Correcting application errors after submission or not

heyfishbulb · January 6

Hi Sally, my son had me proof his responses to questions on his college application via google docs in edit (not comment) mode (I realize that this was part of the problem). One of which was "What do you enjoy reading?" One of the things that he said that he enjoyed reading was the magazine "The Atlantic." I corrected it to read "The Atlantic Monthly" which is what it was called back in my day. Well, it turns out that they dropped the "Monthly" from the name years ago. He did not see my change and submitted it as "The Atlantic Monthly". Although it is a monthly magazine. Do I alert him and have him email the school? I am worried that it looks foolish for him to submit something that could be considered anachronistic.

Sally_Rubenstone · January 6

@heyfishbulb -NO!!!! Your son should most definitely NOT send a correction. Many of us older folks still refer to that magazine as The Atlantic Monthly. I know that I do! So any teenager could have heard that name at home, at school, on TV, etc. and might use it, too. This is a non-issue. Please leave it alone!

heyfishbulb · January 7

Thank you so much! That is a relief. He did hear it and see it in my house. Like all teenagers, he only reads it digitally, so he just knows things as a url link and aren't into the particulars. I am very grateful for your thoughtful and quick reply.

bencow62 · January 8

Hi Sally

For one of my awards on the Common App, I put a ranking I had for one of my ECs (debate). When I listed it on the CA, I put what my ranking was at the time I submitted the application. However, throughout the rest of the year, I believe that my ranking will fall at least a few places since I won't be participating that much anymore. Anyways, is it worth an update to tell colleges that my ranking was as of December 2019 or is it assumed that my ranking will fluctuate throughout the year? I don't want them to think I am lying if they see a ranking different than what I put on my application. The ranking is easily verifiable and could fall by a couple places (from like 10s to 20s).

Sally_Rubenstone · January 8

@bencow62 -When a student puts a ranking, a sports record, etc. on an application, admission officials assume that it was current at the time that the application was submitted but that it will not necessarily stay the same throughout the rest of the year. So you're fine, and don't worry about making any changes here.

yusef123 · January 8

@Sally_Rubenstone Thank you very much for you answer!

I have another question. After submitting all my applications, I found a way to double-check one of the awards I won. I found out that, instead of being in the top 5 like I mentionned in my application, I was actually in 6th place. The only way to make sure of such an information is to look up the name of the centre that organizes the competition in its original language (French) and go through the pictures on their facebook page, because there is no text proof of it. However, one of my teachers, who also happens to be the president of that centre, didn't submit his LOR yet, and he told me he mentionned that I was in 6th place.

Should I ask him to put "top five" instead, or let him send it with the right information and then email the admissions offices to correct the mistake I made on the common app?

Sally_Rubenstone · January 8

@yusef123 -Do NOTHING except relax. If your teacher says you're #6 and you wrote #5, no one at the colleges will notice or care. And, in the unlikely event that any admission officials DO notice, they aren't going to care a bit about this tiny discrepancy. So please leave this alone. No need to make any changes. You're fine.

Acuriousgirl · January 21

Hi @Sally_Rubenstone ,

I recently found out that I had reported that I had participated in an activity for 10th grade/11th grade instead of 11th grade/12th grade. I'm particularly worried because I think it would seem really odd to admissions officers that I would quit an activity senior year---meaning that I did it just for admissions when in reality it means a lot to me. I wonder, would contacting them about the mistake ruin my chances at admission because of how "careless" I was? I would love some advice on which one is worse: letting them think I did something for 2 years and then quit, or demonstrating carelessness by not submitting the right dates and having to bother their busy schedule?

Thank you!

Sally_Rubenstone · January 22

@Acuriousgirl - Based on what you’ve said, I advise you to let this go. Admission officials aren’t going to be scrutinizing that part of your application too carefully, and they don’t find it odd when a student drops an activity after 11th grade.

But I could advise you more effectively if you were to tell me exactly what this activity is and how large a role it plays in your life ... e.g., did you write your essay or any short-answer question about it? Is it closely tied to your prospective major?

Depending on how you respond, I MAY recommend that you send a correction—but probably not. In any case, this minor mistake won’t affect your admission outcome, regardless of what you decide to do about it. So don’t stress over it!

yusef123 · January 28

@Sally_Rubestone

Dear Ms Sally,

After reviewing my application to a university, I noticed that a lot of things in my application were wrong because I forgot to update them: I forgot to mention my SAT and IELTS scores, I mentioned an honor that wasn't correct (honors were I come from are given depending on the overall average grade, hence the confusion) and forgot to mention another one, and the list of courses I sent was wrong (for that last point, you already advised me to email the admissions office to provide the correct list).

I already wrote an email providing all the correct lists and the reasons behind my confusions (for the tests, I filled a non-English-speaker friend's courses instead of mine, for the honors, I couldn't check them with my high school's principal until way after the deadline, and for the tests, I filled the section before taking the SAT and the IELTS and forgot to update it afterwards). I also said that I could provide any supporting documentation needed to make up for my mistake.

Is this enough, or am I better withdrawing my application from that specific university? I really don't want my mistake to be seen as dishonesty.

Thank you very much.

