How AI Is Changing College Essays

Over the past year, artificial intelligence (AI) has become an increasingly common tool in the college admissions process—especially when it comes to the personal essay. Students today are turning to AI platforms like ChatGPT, GrammarlyGO, and Claude to help them brainstorm ideas, generate outlines, and in some cases, even write full drafts.

This rise of AI in essay writing has led to a noticeable shift: many essays are now more technically polished than they would (or should) be for a high school student. This “polish” often comes at a cost. We’ve found that AI-generated writing tends to sound generic, emotionally flat, or disconnected from the student’s real voice. The result? Essays that check the boxes, but don’t move the reader.

At Top Tier Admissions, we regularly remind families: a grammatically perfect essay is not the goal. Admissions officers are looking for a story that feels real—an essay that reflects a student’s character, lived experience, and perspective. And in the current world climate, that authenticity is more important than ever.

HOW ADMISSIONS OFFICERS ARE RESPONDING

Colleges are well aware of AI’s presence in the application process. Admissions readers have become increasingly attuned to writing that sounds overly formal, formulaic, or oddly mature, especially when that tone doesn’t match the student’s transcript, activities, or other parts of the application.

Admissions officers are trained to spot essays that could belong to anyone, and they’re more likely to remember the ones that clearly could belong to only one person. In short, the bar has shifted. Today’s standout essay must be not only well-written, but also unmistakably authentic and specific.

As we tell our students: If your essay could belong to anyone, it will belong to no one.

WRITING WITH FEELING

While AI tools can help with grammar or organization, they can’t replace the heart of the essay-writing process: deep personal reflection, strategic storytelling, and alignment with the rest of the application.

This is where professional guidance makes all the difference. At Top Tier Admissions, we help students reflect on their experiences, identify meaningful themes, and shape a narrative that highlights their growth and goals. For students interested, we also show them how to use AI responsibly and ethically—as a potential starting point, not a shortcut or as a ghostwriter.

AI can generate sentences, but it can’t choose which moments in a student’s life are worth writing about. It can’t teach a student to be vulnerable, or to trust their own voice. That’s where we come in.

THE POLICY LANDSCAPE: STILL EVOLVING

Colleges are handling AI in different ways. Some have issued clear statements discouraging its use, while others remain silent. A few are even experimenting with AI-detection software, though most of these tools are still highly unreliable and prone to false positives.

Caltech’s Ethical Use of AI: Guidelines for Fall 2026 Applicants is a useful framework:

Your essays are where we hear your voice. Relying on AI, specifically large language models such as ChatGPT or Bard, to craft your essay will dilute your unique expression and perspective. While we know AI tools have become readily accessible over recent months, overuse of AI will diminish your individual, bold, creative identity as a prospective Techer.

What are some examples of unethical uses of AI for Caltech admissions essays?

• Copying and pasting directly from an AI generator
• Relying on AI generated content to outline or draft an essay
• Replacing your unique voice and tone with AI generated content
• Translating an essay written in another language

What are some examples of ethical uses of AI for Caltech admissions essays?

• Using AI tools, like Grammarly or Microsoft Editor, to review grammar and spelling of your completed essays
• Generating questions or exercises to help kick start the brainstorming process
• Using AI to research the college application process

If you are still wondering whether your use of AI in crafting your application is ethical, ask yourself whether it would be ethical to have a trusted adult perform the same task you are asking of ChatGPT. Would a teacher be able to review your essay for grammatical and spelling errors? Of course! Would that same teacher write a draft of an essay for you to tweak and then submit? Definitely not.

Above all else, remember to be authentic to yourself when writing your essays. Our Caltech supplemental questions are designed to spark your curiosity, to make you think deeply about whether you see yourself as a Techer, and to jumpstart your creativity – don’t let a reliance on AI tools take that opportunity from you!

For students, this means there’s no single “rule” to follow across the board but there is a clear guiding principle: own your process. When students feel confident about how they developed their essay and proud of the story they’re telling, concerns about detection or policies tend to fade away.

WHAT MAKES A GREAT ESSAY IN 2025?

The best college essays in today’s admissions landscape share a few things in common. They are:

• Deeply personal
• Clearly aligned with the student’s academic and extracurricular path
• Emotionally resonant and thoughtfully structured

In other words, they sound human—because they are.

We help students craft essays that reflect who they are and where they’re headed. Our process is rooted in careful listening, intentional structure, and a deep understanding of how each piece of the application fits together.

AI may be changing the landscape, but human storytelling still wins.

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