AI in College Admissions - Tips for Students

Colleges Are Using AI, Too

Much like every other industry in this day and age, the college admissions process has rapidly been impacted by advancements in AI technology. With large language models at their fingertips, students may wonder how AI can make the process easier, whether colleges are using AI to read applications, or if AI can just write the application entirely.

The answers to these questions vary, but there are a lot of ways students can utilize these tools effectively throughout the college admissions process—and there are also clear ways they should avoid using them. Similarly, colleges and universities have AI tools available to help their processes. Schools utilize AI to sort applications, detect potential fraud, or even review extracurricular activity lists and essays.

If an institution is concerned with its yield rate, it could use AI to predict which students are most likely to accept an offer of admission. If a school is concerned about the validity of the essays they receive, using AI systems to detect AI-written submissions comes with its own issues of bias and accuracy.

How Should Students Use AI in Their Applications?

So, how should applicants utilize these tools in their own approach to their written work? Certainly, something as simple as a spell or grammar check is appropriate, as is brainstorming topics and building an outline for a draft. However, using the technology to actually compose essays would be a major risk.

The more universal risk, however, is losing the student’s authentic voice in the writing. When schools evaluate essays, they are not looking for academic term papers or majestic poetry; they are simply looking to get to know the applicants. Does the writing help the admission officer learn more about who the student is and what they are like?