Does minor mistakes in SoP matter? Need Help!

[summerfish]

Hey guys,

I just submitted one of the applications the other day. So today I re-read my SoP and found a minor but fatal mistake that I forget to capitalize the P in Professor XXX I mentioned, all three of them. It is so obvious, I wonder if this kind of mistakes would be deemed as careless for the admission committee? I'm freaking out at the moment.

Thanks for the help!

[pro Augustis]

Is it ideal? No. Are you about to be rejected because you didn't hit the shift key? I'd be pretty surprised if so. Moreover, to avoid driving yourself crazy, I'd say don't reread admissions material after you can no longer change it. Everything has typos (not just your stuff by any means!), and once it's out of your hands there is no reason I can see to generate anxiety about it. 

[kingslayer]

This happened to me as well. I completely forgot to add a line thanking whoever is reading it for reading it. Hopefully it's not the end of the world =[

[bicsy]

To OP: Once you've submitted your SOPs and other statements, FORGET ABOUT THEM. A minor typo will make you worry more than the adcoms will even care. I reread my SOP and CV for the first application I submitted, and found small mistakes in both, causing me to freak out a little inside. I still got contacted this week for an interview with that program. 

@highborn, it's probably better that you didn't put the "thank you" line in. It's their job to read those essays, and using even just one line to thank them seems like wasted space to me. 

[StrongTackleBacarySagna]

2 hours ago, highborn said:

This happened to me as well. I completely forgot to add a line thanking whoever is reading it for reading it. Hopefully it's not the end of the world =[

That would have hurt you if anything.

And yeah, apparently typos and minor mistakes are usually overlooked. They read those things fast and won't notice minor stuff. Someone here said they used the wrong school name and still got into Harvard (?)

Edited December 13, 2015 by StrongTackleBacarySagna

[kingslayer]

3 hours ago, StrongTackleBacarySagna said:

That would have hurt you if anything.

And yeah, apparently typos and minor mistakes are usually overlooked. They read those things fast and won't notice minor stuff. Someone here said they used the wrong school name and still got into Harvard (?)

@bicsy Uh oh, that's not good--after I noticed I forgot to thank them, i started adding a "Thank you so much for you consideration." type line to the last couple of schools i applied to. ughhh

Edited December 13, 2015 by highborn

[fuzzylogician]

You will be fine if you have that line. You will be fine if you don't. I personally would not include it, but it is not a deal breaker. This is really not something you need to worry about.

[kingslayer]

@fuzzylogician Thank you! All the stressors of graduate applications/finals/work/money are just starting to mount up and so I'm paranoid about everything.

[fuzzylogician]

I mean, can you imagine an adcom member reading your otherwise awesome SOP, reaching that line, and exclaiming "s/he thanked us?! REJECT!"? 

That's not reasonable, no matter who you are. There is a lot of freedom in how SOPs look and what they contain. There isn't just one format that works for everyone. It's easy to dwell on these details and I understand why you worry, but this right here is not something that will hurt you in any way. 

[StrongTackleBacarySagna]

19 minutes ago, highborn said:

@bicsy Uh oh, that's not good--after I noticed I forgot to thank them, i started adding a "Thank you so much for you consideration." type line to the last couple of schools i applied to. ughhh

Oh don't worry about that. For some reason I thought you meant something more long winded. You'll be fine for sure.

[summerfish]

@bicsy Thank you! I'm trying to adjust my focus to other applications!

[lam1234]

I am freaking out because I just discovered that APA format dictates that you are not supposed to capitalize names of disorders (i.e. bulimia nervosa), and I capitalized two different disorders in my statement! I know that my grammar in the statement is otherwise impeccable, but I'm worried that this is a fatal error. I am fixing it for my last 2 applications but my first 12 have the error. Does anyone know if this is disqualifying?

[fuzzylogician]

8 hours ago, lam1234 said:

I am freaking out because I just discovered that APA format dictates that you are not supposed to capitalize names of disorders (i.e. bulimia nervosa), and I capitalized two different disorders in my statement! I know that my grammar in the statement is otherwise impeccable, but I'm worried that this is a fatal error. I am fixing it for my last 2 applications but my first 12 have the error. Does anyone know if this is disqualifying?

No, it's not disqualifying. It's a spelling convention, nothing more. You'll be fine. 

[StyLeD]

I counted six typos in one of my SOPs and still got accepted, so I'll second the notion that spelling mistakes will not end your application.