSN in the cover letter and on the revised essay.

By Sandersan (Sandersan) on Saturday, January 10, 2004 - 01:34 am: Edit

Ughhh I'm kind of upset about this, I don't know how it slipped through. Do you think this would make me look careless and possibly affect their decision?

By Mom2003 (Mom2003) on Saturday, January 10, 2004 - 06:35 am: Edit

Happens to everyone. I was once mortified by a typo in my job application. Turns out I got the job any way! Don't worry... I don't think one little mistake is going to kill your application.

By Thoughtfulmom (Thoughtfulmom) on Saturday, January 10, 2004 - 08:44 am: Edit

To err is human.

Don't stress out unduly.

I've seen typos in articles published in journals by scholars who went on to become Nobel Prize winners. (And yes, scholars do get the page proofs to check over before the article goes into print. Sometimes these were typos in mathematical formulas that made the equations technically incorrect.)

Even admissions offices make typos. I've seen several references lately to typos on admissions forms and on admissions websites.

If an essay is *riddled* with lots of typos that would be a problem. It would signal carelessness and nonchalance on the part of the writer. But a single one is not a disaster in the greater scheme of things.