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brig

Jan 17, 2008, 6:29 PM

Post #951 of 1172 (3780 views)
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Re: [smulis] process worsening my OCDness [In reply to]	Can't Post

happened to me, too. the app. was for u. wash. in st. louis. i called and spoke to someone who actually went to look for and found my application. she was extremely helpful and kind, which of course peaked my interest in the program even more. you might try phoning...if you feel like you can.

ollie

Jan 17, 2008, 7:02 PM

Post #952 of 1172 (3771 views)
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Re: [brig] process worsening my OCDness [In reply to]	Can't Post

thanks, smulis and brig, this eases my mind a bit. i don't have my paperwork from SF State with me but i distinctly recall some emphatic language like DO NOT CALL US. but it said nothing about email so i sent the department a polite email explaining my situation. hopefully they will get back to me.

bennyprof

Jan 19, 2008, 1:21 PM

Post #953 of 1172 (3659 views)
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Re: [ollie] process worsening my OCDness [In reply to]	Can't Post

Well, I knew it would happen, and it did.

I knew I was too much at peace over this whole application process, having all the apps sent out, having done the best I could, etc. So this morning when I found a big fat misspelling on page 7 of the first story in my writing sample I really shouldn't have been surprised. Murphy's Law and all that. Something was destined to upset my calm. Difficult to explain just how pissed off/frustrated/depressed I am at this moment, so I'll just leave it at that.

jmmacleod
Jason Michael MacLeod

Jan 19, 2008, 1:31 PM

Post #954 of 1172 (3655 views)
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Re: [bennyprof] process worsening my OCDness [In reply to]	Can't Post

There is no way you would be rejected because of a typo on page 7.

These are MFA apps, not MBA. =)

Jason Michael MacLeod

bennyprof

Jan 19, 2008, 1:37 PM

Post #955 of 1172 (3648 views)
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Re: [Hamlet3145] process worsening my OCDness [In reply to]	Can't Post

Yeah, but it can't help, can it? I mean, that's just the kind of stuff you don't want to give them. A distraction. Things like that take you out of the story. A bad way to set yourself apart from the rest of the applicants.

aiyamei

Jan 19, 2008, 1:52 PM

Post #956 of 1172 (3644 views)
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Re: [bennyprof] process worsening my OCDness [In reply to]	Can't Post

I really don't think it matters. Really.
What was the word? and what the misspelling? Honestly, I think misspellings are only a problem when a document is riddled with them. If there's one oversight or typo somewhere, as there are in most published books, you really don't blame the author, or anyone else for that matter. It's just when they start to pile up.

jlgwriter
Jeanne Lyet Gassman

Jan 19, 2008, 2:31 PM

Post #957 of 1172 (3632 views)
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Re: [bennyprof] process worsening my OCDness [In reply to]	Can't Post

Okay, Bennyprof, take a deep breath and remind yourself that this is just a small glitch in the big universe of writing. :)

I pride myself on my clean copy--edited and proofread to the nth degree--but there is always, always a typo or missing word in every story that seems to get past me. I finally decided that there are these little gremlins hiding in my computer files who take great delight in messing up at least one page.

And who am I to deny the gremlins their one bit of happiness?

Jeanne

http://www.jeannelyetgassman.com
http://jeannelyetgassman.blogspot.com

Scrat1

Jan 19, 2008, 2:47 PM

Post #958 of 1172 (3626 views)
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Re: [bennyprof] process worsening my OCDness [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

Don't worry about it. I have a grammatical error on my personal statement, which I think is much worse and even I haven't completely given up hope. I'm confident in my writing sample and my verbal gre scores were good so if they decide to reject me based on one grammatical error then screw 'em. I imagine a good deal of the samples they get have mistakes in them.

bennyprof

Jan 19, 2008, 4:25 PM

Post #959 of 1172 (3600 views)
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Re: [aiyamei] process worsening my OCDness [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks, everyone. I feel a bit better now.

I'd just found the mistake when I posted, so I hadn't had time to cool off yet. You're right. It's probably not a big deal. I just desperately wanted to avoid giving anything like that away.

