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[weagle]

Hello all...I submitted applications for a PhD program in education this morning at a large state school.  After submitting, I began to have some self doubt creep in (which I'll get back to) so I reviewed my application online where I noticed a misspelled word on my statement of purpose.  Needless to say I am kicking myself...I proofread the document numerous times and made a change to one of the sentences at the last minute which, of course, contained the error.  It baffles me how I missed the word with the little red line under it.

Anyway, my first question is how bad is this?  Does this type of thing send an application into file 13 immediately or will the admission committee view it within the overall context of the packet?

Getting back to the self doubt.  I'm now questioning whether I even have any business applying.  I have an undergrad of GPA 2.5 (from 13 years ago) and a masters GPA of 3.8, but it is from an extension program.  As a result, my letters of recommendation are from adjuncts who mostly fill the ranks within this particular school's off campus program.  I think they will be good, but I worry about their credibility since they are from adjuncts.  They were the only profs I had multiple times and one is from my thesis advisor.  Professionally I've done very well, but I'm in the military, so I don't know if that counts for anything.

Anyway, can someone either assuage my doubt by telling me I probably still have a chance or put me out of my misery by telling me I should look at a distance learning option.

Thanks in advance

[msparticularity]

Weagle, the answer to your question is probably "It depends." A single typo really won't be a major issue, but some of the other things you mention might certainly play a part in an admissions decision, depending upon how competitive the program is. Letters of recommendation from adjuncts, for example, are not going to be taken particularly seriously. Also, do I understand correctly that your thesis advisor was an adjunct? That may indicate that the master's program that you completed will not be viewed as a realistic preparation for doctoral work. Again, though, it depends...

Do you feel comfortable telling me what type of educational field you are applying to? I'm in curriculum and instruction, for example, and I can tell you that we'd also be very concerned about your prior teaching experiences. Other areas within education may also be concerned about your professional background in relation to their fields.

[weagle]

Weagle, the answer to your question is probably "It depends." A single typo really won't be a major issue, but some of the other things you mention might certainly play a part in an admissions decision, depending upon how competitive the program is. Letters of recommendation from adjuncts, for example, are not going to be taken particularly seriously. Also, do I understand correctly that your thesis advisor was an adjunct? That may indicate that the master's program that you completed will not be viewed as a realistic preparation for doctoral work. Again, though, it depends...

Do you feel comfortable telling me what type of educational field you are applying to? I'm in curriculum and instruction, for example, and I can tell you that we'd also be very concerned about your prior teaching experiences. Other areas within education may also be concerned about your professional background in relation to their fields.

Sent you a private message.

[merinoblue]

Weagle, stop kicking yourself. You'll have lots of opportunities in the future to kick yourself for truly serious mistakes!  I'm betting also you'll be more careful the next time you submit an application for anything. 

A typo won't sink your application. It happens, and everyone makes one now and then. Either the committee won't see it, or they'll see it and appreciate that you're human (and possibly even chuckle), or they'll see it and won't care. All the other stuff matters; this one thing doesn't.

[hegemony]

It also depends on what kind of misspelling it is.  A typo is less serious than one of the basic errors our undergraduates tend to make, e.g. "I hope I don't loose this opportunity," "I hope u will read this application and not be dissapointed."  I'm afraid those might indeed sink you unless the rest is stellar.  The worst might be chronically misspelling the name of a person you hope to be studying -- "Jane Austin's work has always appealed to me because Austin is..."  I do remember an application that did this.  This was not the only problem, but it didn't incline me favorably toward the candidate.  However, if your typo is just a random mishap, I wouldn't worry.

[weagle]

it was "toword" vs "toward"

[merinoblue]

it was "toword" vs "toward"

That's a low visibility typo to my eyes, since you've substituted one round vowel for another that looks similar. And it's vaguely Shakespearean sounding. Stop worrying.

[hegemony]

Zero problem!  That's clearly a typo; it wouldn't ever be mistaken for an idiocy.  Breathe easy.

[questions]

I made a couple of really silly errors in my master's application, and was not only accepted, but also nominated for a fancy fellowship. Don't worry.

[tee_bee]

Zero problem!  That's clearly a typo; it wouldn't ever be mistaken for an idiocy.  Breathe easy.

I'm kind of a hard a$$ about this sort of thing, but I don't think this would really bother me. Relax. There's more to your dossier than one essay or cover letter.

[infopri]

it was "toword" vs "toward"

Many people wouldn't even notice a typo like this, and most of those that do wouldn't hold it against you, especially if it's the only typo, so relax.  (I will assume that, unlike this post, your application did not contain any sentences that failed to begin with an upper-case letter or end with terminal punctuation.)

I had an undergraduate GPA of 2.7 when I applied to graduate school, some 10 or 12 years after earning my baccalaureate degree.  I don't remember my master's-level GPA, but it was much better (somewhere around 3.8, I think), and therefore my undergrad GPA proved irrelevant when I applied to my doctoral program.

However, I'm not in an education field.  Admissions criteria vary greatly--by field, by quality of the school, by number of applications that year, by various other economic/financial factors, etc., and they also vary over time.  I also wouldn't automatically assume that letters from adjuncts will necessarily hurt you.  If they're strong letters, they may still carry enough weight to help you.

In any case, there's nothing more you can do now but wait, so try not to obsess.  You'll have your answer soon enough (which, of course, is never really soon enough).

Good luck to you.

[cheerio2]

I agree.  When I saw your typo for the first time, I didn't notice it and was wondering why you posted the same two words vs one another, LOL.  Don't worry.  I have a friend who "customized" his law school essay by plugging different school names into it, and accidentally sent one in to a school with the wrong school name on it, but he still got in (and it was very good program too!). 

[jon_margerumleys]

No worries on the typo. 

By the way, on my undergraduate application to be a music major, I applied to be a "saxaphone" major (correct spelling, "saxophone").  Got admitted anyway.

Jon