One spelling mistake = rejection? Forum

[msblaw89]

Has anyone turned in a personal statement with one spelling error? I caught it after I submitted about 3 applications... its just one error...anyone have any idea how much this will hurt?

[rinkrat19]

I turned in a PS to a few schools (not all, because I caught it) with "at at" instead of "at a" and it didn't seem to kill me. (I do think I underperformed my numbers a bit, but I have other theories as to why.) At the very least, I know it wasn't an auto-ding because I got into Northwestern with that error.

[msblaw89]

Oh, okay that makes me feel much better. Do you mind me asking what your numbers were for Northwestern?

[rinkrat19]

Oh, okay that makes me feel much better. Do you mind me asking what your numbers were for Northwestern?

3.56/171/8 yrs WE (non-URM)

[theadvancededit]

It shouldn't, unless you spelled, say, the school's name wrong. However, your numbers and your overall PS mean much more than that one mistake.

[PDaddy]

Has anyone turned in a personal statement with one spelling error? I caught it after I submitted about 3 applications... its just one error...anyone have any idea how much this will hurt?

Although the standard is really NO TYPOGRAPHICAL, GRAMMATICA; OR PUNCTUATION ERRORS, such mistakes are not typically fatal if they are small and minimal (one or two). If you make such an error, you want it in the middle or towards the end of the essay. It bugs adcoms if there are noticable errors at the beginnings of essays (especially in the first sentence!) because it tends to indicate that the writer did not spend a lot of time on the essay. Sometimes, they will just put it down and stop reading it right then and there, and maybe they will skip on to the rest of your materials, which had better be stellar. If you annoy both or all readers (your essay typically gets at least two reads at most schools), you're done. Chances are that you may slightly annoy only one of your readers. The rest of your profile and other essays can compensate.

[msblaw89]

Thanks for all the advice. I didn't swap school names so thats a plus. It was an error towards the end so hopefully that helps.

[DocHawkeye]

Has anyone turned in a personal statement with one spelling error? I caught it after I submitted about 3 applications... its just one error...anyone have any idea how much this will hurt?

Although the standard is really NO TYPOGRAPHICAL, GRAMMATICA; OR PUNCTUATION ERRORS, such mistakes are not typically fatal if they are small and minimal (one or two). If you make such an error, you want it in the middle or towards the end of the essay. It bugs adcoms if there are noticable errors at the beginnings of essays (especially in the first sentence!) because it tends to indicate that the writer did not spend a lot of time on the essay. Sometimes, they will just put it down and stop reading it right then and there, and maybe they will skip on to the rest of your materials, which had better be stellar. If you annoy both or all readers (your essay typically gets at least two reads at most schools), you're done. Chances are that you may slightly annoy only one of your readers. The rest of your profile and other essays can compensate.

I don't mean to be a jerk but the irony here amuses me.