panasic Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Agh! I just found a typo in my personal history statement: principal instead of principle >_< I am not a victim of homophonic heterographs (that's what they're called, folks), I swear! Freaking out ensues or should I just hope the adcoms don't care too much about this? Has anyone else found typos in their apps after submission? I knew it was a mistake to go back and re-read after pressing send.... comp12 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhDreams Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 (edited) never reread. i found one that said "my commitment to HIGH education"...sheesh. hope that gave the adcoms a giggle. Edited January 20, 2012 by FutureEdStudent12 Grunty DaGnome, snes, comp12 and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSFive Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I also follow the "never reread" philosophy - unless I get invited for an interview/call/visit at least. In general, if it was missed in multiple proof-reads, I think there's a decent chance it could get missed in actual reads. That particular typo sounds like it's something they could miss, because they'll be "hearing" it in their minds, and it will sound right. When I'm reading, and come across that word, I automatically hear it the way it should be, and only notice if it's wrong if I stop to think about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jwnich1 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 ^ I completely agree with this. I've seen minor typos in financial documents, published SCOTUS opinions, endless books, scholarly articles and journals etc. I firmly believe that you read what you "want" to read, not what is actually typed. (i.e. we expect a certain word, and see it, whether or not it is correctly spelled), unless we are scrutinizing something with a fine-tooth comb. While this makes us our own worst editor, I think it also means there's a fair chance that with ad-coms reading through hundreds of applications, it won't get a second look unless its egregious. The kicker: I once saw a (sucessful) application to a top 10 law school: beautifully typed, but with a minor correction in white-out. The individual who submitted it is smart, talented and now a sucessful lawyer, and this apparently did not detract, or at least not enough to deny entry. We're all human, and we all make mistakes. As much as I wish it wasn't true! Best of luck, Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowlf Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I am shocked at how many typos have made it through several rounds of edits by many people. I think I am less likely to notice a mistake, but even my multiple editors don't notice. Like CSFive, I think this just goes to show how easy it is for a typo to go unnoticed. Besides, the adcoms will probably read it more briskly than our proofreaders did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironheel!! Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I just noticed my CV has a typo, I misspelled the name of my undergraduate university.....yikes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhDreams Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I just noticed my CV has a typo, I misspelled the name of my undergraduate university.....yikes! That's on par with my "high" education. lol But like other posters have noted, I'm sure we're the only ones who are really looking at our materials so closely. Don't feel bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grunty DaGnome Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 ^ I completely agree with this. I've seen minor typos in financial documents, published SCOTUS opinions, endless books, scholarly articles and journals etc. I firmly believe that you read what you "want" to read, not what is actually typed. (i.e. we expect a certain word, and see it, whether or not it is correctly spelled), unless we are scrutinizing something with a fine-tooth comb. While this makes us our own worst editor, I think it also means there's a fair chance that with ad-coms reading through hundreds of applications, it won't get a second look unless its egregious. The kicker: I once saw a (sucessful) application to a top 10 law school: beautifully typed, but with a minor correction in white-out. The individual who submitted it is smart, talented and now a sucessful lawyer, and this apparently did not detract, or at least not enough to deny entry. We're all human, and we all make mistakes. As much as I wish it wasn't true! Best of luck, Justin I love how "lawyers" are considered the pinnacle of good editing. I work in a law firm now and I can't tell you how many government documents still have all kinds of references to Enron that the prosecuting attorney failed to edit out of the template. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronicStatement Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 I just noticed my CV has a typo, I misspelled the name of my undergraduate university.....yikes! Don't feel too bad- I recently noticed that ETS, the GRE testing company, frequently misspells lots of universities! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snes Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Don't feel too bad- I recently noticed that ETS, the GRE testing company, frequently misspells lots of universities! Yes! Did you also request your scores to be sent to University of California - Los Angelos ?? hello! :) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stratofanatic Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Oh gawd. Whoever said you should never re-read your statements of purpose was right. I did -- and discovered that, instead of calling the school "University of Michigan" (at Ann Arbor), I called it "Michigan State." After 20 revisions of that statement of purpose, it just now occurred to me taht U-M and Michigan State are probably completely different schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athenrein Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 This isn't exactly a typo, but I was working in the university's mailroom during graduate application season last year and I remember this. I opened one application packet, and her cover letter and statement of purpose were addressed to a completely different school in a different state. The applicant must have switched envelopes somewhere along the way. I bet she was mortified when we notified her of the mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-hermes- Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Oh man. I'm trying really hard not to read my SoP. I was reading and rereading it over and over until I submitted it, to the point my eyes started glazing over -- and I caught a misplaced comma right as I was about to upload it! Don't know how I missed that during all the revisions. Scared to see what else I might have missed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlkwih2 Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Misspelled my POI's surname. :suicidal: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhDreams Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Misspelled my POI's surname. :suicidal: Ugh... I forgot an accent in a POI's name. Hope that he's not super annoyed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerzygrl Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Forgot to edit out a phrase in one of my SOP's. So now the sentance has to verbs which are different tenses. ::facepalm:: I figure I wasted $100 for that app. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhDreams Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I also applied to a "masters of arts" program.... so depressing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misgengen Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 just realized, I formatted one of my job responsibility wrong when I copied and pasted, so the line should actually belong to another job above the job I am putting it in and it's about educating people for diabetes but I put in my blood service volunteer description. slightly freaking out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sansao Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Ugh... I've noticed the same in my application. Not saying what it was, but I've been facepalming myself for about a week. I just hope the adcoms realize how stressful the application process can be (and have a decent sense of humor). \dies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
applyingfromtexas Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 no point in stressing over the little things now! we're almost there guys! applyingfromtexas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julianne Pigoon Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I sent out a copy of my writing sample with two (cite)s in it to Vanderbilt as last‒minute reminders to myself. I realized about two minutes after I sent it, and I'm STILL facepalming. I don't know what it means, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't bode well. As least most typos aren't in red x_x. You're probably fine. rowlf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwouldpreferanonymity Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Forgot to edit out a phrase in one of my SOP's. So now the sentance has to verbs which are different tenses. ::facepalm:: I figure I wasted $100 for that app. I was just admitted into a program. After receiving the news, I revisited my SOP. To my surprise, I had done exactly what you did. Yet, I still wound up admitted. So, I would not assume too much at this point. They still could admit you. jerzygrl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerzygrl Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I was just admitted into a program. After receiving the news, I revisited my SOP. To my surprise, I had done exactly what you did. Yet, I still wound up admitted. So, I would not assume too much at this point. They still could admit you. This just made my week Still waiting.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonyouknow Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I belatedly discovered I'd misspelled publicly in 5 of my 7 applications. Somehow word doesn't pick up "publically" as a misspelling. Whoops... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helpplease123 Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 What's a facepalm? I haven't wanted to go check my SoP for this exact reason although I know I made mistakes for all schools by writing masters not master's...I only realised that was wrong when someone on here mentioned making that mistake! I would have thought that meant "master is" damn it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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