Red Ink!!!

[Advo]

I have a very quick question for the board: Is it super bad if I signed my admissions letter in RED INK?

Thanks!

(the reason I'm asking is because I was just given a small lecture about this from someone close to me)

Edited April 11, 2010 by Advo

[Bumblebee]

I don't know whether there is any etiquette concerning the color of the ink you use to sign, but signing in red ink would look weird, since that's usually the color used for grading. I would definitely use black or dark blue ink.

[fromeurope]

You should've signed it in blood. That'd make you stand out for real! And it is, after all, a compact, is it not?

[Malumat]

I really don't think it matters at all. If anyone did notice it would be the admin person who received your papers and put them in your file. Professors don't do that stuff. Even if they did I don't think anyone would think much of it. Maybe if you signed with a crayon they might think twice about accepting you.

[Summit_Bid]

An old Chinese legend says it's bad luck to write a name in red ink. They say that the person whose name is written in bad ink will soon encounter very grave misfortunes. I work for a Chinese company and write names in red ink all the time when no one is looking and nothing bad has happended. Don't sweat it.

[prolixity]

I have a very quick question for the board: Is it super bad if I signed my admissions letter in RED INK?

Thanks!

(the reason I'm asking is because I was just given a small lecture about this from someone close to me)

Just to be artistic, I signed my reply form to a prominent institution with a fountain pen and ink mixed with a few drops of my own blood..

I mean, come on.. you need to set yourself up for stories at cocktail parties forty years in the future.

edit: ah I see someone beat me to the punch on this.

Edited April 12, 2010 by prolixity

[Dith Vader]

In my culture (Chinese? Indonesian? Asian? IDK), my parents have repeatedly told me never to use red ink for writing to someone with more power than you have. So, like, a teacher can grade your scores with red ink to assert his/her authority. But a student can't sign his/her letters to teachers with red ink as that would rude.

But I doubt it matters in the US.

[Jae B.]

Red ink = grading = (usually) negative, to me.

But I don't think it matters much, as long as you used pen. If they ever need to share it for some reason, the copies will be black and white anyway.

[Riotbeard]

Red ink just means jesus is talking.

[jilixi]

I have a very quick question for the board: Is it super bad if I signed my admissions letter in RED INK?

Thanks!

(the reason I'm asking is because I was just given a small lecture about this from someone close to me)

oh no... red ink is very bad. i'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but by signing your admissions letter in red ink you have cast a shadow over your entire future. but there is one way to reverse the effect of the red ink. you must gather thousands of pens containing black or blue ink. you must break open each pen and empty the ink into a bathtub. once the bathtub is completely full with either blue or black ink you must get in the tub and soak for 11 hours and 19 minutes. after 3 hours have passed you begin the chanting. "i did something bad please forgive me." repeat this phrase over and over again for the last 8 hours and 19 minutes. when you get out of the tub do not rinse off the ink. it must stay on your body until it comes off naturally. this may take days or weeks or even months. you cannot bathe until the ink has all come off naturally.

whew... glad i caught you in time. good luck with this. let us know how it goes.

[modernity]

Haha. Apparently April 15th is getting to everyone.

I don't think it's ideal that you signed in red ink - but - it's your acceptance and not your application so there's not much they can do about it. I doubt anyone is going to remember in the fall that *gasp* thats the student that signed in red ink... most professors see much worse than that.