Wrong personal statement submitted

S

spencermc

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Feb 15, 2020
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Hey guys, I just submitted my application last night and after I submitted it I noticed my personal statement was one that I previously wrote rather than an updated one I wrote a few days ago. I don't know whether or not it was my error or caused by a glitch in the application portal (though, I'm 99% sure it was a glitch because I remember clearly typing the essay straight into the portal itself then clicking save and review).

I already emailed admissions asking if this could be fixed and they said they couldn't update the statement and he apologized for the glitch in the system.

Has anyone else experienced something like this? Where you put something into the portal and It didn't save when you came back to it?

Also, just as a little side note: my original personal statement (the one accidentally submitted) was still fine in my opinion. It wasn't like a terrible rough draft, but I updated and refined it and would've much preferred the newer version to be submitted. Not the end of the world, just bummed and a little scared its going to effect my chances.

That being said, any advice on what I should do now?
 
Go easy on yourself. You are human. You won’t be the only one that submits the wrong thing or has a word misspelled. I’d probably email the updated one and send to admissions with your candidate number. I’d ask my BGO, too. I had an “issue” back in August and needed resolution. He had a contact in Admissions that assisted quickly. I have been in contact with my BGO for over a year so I knew who it was.....
 
No clue for now, but for any future portal essays... always type them in word/docs where you can count words, characters, etc and make sure it reads correctly, and then copy/paste once completely done.

Too many possible errors with the various functionality of those portal frames.
 
Yes, look at the blessing that it wasn’t the terrible, awful one. That has happened over the years. And admissions response to you is on par with the other “oopsies” submitted. They are sticklers for following the instructions!

It’s always recommended (even perhaps in the candidate instructions?) to first use a word document, and then pasting into the actual application after it’s been edited. And re-edited. Etc. I know this doesn’t help you, but perhaps it will a future reader.

I don’t recall that the personal statement could be saved and edited in the application. I’ve had 3 apply, and I thought I recalled that was a “thing” with the essay piece. No saving and re-editing. Either way, you have your answer. Good luck in the process!
 
My DD Learned a hard lesson while applying for a leadership position that never type in portal and always have a backup. Create a google doc and work from there.
 
In the future, besides typing in a Word document and using its spell check features, I would recommend getting a gree Grammarly account and typing everything in that. It does more than just spell check and will make you a better writer over time. It is really cool, and if you install it in chrome it even shows you errors/suggestions in platforms like SAF and your email. Those portals are tricky buggers.
 
My son's app checklist has a check for personal statement submitted but he hasn't submitted it yet. There do seem to be many glitches in the system.
 
spencermc said:
Hey guys, I just submitted my application last night and after I submitted it I noticed my personal statement was one that I previously wrote rather than an updated one I wrote a few days ago. I don't know whether or not it was my error or caused by a glitch in the application portal (though, I'm 99% sure it was a glitch because I remember clearly typing the essay straight into the portal itself then clicking save and review).

I already emailed admissions asking if this could be fixed and they said they couldn't update the statement and he apologized for the glitch in the system.
Click to expand...

When the Admissions Counselor said there was a glitch in the system, he /she was likely saying there is no provision in sytsem to correct or change something when it has been submitted. (Frankly, I don't think that was possible under the old system either -- if a candidate could change things after submission, it would be a continuously changing applictation).

You can probably Email your Admissions Counselor with the correct statement, and ask him/her to either manually add to your application, or he/she can brief the Admissions Board on the updated statement.
 
Thank you guys for all the responses! I should've made it a little more clear, nothing was wrong with the one that was submitted, in fact I actually did have it backed up in another doc just in case. After I made my first essay, I eventually went back and changed a lot of things within said essay, and ended up putting the new one in another document as well. The problem I had was that for some reason my first one was the one that ended up getting submitted rather than my second one that I had in there, so im guessing the second never saved in the system and it defaulted to the first essay I wrote.


In brighter news, admissions said that I am able to send the essay I wanted to them and they can attach it to my application (but only if it hasn't changed drastically, otherwise not to worry about it). Thanks again everybody! :)
 
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