Can You Use AI for Your College Essays?

Regardless of my feelings about AI (and they aren’t all negative), AI isn’t going anywhere. But can you use it to write your college essays? The short answer: no. There is a slightly longer answer too. You could brainstorm with AI, and AI could polish up your essay. However, you must write your essay yourself.

Schools vary on how they address the topic.

Here’s an FAQ from the UCs:

“Does UC screen for AI in applications or use it to review them?

Though UC doesn’t use artificial intelligence in its application review process, AI may be helping students complete their applications. But if you’re tempted to use ChatGPT to complete your PIQs, be forewarned — that “help” may not work in your favor.

‘A personal insight question written by AI is not going to be very good, because it’s not going to teach us anything about the student,’ says [Robert] Penman. [Penman leads undergraduate admissions for UC Davis and previously worked in the admissions department at UC Berkeley and UC Riverside.] ‘It’s not going to help us understand more about the student in their context, their hopes and dreams, their trials and tribulations, their achievements. That can’t be generated by a machine, it really has to come from the student.’

And, while using AI as a tool is one thing, using a completely AI-generated answer is another — and one that is equivalent to academic dishonesty. UC runs plagiarism checks on applications, and if your PIQs are found to have been generated by AI with unattributed sources, you could be disqualified from UC admission entirely.”

Georgia Tech advises students to use AI with caution:

“In the same way you would not copy directly from any other source you may incorporate into the writing process, you should not copy and paste directly out of any AI platform or submit work that you did not originally create. Instead, approach and consider any interaction with an AI tool as a learning experience that may help you generate ideas, provide alternative phrasing options, and organize your thoughts. Ultimately, we want to read and hear your unique and valuable writing style.

Caltech boils it down:

“Your essays are where we hear your voice. Relying on AI, specifically large language models such as ChatGPT or Bard, to craft your essay will dilute your unique expression and perspective. While we know AI tools have become readily accessible over recent months, overuse of AI will diminish your individual, bold, creative identity as a prospective Techer. . . . If you are still wondering whether your use of AI in crafting your application is ethical, ask yourself whether it would be ethical to have a trusted adult perform the same task you are asking of ChatGPT. Would a teacher be able to review your essay for grammatical and spelling errors? Of course! Would that same teacher write a draft of an essay for you to tweak and then submit? Definitely not.”

Bottom line: No matter how much you feed ChatGPT, only you can write in your voice. And that’s what schools want to hear.