Sally_Rubenstone · January 28

@yusef123 --I promise you that no college is going to view your mistakes and confusion as dishonesty. If you are not accepted by this college--or by any other one--it wil NOT be because of these application errors or omissions, as long as you have followed up with clarifications.

It's important that this college (and any other you've applied to) receives your updated test scores. So email the scores to the college, if you haven't already. If the college also requires official scores from the testing agency and you have not ordered them, then you must do this immediately as well.

It's not clear to me if you've already sent the email updates or not. If you HAVE, then you're all set. If not, do so promptly.

From what I've read in your messages, there is no reason for you to withdraw any application.

Acuriousgirl · February 12

@Sally_Rubenstone
Hi Ms. Sally,

Yes, to give a little more context, I did mention it in 2 of my short answers for the UC applications. To me, this was a huge deal as I finally got the chance to lead the club as president and I wrote about recruiting the shy kids who often faced language barriers because they had immigrated here. I plan on pursuing a degree to become an immigration lawyer with a focus on foreign language in my major in the future, so maybe this is something extra important?

In addition, I'm also a little afraid that on the tiny chance they choose my application out of the thousands to audit, it would be inaccurate and I would've "lied." Would this reason perhaps be a good enough reason to message them "Hi, I wish to ensure that my application is accurate in case it ever is audited, and as such would like to point out a mistake on my application...." and end with thanking them?

Thank you so much for your input!

Sally_Rubenstone · February 12

@Acuriousgirl -It sounds like it will put your mind at rest to submit a correction, so go ahead and do so promptly. However, I recommend that you don't mention that you're doing this to avoid a problem with a potential audit. Instead, simply explain that, with hindsight, you realized you'd made a mistake and want to correct it. Be sure to also apologize for taking the admission officials' additional time.

kbsean24 · February 13

Hi Sally,

I recently applied to csulb and csuf but was accepted to csulb, the only problem is that on my cal state apply application I put that I was taking c++ programming but I ended not getting into the class, and it was after the deadline to make the changes. I have finished all the preparation courses. But CECS 174, on CSULB website says that java or c++ programming counts as CECS 174, but this also counted as an "additional recommended course for transfer". I have taken java already. Will my offer get rescinded now because I didn't take that class or no. I've been stressing out a lot. Please let me know!

Thanks.

Sally_Rubenstone · February 13

@kbsean24 -As you probably already realize, the main issue here isn't that you didn't take C++ but that you didn't notify admission offices as soon as you found out that you didn't get into the class. So you certainly have to do this IMMEDIATELY. The admission folks do not like to see a final transcript that doesn't match up with the student's self-reported one.

So email CSULB right away with the change, and--if you don't get a reply within a week or so--follow up with a phone call. My best guess is that you will not lose your place in the class since you had a valid reason for not taking C+++ and because you did take Java. But it's imperative that you make sure NOW that CSULB is aware of the change. Good luck!

errorcode4766 · February 19

Hi @Sally_Rubenstone,

I just noticed that I put a score of 5 on some AP Tests that I'm taking this year (So I haven't taken them yet) on the Common App. I didn't know I could leave it blank, so I just put the date of the test as May 2020 and gave the score that I thought I could get. Do you think I should email them and tell them about the mistake I made?

Thank you.

Sally_Rubenstone · February 19

@errorcode4766 -YES, you absolutely should email all your colleges right now and explain--and apologize for--your error. Since you clearly indicated that you won't be taking the tests until May 2020, it's unlikely that the admission folks will think that you were intentionally dishonest about your scores. But you might confuse some of them when they see that you've included scores for exams that haven't actually been taken yet.

I'm kind of surprised that no one has contacted you or your counselor yet to ask about this, but I guess it goes to show you how quickly applications get read and how easy it is for admission committees to miss details.

earlgreyboba · March 4

Hi @Sally_Rubenstone ,

I hope that this doesn't count as bumping a dead thread, but I realized last week that I submitted a transfer application with an error in the "total credits earned" section.
I included the in-progress credit hours in this box and I am wondering if this is a severe enough mistake to warrant a call/email to the admissions office?

Sally_Rubenstone · March 4

@earlgreyboba -This isn't a big-deal error at all but it's still one that you should correct. Send an email to the admission office to explain the mistake. (If you don't know who should receive this message, just phone the admission office to ask. There's probably a staff member who oversees transfer admission.)

The admission folk should be able figure out from your transcript which credits were completed and which are still in progress, but it might save them some confusion if you send the correction. But, again, it's not a big deal that you made this error last week nor that you will fix it now.

applicant7715 · March 9

Hello @Sally_Rubenstone

My question is only tangentially related to this thread, but I don't know how to do a PM on this website, and you're very active + helpful here. Hope this is okay!

I was wondering if I should send an update to my colleges regarding some recent academic developments: I was the top overall academic decathlon scorer in my state, winning the state championship with 7 gold medals and 3 silver medals, I was promoted to the rank of National Merit Finalist, and I began an internship (non-competitive/non-prestigious) in a field related to my major.

Considering that I may be an on-the-fence applicant at some of my reach schools, I was hoping you could let me know whether these accomplishments warrant update letters.

Thanks!

EDIT: punctuation

Correcting application errors after submission or not

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