Is it okay to use Grammarly for editing my college essays?
I'm about to start writing my main Common App essay and a few supplements. I've heard mixed things about using tools like Grammarly to help with editing. Some of my friends say it's totally fine and just makes your writing clearer, but my English teacher mentioned that colleges might want to see your 'real voice.'
Has anyone used Grammarly for their essays and did it actually help? I'm worried if I rely on it too much, the essay might not sound like me anymore but I also don't want to submit something with grammar mistakes. Would colleges even be able to tell if I used something like Grammarly? I'd love to hear what people think or if there's a rule about this.
Has anyone used Grammarly for their essays and did it actually help? I'm worried if I rely on it too much, the essay might not sound like me anymore but I also don't want to submit something with grammar mistakes. Would colleges even be able to tell if I used something like Grammarly? I'd love to hear what people think or if there's a rule about this.
4 months ago
•
80 views
Camille Luong
• 4 months ago
Advisor
Using Grammarly or similar editing tools is generally fine for college essays as long as you’re using it as a support, not a replacement for your own editing and voice. Grammarly is great at catching basic spelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes that could distract from your ideas, and this can help polish your writing.
Colleges are primarily interested in your ideas, personality, and authentic voice, not just whether you know where commas go. If Grammarly suggests changes that make your sentences clearer or fix obvious errors, those are usually worth accepting. Where you want to be careful is with stylistic or vocabulary suggestions that start changing how you naturally express yourself. If an edit makes a sentence sound less like something you’d say, or the language feels less personal, it’s perfectly okay to stick with your original phrasing.
For example, say your draft sentence is: "Last summer, I worked at an ice cream shop where I learned a lot about teamwork." Grammarly might suggest: "During the previous summer, I was employed at an ice cream parlor, gaining plenty of insight into effective collaboration." That revised sentence is technically correct, but doesn’t sound like most high school students. If changes like that happen, you can ignore them.
There’s no rule against using spellcheckers or grammar tools, and admissions officers can’t tell you’ve used Grammarly just from reading your essay. The only risk is if the essay feels too polished, stiff, or unlike a 17-year-old’s writing. To avoid this, always read your essay out loud—if something feels unnatural, revert it back to your own words.
A good process is to draft your essay, run it through Grammarly for obvious errors, and then review it yourself to make sure you haven’t lost your voice. You could also have a teacher or friend read your essay and ask if it still sounds like you. Remember, these tools are just a first step—a lot of the best editing comes from reading your work out loud or getting feedback from a real person who knows your style.
Colleges are primarily interested in your ideas, personality, and authentic voice, not just whether you know where commas go. If Grammarly suggests changes that make your sentences clearer or fix obvious errors, those are usually worth accepting. Where you want to be careful is with stylistic or vocabulary suggestions that start changing how you naturally express yourself. If an edit makes a sentence sound less like something you’d say, or the language feels less personal, it’s perfectly okay to stick with your original phrasing.
For example, say your draft sentence is: "Last summer, I worked at an ice cream shop where I learned a lot about teamwork." Grammarly might suggest: "During the previous summer, I was employed at an ice cream parlor, gaining plenty of insight into effective collaboration." That revised sentence is technically correct, but doesn’t sound like most high school students. If changes like that happen, you can ignore them.
There’s no rule against using spellcheckers or grammar tools, and admissions officers can’t tell you’ve used Grammarly just from reading your essay. The only risk is if the essay feels too polished, stiff, or unlike a 17-year-old’s writing. To avoid this, always read your essay out loud—if something feels unnatural, revert it back to your own words.
A good process is to draft your essay, run it through Grammarly for obvious errors, and then review it yourself to make sure you haven’t lost your voice. You could also have a teacher or friend read your essay and ask if it still sounds like you. Remember, these tools are just a first step—a lot of the best editing comes from reading your work out loud or getting feedback from a real person who knows your style.
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Camille Luong
Nomadic
Stanford University, BAH in Urban Studies
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5 years
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