How often do you re-read your SOP/LOI

[orangepotato]

Oh I can't face it! My stomach literally turns when I read it again. On one essay, I did find an extra 's' where it shouldn't have been. :roll:

When editing other people's documents at work, I can't tell you how many times I found a letter missing in 'public.' I checked very carefully to not make this mistake on my apps!

[psycholinguist]

Not at all, personally. I know this sounds like self-sabotage, but I wrote them pretty much in one go each, then sent them off and didn't think about them again. This is mostly because I'm a major perfectionist, and I knew that if I had the opportunity to obsess over every pixel, I definitely would. So I didn't even allow myself the chance.

Lol! Actually this happened to me once - in a Japanese essay. I mixed up the word "walk" with the word for "penis." I meant to write "I really like taking walks"....

* laughs * What a great anecdote! Thanks for sharing!

[was1984]

I accidentally left a different school's name in one of my SOP's. I didn't change that paragraph between those two schools and forgot to change the name of the school. Pretty sure I'm not getting into that one.

[ohheygradschool]

I reread it after I got into my schools. It felt so good.

[riss287]

I accidentally left a different school's name in one of my SOP's. I didn't change that paragraph between those two schools and forgot to change the name of the school. Pretty sure I'm not getting into that one.

I'm afraid I might have done this too.. Just a nightmare I keep thinking about, but I'm not going back to look because there's nothing I can do now and I'd be so upset if I found out I had.

[hadunc]

I resolved to never look at those things again, at least until next time around if it's necessary. I took this stance because after sending them off to 4 schools, I went back and realized that there was a typo in a few of them. Believe me, I read those suckers probably like 10 or 15 times before I sent them and still didn't catch that damn typo, so I figured that continuing to read them would only torture me more. Fortunately I didn't send a bad copy to either of the ivies I applied to (how embarrassing would that have been!) but I know one school that I'm waiting on now did get one...sigh...well maybe if I didn't notice it for so long then they won't notice it either!

[Yellow#5]

I turned in applications around mid december. I reread my statement a few times and checked my submitted apps (and noticed that I submitted one of my writing samples twice on the same application ---LAME!)

Like others have said, I started to convince myself that my statement was the worst thing ever written since language was invented.

Instead of dwelling on how bad it is, when I get antsy, I draft a paragraph or two of the statement I WISH I had written. I figure, if I really do get 8 rejections, I'll have a head start on applying again next year. After the deadline has past, I probably write truer to my goals anyway, (thinking less about what I imagine an applicant SHOULD say, which I'm probably wrong about) and it gives me the sense that I am taking control in some little way, instead of just waiting, waiting, waiting at the mercy of the universe.

I figure it's more productive than checking admission results on this forum 10 times an hour, which, by the way, I also do.

[GirlattheHelm]

I am terrified to look at it. Terrified. But I have to for my next application going out on Tuesday. I figure it's just punishment for trying to attempt to get into graduate school, though... I put about 4 months into designing and editing mine. I was bound to become sickened with the damn thing - working so hard on two pages of brown nosing and self inflation.

I'd rather drink out of my toilet than have to re-read the damn thing. Ugh!

[storiaitaliana]

I read mine a few weeks back and felt like it was a totally shallow, facile document and I was stupid to even try to apply to these places...so I just didn't look at it again

[policy_applicant]

After having already submitted about 2/3 of my applications, I noticed that below my name I had written "SSN #..." That's right, social security number number. Ugh.

[erudite crudite]

I didn't forget to change the name of the school, but I did manage to misspell the potential advisor's name (Steven vs. Stephen), but luckily I got accepted there anyways.

I also accidentally sent one program two letters of rec from the same professor, one of which was meant for another school that was also due that day, and resulted in me frantically emailing the grad secretary to disregard the erroneous letter and begging my professor for another copy to mail off quickly!

[dagger]

I'm afraid I might have done this too.. Just a nightmare I keep thinking about, but I'm not going back to look because there's nothing I can do now and I'd be so upset if I found out I had.

I definitely did this myself. I felt so idiotic. I caught it the day after I mailed a hard copy. I e-mailed the admissions coordinator and said that after rereading my SOP, I decided to make a few revisions. I then e-mailed the school a revised version and told them to disregard the previous. I believe there's little chance that I get into the school. I at least hope they had a few good laughs at my expense when they realize what I did.