Forgot to mention something in secondaries. what should I do?

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I forgot to explain withdrawing from a TA position. I forgot because it was actually really minor. I didn't get accepted for the TA position back in Novemeber and only noticed I was receiving credit for it the Monday right after drop/add week some time in January. The professor had accidentally added me to the TA course but it didn't show up on Canvas. It's not really a big deal but the 2 schools I've applied to obviously don't know the situation so they'll probably be confused and critical. Should I email them explaining the situation? Thanks for the help!

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Why? It's really minor. The general rule of thumb is to not call attention to potential negatives. Explain it if it is brought up, but don't make a bigger deal of it than it is, or call attention to your carelessness by failing to mention something in a very recent submission because you forgot.
 
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Why? It's really minor. The general rule of thumb is to not call attention to potential negatives. Explain it if it is brought up, but don't make a bigger deal of it than it is, or call attention to your carelessness by failing to mention something in a very recent submission because you forgot.
I didn't expect this actually. I was expecting a strong "email them right away". I'm glad I asked. With that in mind, do you think I should talk about it in the remaining secondaries when they ask me to explain withdrawals? I have a big withdrawal that I always talk about which explains why I forgot this one. Thanks so much for the surprising, yet very helpful answer!
 
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I didn't expect this actually. I was expecting a strong "email them right away". I'm glad I asked. With that in mind, do you think I should talk about it in the remaining secondaries when they ask me to explain withdrawals? I have a big withdrawal that I always talk about which explains why I forgot this one. Thanks so much for the surprising, yet very helpful answer!
My pleasure! Was there a specific question asking to explain withdrawals? Some secondaries have it, but several I have seen so far have not. If they don't specifically ask, there is no reason to go there, especially because it's such a small thing. Of course, if they do ask, then explain. There is no reason to try to hide it and potentially raise questions by doing that.

Again, not ideal if they did ask and you didn't tell. After the fact, though, it's too small to make a difference, and I think the risk of negative fallout by highlighting carelessness trumps whatever benefit you might receive by correcting the record. The class is clearly marked as a TA, correct? If so, withdrawing from that is not exactly like withdrawing from orgo!

What they are really looking for with the question is an explanation for withdrawing from a whole bunch of classes, like a family or medical emergency. Telling them you withdrew from a single class because you were feeling overwhelmed, or, in this case, because you were mistakenly enrolled in something you weren't actually participating in, just isn't going to matter to an adcom, and it's not really the point of the question.

The potential negative here is totally not the withdrawal. It's the carelessness by forgetting to mention it when asked. This is why I wouldn't open this can of worms.
 
My pleasure! Was there a specific question asking to explain withdrawals? Some secondaries have it, but several I have seen so far have not. If they don't specifically ask, there is no reason to go there, especially because it's such a small thing. Of course, if they do ask, then explain. There is no reason to try to hide it and potentially raise questions by doing that.

Again, not ideal if they did ask and you didn't tell. After the fact, though, it's too small to make a difference, and I think the risk of negative fallout by highlighting carelessness trumps whatever benefit you might receive by correcting the record. The class is clearly marked as a TA, correct? If so, withdrawing from that is not exactly like withdrawing from orgo!

What they are really looking for with the question is an explanation for withdrawing from a whole bunch of classes, like a family or medical emergency. Telling them you withdrew from a single class because you were feeling overwhelmed, or, in this case, because you were mistakenly enrolled in something you weren't actually participating in, just isn't going to matter to an adcom, and it's not really the point of the question.

The potential negative here is totally not the withdrawal. It's the carelessness by forgetting to mention it when asked. This is why I wouldn't open this can of worms.
I understand. Thank you for explaining. It's the usual "Explain any grades lower than a B question". I explain the other withdrawal because it was immunology and I took it right at the beginning of COVID. I had a lot on my plate during that time but I own up to it and explain how I did things differently the following semester. I think you're right, there's no need to explain the TA withdrawal, it's marked as a TA on my transcript and I'm sure they won't think it's a big deal as long as I don't make it a big deal. Thanks again for the help!
 
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I understand. Thank you for explaining. It's the usual "Explain any grades lower than a B question". I explain the other withdrawal because it was immunology and I took it right at the beginning of COVID. I had a lot on my plate during that time but I own up to it and explain how I did things differently the following semester. I think you're right, there's no need to explain the TA withdrawal, it's marked as a TA on my transcript and I'm sure they won't think it's a big deal as long as I don't make it a big deal. Thanks again for the help!
In this case, you have nothing to worry about and are totally fine. They didn't specifically ask about Ws, and a W is NOT a grade lower than a B! They not only won't think it's a big deal, they also won't think it's a careless omission. This is a 100% false alarm. Try to relax -- it's going to be a long cycle! :)
 
In this case, you have nothing to worry about and are totally fine. They didn't specifically ask about Ws, and a W is NOT a grade lower than a B! They not only won't think it's a big deal, they also won't think it's a careless omission. This is a 100% false alarm. Try to relax -- it's going to be a long cycle! :)
Perfect! Thank you!
 
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