Overheard in Committee: What’s With the Tyops (We Mean Typos)
We Admit It! Committee season is here. During this time of year, our admission committee meets each day in order to have thoughtful and detailed discussions about our many impressive applicants. Since we know that these next few weeks can be particularly stressful for our readers, we like to give you an inside look into what actually goes on behind closed doors. So without further ado, we present to you the first Overheard in Committee blog of the 2016 Regular Decision deliberations.
Overheard in Committee: “What’s with all the typos?”
This particular applicant had made a few typos in a couple of different sections of their application. Did these typos ruin this student’s chances of being admitted? Not at all. But this situation does bring up an important point. As an admission committee, we are certain that each of our applicants has achieved tremendous things both in and outside the classroom. If we were to have access to all of the assignments that you have completed throughout high school, we would find several assignments that we love and that are absolutely phenomenal. 100%, A+ work. The problem is that we don’t have access to all of the assignments you’ve ever completed; your application is the one tangible piece of your work that we get to review. You therefore want this application to reflect your strengths as a student. While we of course understand that mistakes happen, if several typos start to appear we may question just how seriously a candidate took their application.
So far this committee season we’ve seen capitans (captains), chasiers (cashiers), individuals who are passionate about envieourmental science (environmental science), caouches (coaches), individuals who are taking calculas (calculus) as well as several other interesting variations of words. A more extreme example came last admission cycle, when a young man wrote an essay about how passionate he was about service work. He wrote beautifully about how he started his own student organization that collected and donated shirts and other items of clothing. However in several parts of his essay he forgot the letter “r” in “shirt.” The essay ended up taking a very different tone than what he originally intended…
Such grievances rarely, if ever, sway our conversation towards an admission decision other than what would have been decided without the typos. But they can start to raise questions in our minds (just as they would for potential future employers reading job applications). So play it safe. Be sure to always proofread, edit and carefully review applications, emails and any other assignments before you submit them. A well put-together application helps your already exciting accomplishments “pop” that much more.
Stay tuned next week for additional peeks behind the Committee curtain. We wish you all a terrific and relaxing weekend.
Brad Harlan
Assistant Dean of Admission
Comments are closed on posts older than one year, but we still want to hear from you. If you have a comment or question for us, please email admission@wm.edu.
Hello,
I’m a transfer applicant for the fall 2016 term, and I had a quick question about midterm grades. Do they have to be postmarked by March 28th, or do they have to be received by your office by March 28th? Also, how much importance are the midterm grades given? Are they a focal point of the application? Thank you for your help!
Go Tribe!
@L, midterm grades should be received by our office by March 28. As for your second question, midterm grades are an important part of our review process. We look at these grades, as well as the rest of your transcript, in order to get a sense of your most recent academic performance.
Is it possible for me to scan and email the midterm report, or is it imperative that I fax the report? Thank you!
@L, either option is fine. You can either fax the midterm report to our office (757-221-1242) or scan and email it to us (admission@wm.edu).
Thank you!
Hi,
If there was an issue with a grade on the mid-year report due to some controversy out of the student’s control, should that be sent to the school somehow via the counselor or administrator or just leave it alone? Thank you.
@CT, in general, if there is an issue that has resulted in uncharacteristic academic performance then we would recommend that you or someone from your school share that information with us. Otherwise we don’t have as much context to use while reviewing your mid-year grades. If you would like to ask your question in more specific terms, you are welcome to send our main admission email account your question(s) at admission@wm.edu.
Thank you!!
Have all ED applicants who qualify for the Monroe Scholarship been notified by email
@Curious Parent, we recently sent emails to all Monroe Scholars selected through our Regular Decision process. Any Monroe Scholars who were selected through our Early Decision process will be receiving their official letter/notification in the mail within the next couple of weeks.
Hi,
If I wanted to send an additional piece of information to be included in my application would it be too late to be considered in my decision, ie. would the committee still review it?
@C, at this point we feel that we have all of the information that we need in order to make our admission decisions. This being said, you are still welcome to email your regional dean (http://www.wm.edu/admission/undergraduateadmission/contactus/meetthecommittee/index.php) should you wish to provide them with an update.
Hello,
I’m just about to send in my midterm grades, and I was wondering which e-mail address is best to send it to? Do transfers also have regional deans, or is there a specific email address you prefer we send transfer application information to?
Also, I have additional information that I feel may be helpful to my application. Is it too late to send that information in? Can I just add that information in the email with the scans of my midterm grades? Thank you so much for your help, this blog has done miracles in easing my anxiety about college admissions round 2!
Go Tribe!
@Nervous Transfer, we are happy to hear that you have found this blog useful! You can send both mid-term reports and any additional items to our Director of Transfer Admission, Whitney Link. Dean Link can be reached at whitney@wm.edu.
Just sent in my midterm grades! Should I expect an email in the near future regarding the receipt of my forms, or should I email Dean Link in a few days to make sure someone got it?
Thank you for your help!
@Nervous Transfer, you will receive an email from us when your application has been completed. We will be in touch should we be missing any required materials. We’re happy to help! Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance.