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As AI tools become more common in college admissions, authenticity still reigns. This article explores why a student's real voice matters most and offers practical advice for crafting a genuine, standout essay.
Artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT are becoming a routine part of the college admissions process—for students and, increasingly, for admissions offices themselves. Some colleges, like UNC Chapel Hill, now use AI to score writing quality before a human ever reads an essay. Others, like Duke, have stopped assigning numerical scores to essays altogether, opting for a more holistic review.
In this changing landscape, one question keeps coming up for students and parents alike:
Can a chatbot write a better college essay than a student?
The short answer is no. And that’s a good thing.
Students who take the time to reflect, write honestly, and revise with care often produce essays that stand out—not because they sound professional, but because they sound like themselves.
Admissions officers aren’t looking for a flawless narrative. They’re looking for genuine insight: how a student thinks, what they care about, and how they’ve grown.
This year reinforced a key truth: The most impactful essays weren’t the ones that sounded impressive. They were the ones that felt human.
More students are experimenting with AI during the writing process—to brainstorm, organize ideas, or overcome writer’s block. Used sparingly, AI can help students feel less overwhelmed.
But when AI becomes the author, the student’s voice often disappears.
Admissions offices are taking note. In 2024, Duke University revised its essay review process. Rather than scoring essays numerically, Duke readers now focus more holistically on authenticity—a direct response to the rise in AI-generated content.
Caltech also took a firm stance: “Overuse of AI will diminish your individual, bold, creative identity as a prospective CalTecher,” their admissions team stated. They made it clear that they don’t want essays that read like ChatGPT. They want to hear the student.
This was the theme of the year: It’s not whether AI can help; it’s whether the essay still sounds like the student. If the voice is lost, the connection is too.
The best essays don’t try to sound like they were written by a professional. They sound like a student who has taken the time to reflect on what matters.
They are specific. Grounded in lived experience. Imperfect, but real.
MIT Admissions puts it this way: “There is no formula for a great essay, and there is no one way to be authentic.”
That’s the point. The personal statement isn’t a performance. It’s a reflection.
What admissions officers value most is a clear, personal perspective. This often comes through meaningful stories that may take a bit of reflective digging to access:
These essays don’t try to impress. They try to connect. And they do.
Here’s what students consistently do better than any chatbot:
Students have lived the moments they’re writing about. They know the details. They know how it felt. Whether they’re writing about a family responsibility, a challenge at school, or a meaningful success, the insight is theirs. AI can’t replicate that.
AI tends to sound polished and neutral. It avoids risk. Students can write with curiosity, vulnerability, or humor—and those are the moments that resonate with readers.
AI repeats patterns. Students generate insight. They can reflect on how experiences shaped their values and how past challenges connect to future goals. These personal connections make essays memorable.
AI isn’t going away. Students will continue to explore it. But this year made one thing clear:
The most effective essays still came from students who wrote with intention, reflection, and their own voice.
As colleges adapt their review practices in response to AI, the emphasis on authenticity will only grow. The personal statement remains one of the few places where students can shape how they’re understood, and that’s most powerful when the voice is unmistakably their own.
