PLEASE help!! Typos!!

[Christiangirl]

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Has anyone noticed a typo or two (meaning omiitted word, not spelling) on their secondary for a particular school and still gotten in? Be blunt. I am already late in the process, so the prospect of having to apply again is already a realistic one. Thanks.

 

[superwoman]

I'm assuming you sent in an application with errors on it. I don't mean to be blunt, but why? Did you proof read it? Did you get another person to read it? Spell checks? Grammar checks? Isn't such an application of such great importance that errors like this are simply unacceptable? One might expect any future doctor, and near-graduate to not make basic mistakes on forms. Let us know how it goes - you will either show us that errors do not matter (i.e. they do not read applications fully, or care as little as you appear to), or you will be a great example of what happens if you mess up an application.

I wish you all the best, but please don't omit any words from any prescriptions you write for me when I get sick...

 

[gower]

Relax. Typos happen, sometimes after 2, 3, 4 proofreadings. There is nothing to do about it now, and I seriously doubt that it will have any negative effect. If you enjoy worrying, there are far more serious things to worry about in this life. Good good luck!

 

[KeithKow]

If they aren't major, I wouldn't worry too much. My UMass application was a mess, it got smudged in the printer and I too found a few typos in the essays. I was worried because it was bad. But I still got in really early which means they liked me despite the typos.
Typos happen on secondaries. For me, it was because I was sick of doing so many, I had schoolwork to do, and just wanted to get the damn things in. I proofread, but it was frantic, so maybe it wasn't the best. But we will always find typos on every reading, it just happens.
Good luck!

 

[Christiangirl]

Superwoman,
I know that I asked for bluntness, but I didn't request rudeness and sarcasm. Please write prescriptions for those to people who care. You ask why I made a mistake? It was on one secondary out of 10. I AM HUMAN!! That is the answer to your question. I am curious: Do you have perfect stats? If not, why? Because you are human and made a mistake. Your question is like asking a person with less than stellar stats, why? Perhaps, he had an off day. I'm curious Have you been accepted anywhere yet and what are your stats? Actually, if you proofread your response, you will see that your grammar is lacking in your sentence that refers to this application being of great importance. I will let everyone else know, but why should I let you know? You have hardly been anything shy of rude. No comment on the prescription thing.... May you lose your rudeness before you ever have to see a sick patient.

 

[Christiangirl]

Thanks Keith and Gower!! I appreciate your inspirational words and knowing that it did not hurt you. Thank you so much. I'll let you all know what happens..........

 

[imtiaz]

I had one school send me back an application becuase I forgot to sign it. I'll let you know how it goes with that one. Didn't seem like they were pissed about it. I got a nice letter with it too. Chill.

Imtiaz

 

[kimberlicox]

Christiangirl:

IMHO, an isolated typo is nothing to worry about - I'm sure it will appear as an simple human error. OTOH, an application *rife* with typos DOES look sloppy and hints at ignorance rather than a simple mistake.

After all, its not like the programs themselves produce letter perfect brochures. I'm reminded of the program that spoke frequently of its "Intergraded" Residency program. Heck, I gave them a second chance and applied anyway!

I'm sure that an isolated typo won't be held against you, or perhaps even noticed. They do read those essays at some pretty odd hours!

Best of luck.

 

[Peregrin]

Well, I agree with those who say don't sweat it. Adcoms look for potential doctors, one error can be overlooked and overlooked during proofreads, and it might even be overlooked by the next reader as well (for instance, the Flowers and Silver MCAT guide is *filled* with errors, yet the price is the same

.

In my case,I realized that I had entered a course incorrectly in my secondary to my first choice school

! But, I got in right away anyway

. To use a term of the soon-to-be most powerful man in the civilized world: Don't "misunderestimate" the power of a good application to completely overshadow a possible typo. (I think I used that correctly, but then, who really knows?) On a side note, does anyone truly realize how many new words will be in circulation four years from now?

 

[jimmybee]

Here is some advice from someone who has made the same mistake. This year on my primary application, I spelled (is that the right word?) the word "believe" wrong not once, but twice. I spelled it "beleive" instead. Anyways, as you can see I am not the best speller but I was not able to use a computer that had spell check on it. I thought that I caught everything, but I didn't. Then, surprisingly, I turned around and made another typo on my DO application. On that one, I spelled "holistic" with a 'w'.

Like you, I freaked out because I have never turned anything in with errors on it let alone my medical school application that meant so much to me. This feeling did not last long though because I still was receiving interviews. Out of the ten schools that I applied two(6 MD, 4 DO), I have already received 6 interview offers. I have went to three of these interviews so far (been accepted at 2 and the third is in the decision process) and I haven't been asked about my typos at any of them. To tell you the truth, I don't even think that most of them even have noticed them.

In the end, I really don't think that minor typos such as the "'i' before 'e' except after 'c'" things are going to matter much. After all, I do not have the best numbers especially with a 6 in verbal. (3.88 6,10,10,N).

So Good Luck and Don't Worry About Spelling.

jimmybee



[This message has been edited by jimmybee (edited 12-27-2000).]

 

[omores]

No worries.

On my AMCAS primary, I spelled the name of my research advisor incorrectly. Nobody seems to have noticed. My Dartmouth secondary, which I completed on a typewriter at the public library, was a mess: blotchy, smeared type, incomplete erasures, and bent corners where it got caught in the rollers. I also sent them an essay that I wrote on a computer and printed on a laser printer. It looked a whole lot better, but there was a missing word that I noticed after I'd mailed it in (one of those spell-check immune mistakes).

These errors are particularly embarassing because, as my AMCAS app described, I make my living as a proofreader/copy editor. Ha! Just goes to show that you should always have other people proof your work.

Anyway, the happy ending: Dartmouth didn't seem to mind (accepted). Nor did WashU. As long as your app isn't riddled with mistakes, you'll be fine!