I Hate This Ess(AI)!
Imagine you’re evaluating freshman applications for the University of California system, and one of the applications features the following essay:
As a high school senior in the United States, I have faced my fair share of educational barriers. But instead of letting these obstacles hold me back, I have worked tirelessly to overcome them and take advantage of every opportunity available to me.
One of the most significant educational opportunities I have had was the chance to participate in a summer program at a local university. For two weeks, I attended classes and workshops on topics such as neuroscience, computer science, and psychology. It was an eye-opening experience that allowed me to explore fields I had never considered before.
However, the application process for this program was incredibly competitive, and I almost didn't make the cut. But I refused to give up, and I poured my heart and soul into my application essays. In the end, my hard work paid off, and I was accepted into the program.
Another educational barrier I have faced is the fact that I am a non-native English speaker. When I first moved to the United States, I struggled to keep up with my classmates, who had been speaking English their entire lives. But instead of letting this discourage me, I took every opportunity to improve my language skills. I spent hours every day practicing my English, both through formal classes and informal conversations with my peers.
Fortunately for the University of California, this was NOT written by an applicant. It was written by ChatGPT, the most widely known free Artificial Intelligence writing bot.
Make it stand out.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story can make all the difference.
I fed ChatGPT the following instructions including the UC essay prompt: “Write an essay in 350 words or fewer in first person from the point of view of a US high school senior: Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.” What you just read is what it generated.
On the surface of things, there’s nothing wrong with the essay. The grammar is flawless, the spelling is perfect, and there isn’t a comma out of place. It also exemplifies what’s wrong with all mediocre college essays; it’s soulless.
The University of California essay prompts are called “PIQs”: “Personal Insight Questions.” The point of these essays, and all college essays, really, is to provide some insight into your, well, personhood. Who are you beyond your grades, your AP scores, and your extracurricular activities? If those things are the black and white outline of your portrait, the essays provide the color. The ChatGPT essay is completely colorless. I know NOTHING about the writer based on this. Is the writer smart? Passionate? Funny? A great dancer? A Pez dispenser collector? The essay has fulfilled the parameters of the prompt, but has accomplished nothing that it was supposed to.
I’ll give ChatGPT a pass on this one, seeing as it literally has no soul (ironically claiming to have “poured” its “heart and soul”!) But YOU do.
To give this some more context, consider that the UC system received over 200,000 freshman applications this admissions cycle. The essay produced by ChatGPT would never stand out in a field of 200,000. Heck, I doubt you can remember much about it even now; I know I can’t. That essay would only be the tiniest bit better than writing nothing at all: the equivalent of writing your name on a test paper and turning it in otherwise blank.
So there are two morals to this story. The first one you’ve already figured out; don’t try to write your application essays with AI. Even if the schools don’t detect it (which some of them are already working on), it will be a lousy essay.
The second moral is a little more subtle but much more important; don’t let the essay that you *do* write *sound* as though AI wrote it. If you read back over your draft and it sounds as generic and vague and colorless as the AI essay, then you need to go back and inject some soul! What are the rare and wonderful things about you that the admissions committee should know? What in your essay is going to make someone in an admissions meeting stand up and say, “This student would make our school a better (smarter, kinder, funnier, livelier) place- we need to vote yes!”
So the choice is yours. Have AI write your college essays, or write your own essays running the risk that you don’t sound any more soulful than an AI essay. There is a third choice (and obviously it’s the one I recommend); work with a professional admissions consultant. Admissions consultants have worked with hundreds of student essays and can help you brainstorm the best topics, create the best structure, and polish the best final draft.
Where do you find an admissions consultant? Fortunately for you, I know a guy. Call today (+1 888 997 4945), or browse my website and fill out an interest form. Let’s have a chat about what I can do to help you craft your best possible college application.