(This post was edited by bennyprof on Jan 19, 2008, 10:54 PM)

tuesday

Jan 19, 2008, 4:41 PM

Post #960 of 1172 (3593 views)
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Re: [bennyprof] process worsening my OCDness [In reply to]	Can't Post

hi bennyprof,
i'm with everyone on this. i wouldn't worry about one or even two spelling errors. (by the way, why are you torturing yourself by rereading your writing sample, knowing you can not make any changes at this point?) please remember that these schools are invested in the process too (perhaps not as much as the applicants, perhaps so?). they do want to find the writers with whom they can most effectively work. this isn't like the literary journal slush pile where an assistant editor reads the first couple of paragraphs, dislikes them, and tosses the entire piece. the reputable programs read the samples fairly and then decide whether the writer has potential, and is a good fit for the program. so, be calm and keep your spirits up as much as you can.

good thoughts,
tuesday

bennyprof

Jan 19, 2008, 5:50 PM

Post #961 of 1172 (3578 views)
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Re: [tuesday] process worsening my OCDness [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks, tuesday. I know you're right.

Quote

(by the way, why are you torturing yourself by rereading your writing sample, knowing you can not make any changes at this point?)

Because I'm submitting it to a magazine, and I'm an obsessive double/triple/quadruple checker when it comes to the technical issues in my writing (the things I can supposedly control). At this point I really regret doing it. Would've been better to remain ignorant of the mistake, at least until the acceptance/rejection notifications came back in 1-2 months.

tuesday

Jan 19, 2008, 6:08 PM

Post #962 of 1172 (3572 views)
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Re: [bennyprof] process worsening my OCDness [In reply to]	Can't Post

hi bennyprof,

okay, i understand about submitting to a journal/magazine. perhaps you can submit without rereading? i imagine you've worked so hard on the piece, and the version you sent to the programs was your best work; trust this. it's unlikely that the quality of your work has changed much in the last couple of weeks. i am wishing/hoping with you that you have some good news over the next several weeks or so.

v1ctorya

Jan 19, 2008, 6:11 PM

Post #963 of 1172 (3568 views)
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Re: [bennyprof] process worsening my OCDness [In reply to]	Can't Post

If it helps, after sending off everything last year I realized I uploaded the wrong personal statement (the one that stated 'dear brown' went to a very non-brown school) I still got in there(the non-Brown school).

It's all in the power of the writing, a spelling error is forgiveable.

Of course, catch me next year when I apply again (I decided to stay where I am for a bit longer) and I'll be freaking over some silly mistake again. But that's all they are. . .

Rambler

Jan 19, 2008, 7:43 PM

Post #964 of 1172 (3544 views)
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Re: [bennyprof] process worsening my OCDness [In reply to]	Can't Post

bennyprof,
--Rambler here, the person who started this conversation on the OCDness and perhaps the most anal writer in the history of recorded language.
I just met with a local author (with whom I took a novel workshop last fall) to go over my writing sample for my last few schools (mainly the low res. ones). She told me I'd sent the wrong type of stuff. That my first 25 pages of my novel were definitely superior to my short stories, and that I should send a novel excerpt off for these remaining applications.

Devestated is not even a strong enough word.

My first pick is Notre Dame for a pluthera of reasons, not least of which is it's close to home and fully funded.

And I sent that app. off in November to save myself some money (early applications were, like, fifteen bucks cheaper).

She also told me that sometimes authors do something akin to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic: they worry about stuff that is definitely out of their control.

So I decided that the Notre Dame ship is probably my own personal Titanic and that rearranging the deck chairs is a big, fat waste of time.

You put your best work out there, and that's all you can do.

I empathize completely. But trust your work to do the thing that you cannot control.

Get you In.

And as anal as I am, I'm pretty sure one typo won't disqualify you.

Good luck and good wishes.

medusashair

Jan 20, 2008, 6:55 PM

Post #965 of 1172 (3777 views)
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Re: [Colin] Vermont College [In reply to]	Can't Post

WAsh U acceptances I believe arrive in late March.

The money is fantastic, but reconsider this program seriously if you are a female poet.

danielaolsz

Jan 20, 2008, 9:50 PM

Post #966 of 1172 (3726 views)
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Re: [boody01] Vermont College [In reply to]	Can't Post

dawnbush - CONGRATS!

Boody01 - I applied to Wash U. I'm dying to hear your thoughts on the program and female poets. If you don't want to post, please PM or e-mail me. I'd be really grateful.

pareidolia

Jan 20, 2008, 11:16 PM

Post #967 of 1172 (3699 views)
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Re: [boody01] Vermont College [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

WAsh U acceptances I believe arrive in late March.

The money is fantastic, but reconsider this program seriously if you are a female poet.

I'm also interested to hear why women should reconsider.

bennyprof

Jan 20, 2008, 11:48 PM

Post #968 of 1172 (3410 views)
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Re: [Rambler] process worsening my OCDness [In reply to]	Can't Post

Thanks for the encouragement, Rambler.

