Common Application Mistakes

The common application form is often an admission committee’s first contact with a prospective student. Below are some of the top responses from counselors and admissions staff who shared the most common mistakes on college applications.

• Misspellings and grammatical errors—This is a big pet peeve of admissions people. Misspellings on something as important as the application shows that either you don’t care or you aren’t good at spelling. Some students even misspell their intended major. But don’t stop with a spell check. Proofread for grammatical errors, too.

• Applying online, but the application isn’t actually submitted—If you apply online, you should receive confirmation that the college or university received it. Confirmation could be an email message, a Web page response or a credit card receipt. Follow through and make sure that your application has been received.

• Forgotten signatures—Make sure you sign and date the form. Often students overlook that part of the form if it’s on the back. Check that all spaces are completed.

• Not reading carefully—For example, if the form asks what County you live in, don’t misread it as Country and write United States.

• Not telling your school counselor where you’ve applied—Let your counselor know which colleges you’re applying to, and ask him or her to review your high school transcript before sending it to colleges. Sometimes transcripts have errors.

• Writing illegibly—First impressions count, so take your time and use your best handwriting. It will make a better impression.

• Using an email address that friends might laugh about, but colleges won’t—Select a professional email address. Select an address using your name for college admissions.

• Not checking your email regularly—You don’t want to miss out on anything because you didn’t read your email.