Should I Use Artificial Intelligence ("AI") in My College Admission Essays?

Oh and, can you make it sound like I wrote it. I don’t want the college admissions officers to think this was written by an AI chatbot. Let’s keep that between us. Thx

😎 You got it! Let’s make this personal statement sound like YOU

We’ll keep the language natural and sincere, highlighting the thought processes and experiences that make you YOU. Do you want me to include features of your heritage, cultural background, identity, and/or challenges in which you showed resilience? Any specific talents or achievements I should know about? Colleges love that stuff! 

If you want, I can also adjust tone (more reflective, more direct, more narrative, etc.) depending on the schools you’re targeting. 

Sure

Hey guys, I’m Esteban from Untapped Admissions, and I was just having a little fun (above) envisioning a late-night conversation between a student and ChatGPT as they plot to craft the perfect Personal Statement and slither their way into an Ivy, or better yet, Hogwarts.

It’s certainly tempting to use ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any other open source LLM model when crafting your application essays. But should you?

Let’s be pragmatic. You’re trying to get into college.

So, you better be sure that whatever you do is conducive to that goal.

Spoiler alert: At this point in time, it’s not worth it to use AI (much) to write your Personal Statements and supplemental essays. For a few reasons… 

1. First off: It’s not allowed, so it’s unethical.

2. Second, even if you don’t care about ethics, it’s risky; they can tell when you use it.

3. Even if you don’t get caught, AI might actually be counterproductive. You’re trying to stand out, and the most unique thing you have to offer is, strangely, you.

But what constitutes “using AI?” ChatGPT writes the whole statement? Checks for grammar? Provides a few tips for the final polish? It’s a tricky question but hopefully this article helps clear things up a bit. 

As of March 23, 2026, The Common App explicitly says that the following are considered fraud:

1. […] intentionally misrepresenting as one’s own original work: (1) another person’s thoughts, language, ideas, expressions, or experiences or (2) the substantive content or output of an artificial intelligence platform, technology, or algorithm;

So, there you have it. Any form of Artificial Intelligence (or myself as your future writing counselor) shouldn’t write your essay for you. That would be substantive content or output.

But where do you draw the line between substantive and not-substantive? 

Colleges, this is your official call to action; please don’t stay silent, HELP!

Yale’s AI policy expands upon the Common App’s guidelines:

Submitting personal statements or other written application responses composed by text-generating software may result in admission revocation or expulsion. 

YIKES! But, good to know. That’s definitely over the line. But wait! There’s more: 

Using an AI platform to review one’s grammar or spelling, or to seek general advice or topic suggestions at the start of the writing process does not constitute application fraud. Some applicants may find AI tools useful in these ways; others may not. 

Perfect. That’s on the safe side of the line if we choose to use it.

So, we’ve got Yale down. What about the other thousands of universities (not just on the Common App)? University of California institutions (“UCs”)? Apply Texas? Georgetown? 

My advice: Check the guidelines for the schools you’re applying to. See if they have an AI policy. If they don’t, play it safe and use it very little, if at all. 

Will the substantive use of AI in college admissions forever be banned? There is a very plausible near future (much like in industry recruitment) where students will be tested on their AI-assisted capabilities. There could be a completely destigmatized, openly AI-friendly component of the app. But as of March 2026, those capabilities are not what colleges are evaluating when reading Personal Statements and supplemental essays.

But what if you don’t care about guidelines, and you want to game the system?

Ethics aside…it’s just not worth the risk. Admissions officers have been reading student essays for years. They can spot patterns you are oblivious to, and they have technologically sophisticated ways to identify AI-generated content. While the student and the chatbot feel safe in their silo, twirling their mustaches, thinking they’re getting away with it, many students are doing the very same thing. And what’s the upside of taking that risk? The production of a nice-sounding, well-written, more-generic-than-you-think essay?

Wouldn’t you be better off crafting a meaningful piece that makes you stand out? Paradoxically, the more other students use AI to enhance their writing, the greater chance you have at distinguishing yourself through your personal essays.

Across the board, colleges are saying that they want to get to know YOU, and the essays should be used as an opportunity to give them a glimpse into the person behind the app. This sounds very nice. So nice that we’re not sure we believe it 100%.

Our incentives aren’t exactly aligned. WE, the students, are trying to get into the best colleges possible. THEY, the colleges, are trying to form their freshman class. Of course, THEY want to know who WE really are.

But maybe WE want to present a version of ourselves that they will like and admit to their prestigious university. And since they don’t know who we are, as long as we show them a seemingly-real person they like, we’re good. Right? 

Here’s my opinion: Give yourself a little credit. You ARE unique. And I’m not trying to toot your horn or be sappily inspirational. It is a fact that no one else has your combination of life experiences and way of interpreting the world. In a very real sense, there is only one YOU. If you could only demonstrate that, show the best, most thoughtful version of yourself, you’d be in pretty good shape.

So how do we draw out that unique person? How do we stand out to admission officers? 

To me it’s clear that the answer isn’t: do what everyone else is doing, using ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini.

We hear a lot about finding your own voice. We want to hear “your voice.” But what does that mean?

It’s simple but hard to do. Think deeply about things. Express those nuanced thoughts. A voice means there is a person, a person you can almost hear, who is doing the thinking. Add your personal experiences and self-reflections and you’re getting somewhere. Create a compelling narrative and you’re even making it fun for the admissions officer. 

The way I see it, if you have one thoughtful—original—idea in your personal statement, something that makes college admissions officers lean slightly forward and go, wow, ok, that’s interesting…I’d never thought of it like that (because they can’t, because only YOU can think that), then you’ve already accomplished a lot. The more you develop your writing, the more you’ll be able to show who you are, since the act of writing is the very act of thinking, and your thoughts, ultimately, are who you are. And don’t worry, we will be here to help you unlock your true potential.

-Written by ChatGPT (Just kidding!).

-Esteban Torres, Untapped Admissions Writing Director