Would you notify the school if you noticed there was a grammatical error in one of their required essay questions? Well, there’s two things going on here - it’s NOT a question (though it says “Please begin by re-stating the question you are answering.”)… and it has a question mark at the end. Tell them… Or is that admission suicide?
This isn’t a question, correct? And doesn’t need a question mark…?
“Nature vs Nurture” is one of the most debated arguments in history. Reflect on your identity and describe how concepts described in the “Nature vs. Nurture” debate have influenced who you are today?
Who cares? They’re going to judge the responses to this question by every single letter and yet they have an error in the question… It’s certainly not a “Who cares” thing IMO. (Or I wouldn’t have asked.)
It is absolutely a “who cares” thing…you’re not in the position of power here, so snidely pointing out errors is not going to endear you to the adcoms.
As grammatical errors go that’s not a particularly heinous one.
Any pointing out of errors is going to come across as snide. It’s perfectly understandable with the mistake – not like the question mark hinders anyone’s ability to understand the sentence.
@traport I just read this thread, late, and I disagree with all of the posters above. I am not perfect, but a grammar error like this on a college application would bother me too, especially when kids are expected have perfect grammar. I definitely don’t think a college would take offense to a phone call or email, if it were worded nicely. I would think that the admissions director would actually appreciate it.
I wonder if somebody in the Common App organization accidentally added that question mark, and maybe not the college itself. If I called or emailed the admissions director or regional rep, my comment would be something simple like “I just thought you might want to know that I saw this error in the Common App supp essay section, in case you didn’t already know about it.” Then explain the ? issue.
This would not be snide or negative complaint. To me, it’s more of a helpful comment, from you or your child.
Kids aren’t actually expected to have perfect grammar – nobody really is. Would ending a sentence with a preposition get you rejected? What about using colloquial constructions like “which” when referring to an entire clause? You just need to avoid the really awful errors (run-ons, spelling, capitalization) and use the lesser ones (fragments, commas) judiciously.
Proof that this is a silly complaint: the use of this sentence in the original post.
“And doesn’t need a question mark…?”
Hm. Starts with AB FONSY. Is a fragment. Ends in a question mark despite not being a question. And yet we all understood it perfectly. I wouldn’t use it in an essay, but I didn’t correct it in my response, because who cares?
@doschicos Sadly, I have no more children applying to college…The last one just left, so no competition here! I am still hanging out on CC periodically, until I can wean myself and stop procrastinating on things I should really be doing…
@traport I would be willing to alert the college, since I have no skin in the game. If you wanted to, you could PM me which college it is and if the error is still in the Common App. Having met a lot of admissions counselors, I just think they would want to know. Would take 5 minutes of time for me to email or call. Otherwise, just let it go if you are too busy. Good luck to your student!
I have a funny one my child put the name of a different college in the common app essay and was accepted to the college. True story. So I’d let it go and move on.
Yep, what a bully, to try to keep you from pestering the admissions office with stuff that is totally, completely, inarguably irrelevant. I didn’t realize you were the parent when I first responded, and I’m not sure whether that makes the situation better or worse. At least the student would have a reason to be scrutinizing essay prompts.
If you’re going to tag me, try getting the username right.
It is silly for the student to call when the meaning of the prompt is clear, but I love how the OP was just waiting for any hint of encouragement to make that call.
