As we move into the summer months, Juniors are tasked with starting to write their college essays, particularly the Common Application personal statement.  This is an integral piece to a student’s application, showing more of who they are in a way that has not yet been conveyed to admissions in their application.  Campus Bound counselors and essay specialists work closely with students on this step, from brainstorming and working through multiple drafts in order to get a final product. As much as we guide, the student voice is at the forefront of every essay. Given how much the admissions landscape continues to change, we especially recognize the advancement of AI. But what does this mean for students and, more importantly, admissions decisions? 

The goal of the college essays is for students to use their voice to convey who they are, perhaps something they care about, something or someone who has impacted them, and much more, to admissions readers.  According to a recent Forbes article, what AI offers is “highly formulaic” and “admissions officers who read hundreds of essays a day can easily differentiate between writing produced by AI and a student’s own voice.” This means, even if students are using some form of AI, including sources like Grammarly, to edit grammar and offer stronger word choice, it is important that students do not depend on AI tools to structure and write their essays in a way that they lose their authentic voice. 

Even though the use and advancement of AI is almost unavoidable, we strongly encourage students to be responsible using these tools in the most ethical way.  Not only can admissions officers detect unauthentic essays, but according to Inside Ed, “60% of admissions professionals said they currently use AI to review personal essays as well.” Students will typically have numerous essays to write, based on their college list, and with that, various comfort levels with tackling this big step.  We are here to guide students to show their more athletic and personalized self.