What to do after noticing a serious typo in my application to nine schools?

Danna Banana

I have a sentence in my diversity statement that reads "The X that I faced gave me thicker skin and a resilience to bend to others’ expectations and adversity." A few people read my DS and didn't notice it. I didn't even notice it until I had already sent it out to a bunch of schools this week and the last. I meant to say that I gained a resilience to bendING not to bend, which means the complete opposite of what I intended. The way it's phrased now sounds like I DO bend to other peoples' expectations.

Please help! What should I do? Is it understandable enough to leave it as is or should I email or call the schools and ask to send in an amended draft?

_oshun1_

I don’t think the sentence changes meaning if you change from bend to bending. The phrasing is confusing and it’s unclear who bend/bending refers to.

Supernovice

Yeah, I don't think the "-ing" or lack thereof is the problem. It's the use of the word "bend" that makes the statement confusing. "Resilience" implies elasticity--the ability to bend back into proper shape after facing (X). So the "resilience to bend (or bending)" is just very strange.

resilience | rəˈzilyəns | (also resiliency)
noun
1 the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness: the often remarkable resilience of so many British institutions.
2 the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity: nylon is excellent in wearability and resilience.

I wish I had some good advice for you in this situation, but you've already launched it and launched it to nine schools... I can't think of a solution except to say, hang in there and don't sweat it now. Even as I read exactly what you wrote and what you intended to write--doesn't matter--I know the idea of what you were trying to say. Surely, others will see that when they read it. I would also say, that most people will just read right over it, knowing what you were trying to convey and not think twice, but writing a correction and sending that out would be like taking a highlighter to it.