Do colleges actually check if application essays were written by AI?
I'm starting to get a little anxious because I've been hearing a lot about schools using AI detectors to check application essays. I wrote my personal statement completely by myself, but I did use Grammarly and a couple of online tools to help with grammar and style. Now, I'm worried that this could mess with the AI detection and make my essay look suspicious even though it's my original work.
Is this something I should be worried about? Do colleges have the ability or even take the time to check every essay with special software? If so, what happens if something flags your essay as "AI-written" even if it really wasn't? I just don't want all my hard work to be thrown out over something like this.
Is this something I should be worried about? Do colleges have the ability or even take the time to check every essay with special software? If so, what happens if something flags your essay as "AI-written" even if it really wasn't? I just don't want all my hard work to be thrown out over something like this.
4 months ago
•
34 views
Camille Luong
• 4 months ago
Advisor
This is a really common worry, especially with all the talk about AI in college admissions lately. Here’s some perspective that might help ease your mind:
Most colleges do not routinely run every application essay through AI detection software. Admissions offices read thousands of essays and rely primarily on their experience and judgment to spot writing that doesn’t seem authentic, rather than depending solely on technology.
Some schools might use AI-detection tools in isolated cases—like if an essay sounds very different from the rest of your writing sample or application, or if something about it raises a specific suspicion. However, the software itself isn’t foolproof. Using services like Grammarly or similar grammar checkers is extremely common and completely acceptable. These tools help you polish your work, but they don’t write it for you.
Even if detection software flagged your essay as potentially ‘AI-generated,’ that alone wouldn’t automatically disqualify you. Admissions officers understand the limitations of these tools, and a flag just prompts a closer look, not an immediate rejection. If your essay matches your voice in your other materials (like your activities list, short responses, or school writing samples), that’s usually evidence enough of authenticity.
If you’re worried about style or consistency, you could consider keeping a draft of your original essay and notes you made during revisions. This isn’t required, but it can give you peace of mind.
For example, imagine you revised your essay with Grammarly and it cleaned up a few sentences or suggested better word choices. That’s expected and part of the normal editing process. Admissions officers can usually tell the difference between an essay polished for clarity and one entirely generated by a bot.
Ultimately, keep focusing on making your essay honest, unique, and reflective of your experiences. That’s what matters most to schools—and, as long as you wrote your essay yourself, you have nothing to fear from the software.
If you still feel uneasy, you can always reach out to an admissions officer at your school-of-interest and ask about their process. But truly, polishing your essay with tools like Grammarly is very normal, and colleges understand students want to put their best foot forward.
Most colleges do not routinely run every application essay through AI detection software. Admissions offices read thousands of essays and rely primarily on their experience and judgment to spot writing that doesn’t seem authentic, rather than depending solely on technology.
Some schools might use AI-detection tools in isolated cases—like if an essay sounds very different from the rest of your writing sample or application, or if something about it raises a specific suspicion. However, the software itself isn’t foolproof. Using services like Grammarly or similar grammar checkers is extremely common and completely acceptable. These tools help you polish your work, but they don’t write it for you.
Even if detection software flagged your essay as potentially ‘AI-generated,’ that alone wouldn’t automatically disqualify you. Admissions officers understand the limitations of these tools, and a flag just prompts a closer look, not an immediate rejection. If your essay matches your voice in your other materials (like your activities list, short responses, or school writing samples), that’s usually evidence enough of authenticity.
If you’re worried about style or consistency, you could consider keeping a draft of your original essay and notes you made during revisions. This isn’t required, but it can give you peace of mind.
For example, imagine you revised your essay with Grammarly and it cleaned up a few sentences or suggested better word choices. That’s expected and part of the normal editing process. Admissions officers can usually tell the difference between an essay polished for clarity and one entirely generated by a bot.
Ultimately, keep focusing on making your essay honest, unique, and reflective of your experiences. That’s what matters most to schools—and, as long as you wrote your essay yourself, you have nothing to fear from the software.
If you still feel uneasy, you can always reach out to an admissions officer at your school-of-interest and ask about their process. But truly, polishing your essay with tools like Grammarly is very normal, and colleges understand students want to put their best foot forward.
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Camille Luong
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Stanford University, BAH in Urban Studies
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5 years
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