Should You Use AI for Your College Essay?
I know, I know. It’s tempting, isn’t it? Just feed a little bit of information about yourself into Chat GPT or some other AI program, let the interwebs churn for a nanosecond, and out pops an essay! Who wouldn’t want to do that? It’d be a time saver, for sure. You know the grammar would probably be correct. Maybe it’d even be better than what you would struggle to do on your own. And, like, would they really know the difference?
(The answer to that last question is: Yes! But more on that later.)
Sigh. Why is relying on AI a terrible idea when it comes to writing your college essay? Let me count the ways…
It’s unethical. I shouldn’t even need to elaborate on this, so I won’t.
You’re going to need to write in college, so better get used to it now. Even a Chem E major will have to take an English class. And if for some reason, you really really won’t need to write a paper in college, chances are you’ll still need to write to a company one day to get a refund on a product you bought and hated. Or a note to a neighbor who you have a beef with, but need to maintain good relations. Or a love letter. At some point in your life, you’re going to need to make a convincing and heartfelt case for something.
Professors check to see if you used AI. And if you did, you may get a zero on the assignment, or fail the class, or worse. Professors have programs that they run papers through to check for this. It’s not perfect, because sometimes they’ll falsely accuse students of using AI (this is where version history comes in handy!) But it’s really not worth it. Especially because almost all colleges have tutoring and writing resources available for students.
A computer cannot tell the story of you better than you can. The best college essays are filled with personal details, self-reflection, moments of discovery or self-deprecation. You could tell AI that you were the captain of your ultimate frisbee team, but it would never know that you hate the giant trophy sitting on your dresser from that tournament win … or why. It may be able to figure out that you’re curious, but it would never spit out this opening line: “I can’t lie – if someone had given me 250 grand, I would’ve signed up to go on that Titanic submarine.” And it would never know that your Kris Letang fathead is maybe your most favorite possession ever, and then be able to articulate what that says about who you are as a hockey player and human being.
It’s obvious to the reader. Normally I would never share anything my students wrote without their permission. But I’m sharing this actual piece of copy from an actual student’s draft without asking them … because they didn’t write it. AI did. This was in response to the “Why do you want to attend XX University?” question. Ready?
“[XX University] emerges as the perfect confluence of academic rigor, technological innovation, community engagement, and artistic expression. At [XX University], I will be able to immerse myself in a dynamic engineering environment, engage in social projects using cutting-edge technologies, and engage in my artistic pursuits, allowing me to align my academic journey with my passion for the arts as well as the innovation of developing technologies as a force for good.”
See? Horrible.
All this being said, there are many useful and wonderful applications of AI. It helps job seekers craft resumes that may open doors, which would have otherwise remained closed. It can plan cost-effective meals for a family of picky eaters, and create itineraries for vacations. It helps researchers determine the underlying causes for diseases and will be instrumental in finding desperately needed cures. Many young people will study AI in college … and that is awesome.
But it cannot reveal your truth. Or capture your voice. AI can’t know you. (And If you still don’t believe me, check out this article from the New York Times.)