5 lethal application blunders

November 14, 2008

1.) Missppelling and Grammadical Arrors
Not poof-reading, or rushing threw he application can leed to small mistakes that can make a huge unfavorable impression. Fill out the traditional application and let yer friends, parents and counselor review it. If you want to go to college and you’re using their, there, and they’re incorrectly- well now we have a problem.

2.) Not Reading Carefully
Read the directions on the application carefully before, before starting. Skipping the instructions will result in an incomplete or incorrectly filled out application. I heard a story of a teacher who handed out a test and the instructions on the paper said to leave everything blank, except put your name on it and hand it in. Lots of students failed that test because they did not read the directions.

3.) Writing Illegibly
Put your best foot forward when applying to college. Sloppy handwriting indicates a lack of attention to detail. Type your applications when possible. If you must hand write, take your time and use a black or blue ink pen (follow the directions). If they can’t read it how can they let you know if they like you or not?

4.) Not Applying to Enough Schools
Applying to several schools, rather than just one or two, gives you more options. If you aren’t accepted to your first choice you have alternatives. Apply to 6 to 8 colleges, know what GPA & SAT/ACT score they like. ‘Cause if you got a 1320 on your SAT yain’t goin’ to Harvard.

5.) Using an Inappropriate E-mail Address
Your e-mail address should be professional and kosher. Something like your first initial and last name. Pimpdaddy1@email.com is not an appropriate e-mailing address and it won’t impress the admissions officer. In fact it is a strong chance you wont be admitted with an email address like that.

Here is a sad true story. A student was accepted to a prestigious college. One thing on the application was a request for a letter of recommendation. The student asked one of his high school teacher to write a letter of recommendation. The teacher said okay. This was in September. Then in March the student received a letter from the school that said that he did not follow the rules, they never got a letter of recommendation. The teacher was busy or just forgot. The student NEVER followed up.

Take the time to fill it out accurately. Guess the number one weekend hopeful college students fill out their applications. Thanksgiving weekend. Collect the applications at the beginning of your high school senior year and take a few weeks to fill them out accurately.

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