Subtle (maybe?) mistake in SOP = rejection pile??

[misappthrope]

In my statement to my first choice graduate program I said that two compounds inhibit a certain phosphatase, when actually they stimulate it! The way I phrased the sentence makes it obvious to someone paying attention that I meant to say stimulate or something like it. I'm so anxious and afraid it will wreck my chances. What should I do? I emailed the school hours ago, but haven't heard back. Should I call? Should I leave it be?

[fuzzylogician]

You have to wait. "Hours ago" is not very long, and I'm sure they have other emails and tasks to deal with. I assume your email says you noticed a typo in the SOP you submitted and has an attached version that fixes it? There is no guarantee that they'll agree to replace your already submitted SOP, but all you can do is hope. Either way, I don't think that one mistake will get you immediately disqualified. As you say, it's clear what you meant, so any reasonable reader would give you the benefit of the doubt and move on.