Avoiding online application disasters

November 24, 1:38 PMCollege Admissions ExaminerLauren Starkey

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The thinking goes like this: “‘everyone’ is submitting their application electronically. Maybe there is an advantage to filling out a paper application. I’ll look like I care more, that I’ve put more effort into it, and that I am highly interested in attending when I use their application instead of the Common App.”

Here’s the behind-the-scenes reality. Once the admissions department gets your paper application, it’s going to end up in electronic form. Why? Admissions departments, like offices in most every industry, need to share information among its employees. Counselors read applications on computer, whether in their offices, while traveling, or at home. Information gets passed from one counselor to another, and to a database in which the ultimate admissions decisions get registered.

It’s not a bad idea to call the schools to which you’re applying and ask which type of application submission they prefer (see tip #1 in my post Seniors: Boost your chances for acceptance today), but you’ll probably hear that it’s up to you. There is, however, one important reason for considering the paper method: the tendency to treat everything online casually. You’re typing all the time, writing messages on Facebook walls, texting, and emailing. It’s quick and easy communication, and you rarely worry about spelling, never mind content. This tendency can lead you into dangerous territory with electronically submitted applications.

The first problem is an editorial one. Speed and ease can translate into careless errors, such as forgetting to cut and paste the school’s name in your essay or elsewhere on the application. No admissions counselor from College A wants to read why you’re dying to attend College B. Don’t send anything without having a friend, parent, or teacher check your work.

Here’s an example of another potential problem: a few years ago I was working with a student on his application essay.  He first emailed the wrong one, and the next email I got from him started “oh crap.” I was amused, but an admissions officer won’t be. The head of admissions at the University of Vermont told me about the many messages she gets with obscene or otherwise offensive email addresses. Your friends might reply to “hotchick99” but it sends the wrong message to the person who could decide whether you get into college.

Before you apply online, change your email address to something appropriate; write complete, businesslike sentences when writing an email; and have every line of your application checked by someone else. Following these steps can help you avoid an embarrassing, admissions-declining mistake.