Your Essays Will Be Better Without AI: Here's Why

For students hard at work on college essays, the temptation to use AI can be tough to resist. Faced with the prospect of writing, revising, and polishing thousands of words, students may be seeking a shortcut to lighten their workload. But this approach can backfire.

Different college consultants have different views regarding AI. In my contract with students and families, I state that I will not support any AI-generated or AI-assisted writing, and that I will remove myself from the essay-writing process if I become aware of AI use.

Instead, my students complete an extensive writing exercise to help them begin to reflect on the intricacies of who they are as human beings, what they care about and strive for, how they've grown and how they hope to continue growing. No AI tool can extricate those details from a student; they comes from inside your head and your heart.

That's what makes a college essay such an important window into each applicant. As I tell my students, "The rest of your application is quantitative: grades, courses, test scores, GPA, and class rank. Even your activities are largely quantitative: athletics, arts, clubs, work, time spent, and achievements unlocked. Your essay is where admissions officers get to meet the real YOU." By definition, the real you isn't artificial in any way.

My favorite student essays aren't the ones that sounded like a robot wrote them, or the ones that sounded like a prize-winning author wrote them. My favorite student essays are the ones that sounded exactly like my students. I can still remember the essays that painted a picture of a time and a place -- sometimes thrilling, but often mundane or even discouraging -- where my students underwent a transformation. The best essays my students wrote were the ones that showcased exactly who they are, openly and confidently, without a need to impress.

Essay writing is messy and time-consuming. It also results in authentic insights into the character and core values of each individual student. I encourage you to forego the use of AI and embrace the challenge of thinking, feeling, describing, and reflecting as you write and revise and polish. Let your real self shine through! Your essays will be much better for it.