It's not that I think it'll disqualify me. I just hate knowing that something as simple as a misspelling has crept into something I invested so much time trying to perfect. It might not raise a huge alarm, but technical issues do have a way of downgrading an author, introducing an element of mistrust (however slight) in the mind of the reader. And with the schools I'm applying to I can't help but think every inch is critical. My most realistic bets are Montana (~10% acceptance rate) and Arizona (~15% acceptance rate); the rest hover at around 5% and below. With that kind of competition I can't afford to give anything away that's within my control.

That said, I had three primary readers go over my sample before I sent it off, all three of them creative writing professors. One of them caught the error (I somehow missed his correction); the other two didn't. So that, if nothing else, makes me feel a little better about it.

Hate to hear about your own situation. I definitely feel for you. Still, that's only one person's opinion. There's a good chance another person -- just as trustworthy and reputable as the author you spoke to -- would say your short stories are stronger than your excerpt. Matter of taste, all that. You never know.

Good luck to you as well.

-B

(This post was edited by bennyprof on Jan 21, 2008, 12:00 AM)

Yugao

Jan 21, 2008, 3:10 PM

Post #969 of 1172 (3313 views)
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Re: [bennyprof] process worsening my OCDness [In reply to]	Can't Post

I'm feeling angsty already, and I've only just sent in my last application. After turning up the mistake on my transcripts, I found out that one of my letter writers misplaced half of my letters amongst papers on his desk, and now they are going out late. He wrote a note of apology to the schools and I've contacted the programs by e-mail. I hope they will be understanding. I only found out because two schools notified me in the last few days, but I'd thought these letters were sent out in November. I'm not upset with my letter writer, as it was just a mistake, but I hope I won't be eliminated over something like this. I thought the postcards I was receiving back meant my file was complete, but apparently they just mean that my writing sample was received. I'm having to follow up a lot more than I expected to.

My writing sample had coffee spilled on it at one school, which doesn't seem like much of a good omen. I had a chance to send a new sample though. I'm having major confidence issues over my writing sample anyway. I made too many late and major revisions to one story. I'm afraid to even look at it.

I've applied to twelve schools, and I will be beyond thrilled if I get into one.

(This post was edited by Yugao on Jan 21, 2008, 3:12 PM)

danielaolsz

Jan 21, 2008, 4:26 PM

Post #970 of 1172 (3278 views)
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Re: [Yugao] process worsening my OCDness [In reply to]	Can't Post

Yuago - I think it's a good sign that the schools contacted you. My big fear is that my application will simply be set aside because parts are missing.

Which schools sent you post cards confirming they received your writing sample? (*Starts freaking out because no schools have sent me any such confirmation*)

bennyprof

Jan 21, 2008, 4:30 PM

Post #971 of 1172 (3276 views)
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Re: [danielaolsz] process worsening my OCDness [In reply to]	Can't Post

I believe he means they sent back the self-addressed postcard he included with his application. Not all schools will notify you by letter. The only ones that have gotten back to me so far (aside from returned postcards) are Texas, Iowa and Syracuse. The other thirteen schools haven't sent me anything. I wouldn't worry.

ejdifili
Emily

Jan 21, 2008, 4:30 PM

Post #972 of 1172 (3601 views)
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Wash U deadline [In reply to]	Can't Post

I ended up applying last minute to Wash U too. I swear I read online that applications weren't due until January 11, so I had that entered into my OCD application spreadsheet thing. Then, on Christmas day, I happened to look at the WU website and realized that apps were actually due like January 1 or 2!! Luckily I live in St. Louis, so I was able to just drive everything over to the department, but it sure was a scare. I ended up spending the entire evening of December 24 doing my Wash U applications whilst the family ate dinner and made merry together.

Well, now it's all "water under the bridge" (the Blanchette bridge, that is) so to speak...

ejdifili
Emily

Jan 21, 2008, 4:32 PM

Post #973 of 1172 (3596 views)
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Wash U [In reply to]	Can't Post

Speaking of Wash U... I actually studied there as an undergrad, and I've always had the impression that the program is somewhat more focused on poetry than fiction. Does anyone know if that's true?

rppohl

Jan 21, 2008, 4:40 PM

Post #974 of 1172 (3270 views)
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Re: [bennyprof] process worsening my OCDness [In reply to]	Can't Post

Purdue and Bowling Green are the only two that I've heard back from. It's comforting for sure. I'm just hopeful that all the other schools have everything. I don't want to bug them but of course I'm dying to hear something. Last year didn't a few people start to hear back by the end of January?

paperplanes

Jan 21, 2008, 4:52 PM

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