How to fix mistakes in your college apps
By Allyson Kang,
BlueDevilHUB.com Editor-in-chief–
If you have found mistakes in your college application or would like to make updates, there are ways to do so for the different application systems.
California State University
According to Cal State Apply, “once you submit your application, most sections are locked to prevent edits.”
If you wish to add updates or make changes to any other area, you will be advised to email each California State University you applied to individually. The list of emails to contact are here. Certain colleges will not accept changes.
“I would recommend that students go to the […] individual campus’s website. […] And it’s worth contacting the school directly because frankly they may give you a different answer,” Davis High counselor Ann Murao said.
If you have a special circumstance you have a question about, you can talk to a representative over live chat here.
University of California
The University of California colleges accept all critical changes to the application through the general application portal. All campuses except UC Berkeley and UC Santa Barbara also accept changes to locked areas of the application separately from the portal.
“If you have your heart set on Cal, that’s a disappointing pill to try to swallow so try to swallow it, and it’s still worth asking and contacting them directly. […] That’s what I would say,” Murao said.
The links provided on this page under the “update your application” section will direct you to the individual colleges’ portals. Once the college has processed your application and sent you log in information, you will either be able to log in to the portal to submit changes or use your ID to submit a change on a separate page.
According to AskMsSun, a UC college admissions counselor, the UC system has been giving out “conflicting information […] you must submit [changes] after you have set up an applicant account with each UC campus,” her post reads.
The automated recording may tell you to send corrections to the UC application center, but live representatives will direct you to the individual links.
You must update your application if you find a mistake, change schools, add or drop a course, or fail to earn a C or better in a course.
Private colleges
To make changes to private college applications, reach out to the individual college’s undergraduate admissions center. The Common Application and Coalition Application will not make changes to submitted applications.
“Once you submit and […] for whatever reason you want to change something, you’re going to have to […] contact the individual school directly. And it’s going to be variable, what they will say. It’s up to the school to tell you how they are going to receive those changes,” Murao said.
For all college applications, Murao advises students to just follow given directions.
“Try to stay as calm as possible. […] Follow their advice and then just know you’ve done all you can do and to the best of your abilities […] and then let go of it,” Murao said.
