Georgia Tech proudly announced, “We believe there is a place for Artificial Intelligence tools to help you generate ideas, but your ultimate submission should be your own.” In fact, Georgia Tech is one of the first schools to provide an official statement on the use of AI college applications. Ironically, universities such as Georgia Tech are also experimenting with the use of AI in college admissions to manage the growing volume of applications, from automated application reviews to predictive modeling for enrollment management. Such use, however, raises real concerns about fairness, transparency, and the human element in decision-making.
In this article, we will explore how universities are leveraging AI, the utility and drawbacks of applicants’ use of it, and strategies for maintaining a healthy balance for the future.
Universities’ Leveraging AI for the Admissions Process
Many universities have embraced AI to streamline admissions processes. According to a survey by Intelligent, 8 in 10 universities will leverage AI in college admissions this coming cycle in 2024. The survey points out that the most common uses of AI in admissions are conducting interviews, communicating with applicants, reviewing transcripts, letters of recommendation, and even personal essays. Georgia Tech, for example, has been experimenting with using AI to sift through large data sets, evaluating thousands of applications more efficiently. NC State University is utilizing AI to process transcripts by extracting key information like student coursework and transfer credits.
While some view AI as a tool to streamline the admissions processes, others approach its adoption more cautiously, given the potential equity implications from AI biases that emerge when evaluating and selecting applicants. Indeed, the possibility of ‘depersonalization’ can result when AI-driven evaluations overlook more nuanced qualities crucial for a candidate’s holistic assessment.
The Pitfalls of Using AI in College Application Essays
Many applicants have shared how tools like ChatGPT have helped democratize the scholarship process, giving them a chance to express themselves in unimaginable ways. This is especially the case where applicants may lack access to support and assistance in the admissions process. In fact, Georgia Tech goes on to state in its official statement on AI: “Use it to brainstorm, edit, and refine your ideas.” Some education companies like Khan Academy are capitalizing on this by creating tools like Khanmigo to help applicants generate ideas. This is definitely a great use case for AI in terms of helping with ideation, stress-testing thoughts, and structuring essays in a clearer, more cogent manner.
As a company, we have worked with thousands of college and graduate applicants over the past 15 years and discovered that one of the most important parts of the application process is authentically conveying the story you tell. The main issue with the use of AI is the cliche, vague, and frankly generic emotions churned out by such platforms as ChatGPT, YouChat, or Bard. Many have complained of the dearth of ‘sensory’ detail and raw emotions that are missing from AI-generated essays. Not to mention, such machine-generated output completely undermines the introspective and cathartic nature of crafting application materials for college or even graduate studies.
In the Inside the Yale Admissions Office podcast by Dunn and Mendlowitz, the hosts state, “When students submit written content to colleges, they must sign a statement affirming that all work submitted is the applicant’s own. Submitting work written by ChatGPT or another generative AI model violates this affirmation.” This is because admissions committees still look far more favorably on a candidate who has taken the time to ideate, draft, and re-edit their materials in their unique voice rather than curate AI content that is copy-pasted and passed off as their own, raising ethical issues and undermining the integrity of the process.
Universities’ Leveraging AI for the Admissions Process
Many universities have embraced AI to streamline admissions processes. According to a survey by Intelligent, 8 in 10 universities will leverage AI in college admissions this coming cycle in 2024. The survey points out that the most common uses of AI in admissions are conducting interviews, communicating with applicants, reviewing transcripts, letters of recommendation, and even personal essays. Georgia Tech, for example, has been experimenting with using AI to sift through large data sets, evaluating thousands of applications more efficiently. NC State University is utilizing AI to process transcripts by extracting key information like student coursework and transfer credits.
While some view AI as a tool to streamline the admissions processes, others approach its adoption more cautiously, given the potential equity implications from AI biases that emerge when evaluating and selecting applicants. Indeed, the possibility of ‘depersonalization’ can result when AI-driven evaluations overlook more nuanced qualities crucial for a candidate’s holistic assessment.
The Pitfalls of Using AI in College Application Essays
Many applicants have shared how tools like ChatGPT have helped democratize the scholarship process, giving them a chance to express themselves in unimaginable ways. This is especially the case where applicants may lack access to support and assistance in the admissions process. In fact, Georgia Tech goes on to state in its official statement on AI: “Use it to brainstorm, edit, and refine your ideas.” Some education companies like Khan Academy are capitalizing on this by creating tools like Khanmigo to help applicants generate ideas. This is definitely a great use case for AI in terms of helping with ideation, stress-testing thoughts, and structuring essays in a clearer, more cogent manner.
As a company, we have worked with thousands of college and graduate applicants over the past 15 years and discovered that one of the most important parts of the application process is authentically conveying the story you tell. The main issue with the use of AI is the cliche, vague, and frankly generic emotions churned out by such platforms as ChatGPT, YouChat, or Bard. Many have complained of the dearth of ‘sensory’ detail and raw emotions that are missing from AI-generated essays. Not to mention, such machine-generated output completely undermines the introspective and cathartic nature of crafting application materials for college or even graduate studies.
In the Inside the Yale Admissions Office podcast by Dunn and Mendlowitz, the hosts state, “When students submit written content to colleges, they must sign a statement affirming that all work submitted is the applicant’s own. Submitting work written by ChatGPT or another generative AI model violates this affirmation.” This is because admissions committees still look far more favorably on a candidate who has taken the time to ideate, draft, and re-edit their materials in their unique voice rather than curate AI content that is copy-pasted and passed off as their own, raising ethical issues and undermining the integrity of the process.
“Note, it’s not hard for administrators to see the difference, especially with the rising use of tools like GPTZero, which helps distinguish between human and machine-generated content.”
Parting Thoughts The AI revolution is just beginning, and its vast uses are critical for shaping the future. This is especially the case in education and even in the admissions space. However, AI requires careful navigation. Universities must balance efficiency with fairness and transparency, ensuring AI complements human judgment rather than replacing it. They must have a human-in-the-loop to ensure accountability in AI systems and only use them alongside human expertise to mitigate biases and oversights. While no one can deny the democratizing nature of AI in helping students better reflect, ideate, and structure their thoughts, applicants must preserve the authenticity of their own application materials. We, therefore, anticipate, and frankly hope, that official statements such as Georgia Tech’s will become the norm, not the exception, to help reduce confusion for all those involved in the process. Further, there needs to be a balanced approach that combines AI with the human experience to harness its full potential while upholding the integrity of the application process for both applicants and admissions committees.
