Going back to last year’s application cycle, I started to see a shift in my line of work as an expert writing consultant and educator when it comes to the written component of the college application. By the time fall 2024 was underway, many students were utilizing AI as a writing tool and even more opted to use the chatbot this past application cycle. Although I wondered if AI would wipe out my career altogether, I’ve actually seen an even higher volume of service requests because AI writing assistance is negatively impacting the quality of college-bound students’ work.
With that said, here are ten (10) takeaways I’ve seen when AI writing help is used.
- Almost every personal statement and supplemental essay that used AI writing assistance by students was structured in the same exact way. By the first five or six essays that I commented and edited on, a ‘standard’ formula presented by the chatbot was rather obvious.
- Almost every personal statement and supplemental essay that used AI assistance also had issues with logical and chronological flow, making it hard to even follow the narrative that was being presented.
- There were also missing pieces of information which caused gaps in the narrative being told.
- The phrasing and tone was the same for nearly each essay, removing the students themselves from their actual story.
- Most essays also lacked imagination, descriptive language, and creativity, which goes against what a personal statement is in essence—a piece of creative non-fiction.
- In terms of supplemental essays, especially the WHY SCHOOL ones, AI writing tools made them dry, ill-informed, and didn’t really express any type of real interest as to why the students were applying. Every time I would go and comment or edit on these types of essays, I already knew what to expect—since at this point, it was all cookie-cutter style.
- Despite the fact that I work with students from all over the US and even some who are applying from abroad, time and time again, I’ve seen that one’s unique life experiences, background, upbringing, ethnicity, and academic/personal pursuits get lost in AI-generated storytelling and students, regardless of who they are, where they from, and what they pursue, many seem to present essays with similar ideas and use of language. Thus, the reader truly misses out on learning about who the applicants are as individuals and in their own words.
- Supplemental essays pertaining to subject-area interests, community initiatives, and leadership roles, in my professional opinion, all paint the students as expert-level professionals who have been fighting for change or who have devoted themselves to a career in a specific field spanning over two or three decades. What I’m saying here is that though students should be proud of their accomplishments, they should be presented in a way that showcases who they are: college-bound students—not as middle-aged adults as per AI-generated content.
- Across the board, most essays generated by AI have some type of glitch, inconsistency, or point of doubt leaving the reader with more questions than answers about the accuracy of the provided content.
- BUT there were still students this application season who did write their essays in their own words. They really sat down and got their unique thoughts on paper and their essays were not only exciting to read but they truly felt personal—which after all, is the point here. And as a professional educator and expert writing consultant, the difference was clear.