Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the college admissions process for applicants and admissions officers. Whether you're using ChatGPT to brainstorm ideas or colleges that use algorithms to screen essays and transcripts, AI is here to stay in college admissions. How can you use it to your advantage while being cautious of its pitfalls?

With all these changes come big questions: How should students use AI responsibly? Is it fair for colleges to use AI to evaluate applications? And most importantly, what does AI in college applications mean for you?

AI usage statistics

According to Education Week, nearly one in three high school seniors admitted to using AI tools like ChatGPT during the 2023–24 application cycle. Of those students:

• About half used AI for brainstorming, revising, or grammar support.
• Around 6% used it to draft complete essays.

Where AI falls short

Many educators and admissions officers argue that using AI is no different from asking a teacher or mentor for help. But others aren’t so sure. Education Week reports that essays flagged as AI-written were often rated less authentic regarding the applicant's voice and style than those edited by humans. AI-written content also lacks crucial parts of your application, like personal voice, emotional depth, and reflection. The impact beyond your application essay is that if you’re relying too heavily on AI for your college application essay, you’re lacking imperative writing skills that you’ll need later for your academic and professional career.

Many top institutions like Brown are not using AI detectors like Brown despite having a zero tolerance for AI policy. They are simply relying on the honors system, like they have always done regarding application essays. AI detectors are not entirely accurate and are unreliable. They’ve been shown to flag writing by students who are not native English speakers, even if they didn’t use AI. Kristin Woelfel, a policy counsel specializing in equity in civic technology for the Center for Democracy & Technology, a nonprofit organization that aims to shape technology policy, believes that these detectors could even harm students' civil rights.

Even if schools like Brown rely on the honors system and may not detect AI-written essays, submitting one isn’t in your best interest. As The Nation points out, the personal essay is a key part of the application meant to reveal your unique passions, motivations, and identity, things a chatbot can not convey for you. The story you tell is uniquely yours, using AI to write your essay risks losing the very qualities that make it meaningful.

How colleges are using AI

You’re not the only one using AI; colleges are too. According to a poll by Intelligent, eight in ten colleges planned to use AI in some part of the admissions process during the 2024 cycle. Over 70% of schools said they use AI to scan for plagiarism or evaluate transcripts and letters of recommendation. Sixty percent said they currently use AI to review personal essays.

This raises further questions: Does AI favor certain types of writing? Does it disadvantage some students? And how should institutions use AI ethically and consistently? The truth is, most colleges haven’t fully figured out how to use AI in admissions. Many are still working to create a clear, transparent plan that outlines how and how not to use AI when reviewing applications. With the ever-changing landscape of technology, this is easier said than done.

How can you leverage AI

AI is helping level the playing field for students who may lack access to the same college application support, like parents or private counselors, that others have relied on for years. Creating an unlevel playing field where students of higher economic backgrounds are favored. Jennifer Rubin, a senior researcher at foundry10, an education research organization, explains, “But it might provide students some form of feedback that they might not be able to get in their lives because they don’t have parents or caregivers” who have the savvy to help.

You shouldn’t be scared to use modern technology in your college applications, but ensure you use it correctly. Read colleges’ policies on AI, and use it to support and enhance what you’ve already written, not to replace you. Rick Clark, the director of undergraduate admissions at Georgia Tech, shares, “We know students are using it in their own academic work in high school, so if they’re going to, let’s give them some guardrails.”

Georgia Tech, among many other institutions, has started implementing guidelines on how to use AI. They state, “Your ultimate submission should be your own,” meaning that you should never copy and paste from a chatbot, but instead use AI to brainstorm essay ideas, organize your thoughts, and edit. They encourage you to use AI similarly to how you would use it as you would if collaborating with other people. Caltech has a similar statement on AI. Schools like Georgia Tech and Cal Tech want to hear your story and see you; your essay needs to show who you are, and only you can do that. AI is most helpful when it gives feedback to share your story with more specificity, clarity, and focus.

Impacts of AI in higher education access

When used well, AI can serve as a powerful tool to reduce gaps in access to higher education. On the admissions side, 80% of college college counselors surveyed believe AI will improve fairness in evaluating college applications.

Meanwhile on the application side, AI tools can help bridge the gap in access to quality college counseling. The average US public high school college counselor oversees 405 students, leaving them barely any time to help each student. Meanwhile, the average cost for a private college advisor is about $5000 as of 2018. The efficacy and full impacts of AI as an editor are still being studied, but current studies show positive results. A 2025 study found that AI feedback led to significant improvements in essay quality for students, and qualitative findings showed increased engagement and motivation. AI feedback tools make vital feedback accessible to a much broader group of students. As Clark puts it, “It’s free, it’s accessible, and it’s helpful. It’s progress toward equity.”

Esslo is created with this goal in mind: to support students in the college admissions process while upholding academic integrity. Esslo never writes essays for students. Instead, it offers personalized suggestions, line-by-line feedback, and scores essays in categories that reflect what admissions officers look for. Every piece of feedback is crafted to guide the student in sharing their unique voice and story with more specificity, clarity and focus. Platforms like Esslo are making quality college application support more affordable and accessible, helping every student put their best foot forward.