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[dexter_30]

Hello everyone,

I’ve been lurking on the forum for some time now, but this is my first post.

Actually, I wouldn’t be posting at all (mostly because I rarely have something constructive to add to any of the discussions) if I wasn’t having a panic attack and perhaps a minor nervous breakdown. 

In essence, I just finalized and submitted an PhD application to a prestigious graduate program at a prestigious University.

I am very happy with the way my application turned out. I am very happy with the quality of my ideas and the overall quality of my writing. 

Since in the past I have had problems with my English skills and typing, I proofread the text meticulously, and it is indeed spotless.   

Now, I just realized that despite my best efforts I made 3 mistakes in my footnotes.

The mistakes are all typo/formatting blunders.

I had 6 footnotes, listing around 12 sources, mostly journal articles and 3 book chapters.

The mistakes I made:

(By the way, I was formatting in accordance to the Chicago Manual of Style.)

1. I italicized wrongly the title of an article, instead of putting it in quotation marks.

2. I messed up one of the names, instead of First name Last name .... I did Last name, First name 

3. Lastly, and probably the worst, I left out the first name of one of the authors of an article. The article in question has two authors, and I left out the first name of the first author.

How bad is that?

Am I screwed?

I worked so hard on this application!


There is no excuse for making these mistakes. I know that I am applying for a PhD. But s*** happens! I left adding the proper references for the last moment. I was pressed for time, and the small font 10 in the footnotes made it difficult to spot these, I guess.

Anyway,

any word of advice helps!

Thanks!

PS. By the way, I am English as a second language student, although I have earned both my undergraduate and graduate degrees in English

[hegemony]

This will make a fraction of a single percent of a difference.  Please do not worry any longer.  Things much bigger than this (the quality of the argument in your writing sample, your grades, your personal statement, your test scores, your recommendations) will determine whether you get in or not.

I should point out that when you're referring to an unnamed university, as opposed to a named university ("applying to a university" vs. "Harvard University") the word "university" is not capitalized.  That led me to suspect you were not a native speaker, but really your English is excellent for a non-native speaker.  I think they will be impressed by your English rather than otherwise.  Please attempt to worry about something else.

[mouseman]

This will make a fraction of a single percent of a difference.  Please do not worry any longer.  Things much bigger than this (the quality of the argument in your writing sample, your grades, your personal statement, your test scores, your recommendations) will determine whether you get in or not.

That's assuming that they will even notice it.  I'm not in English, but if it's anything at all like the sciences, they'll be looking at the writing, and only glance at the references to make sure that they're there.  In any case, I've seen such typos in published articles.

I should point out that when you're referring to an unnamed university, as opposed to a named university ("applying to a university" vs. "Harvard University") the word "university" is not capitalized.  That led me to suspect you were not a native speaker, but really your English is excellent for a non-native speaker.  I think they will be impressed by your English rather than otherwise.  Please attempt to worry about something else.

I would not have suspected that you are not a native English speaker had you not mentioned it.  Considering that this is how you write for a forum, I suspect that the English on your application is even better, and I would also be surprised if the program is not impressed by this. 

If you want to worry about something, think about employment prospects for English PhD's...

Good luck!

[ticklemepink]

Footnotes?  What foodnotes?

As long as they're readable (read: can be looked up), don't worry.  I've seen mistakes in published books written by superstars.  No kidding.

[dexter_30]

Thank you all for the comforting words. Thanks for saying nice things about my English!

I really hope that you are right and indeed the admission committee will ignore these stupid, downright idiotic, mistakes.

I hope the mistakes will come across as slips made out of hastiness rather than ignorance. Of course, this does not make me look great, but still I think it is better.

Well, ideally, they won’t even notice them!

I will stop worrying about it! Nevertheless, it really sucks! Particularly since this application came out so well. It really had the potential to be the perfect application!

Oh, well!

Hegemony, thanks for pointing out the “university” solecism. I guess since I’ve been slogging PhD applications for months, I got used to capitalize the word given that I constantly use it to refer to a specific institution (I am not trying to make any excuses; it is a stupid mistake). 

In the post above, I also wrote “an PhD application”. I caught that ten minutes after I posted it but I couldn’t find the edit button.

You see, I tend to do mistakes like this and it is always disheartening. Most of the time, I catch them as I proofread, but somehow, uncannily, a few always mange to dodge my inspection.  I am pretty much convinced that this is a psychological issue rather than anything else. I mean, I am aware that I lack the innate fluency and cultivation of a native speaker, but the fact that I always catch some stupid pesky typo only after I have, submitted a paper, sent an email or posted on a forum etc…. makes me think that is not merely a lack of English proficiency. Once a text is out of my hands, I always look at it, as it were, with a new pair of eyes.   

The same sort of situation happened with these footnotes. It blows my mind how I didn’t see them when I proofread the whole thing like 70 times. I bet that if I could afford to see a psychoanalyst she would have something to say about that. Anyway, I am digressing! I had a few drinks to drown my sorrows!

Thanks again for the positive vibe!

I really hope you guys are right!

Best,

[betterslac]

Don't obsess over trivia. It's not good for you mental health and such extreme perfectionist tendencies will be detrimental for your success in grad school. Be attentive and pay attention to formatting, etc, but don't let it get in the way of substance and don't worry yourself to death over not catching every single, tiny problem.

[dexter_30]

Thanks! I will take you up on that advice. In my field, content and form are to a certain extent inseparable. But I hope that an incorrectly italicized footnote, a missing article, or a typo is not that big of a deal! 

I guess I do tend to obsess unnecessarily. I don’t know, it is a competitive world out there and sometimes my ambition and enthusiasm get the best of me!


best,