--- title: "Oh God… Kids Are About to Start Writing College Application Essays Using ChatGPT" description: "College applicants will soon be using it on their admissions essays — and there's a lot to unpack for colleges." date: "2023-09-04" modified: "2023-09-06" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/college-admissions-essays-chatgpt" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "OpenAI" tags: - "academia" - "chatgpt" - "college" - "the digest" --- # Oh God… Kids Are About to Start Writing College Application Essays Using ChatGPT ![College applicants will soon be using it on their admissions essays — and there's a lot to unpack for colleges.]() *Teenage girl with headphones and laptop having online school class at home \Image: Carol Yepes/Getty Images\* ## Apply Yourself College application season will swiftly be upon graduating high school seniors, and with the advent of generative AI looming over pretty much everything, there's no doubt that some of those soon-to-be-adults will be using the help of AI chatbots like ChatGPT to complete what is undoubtedly one of the worst parts of applying to schools. As recent reporting in the [*New York Times*]() and [other]() [outlets]() note, ChatGPT and its competitors are often *just okay* at [writing short essays on their own]() — but if used as an editing tool, or to help outline or brainstorm, this tech may [shift the college applications process]() in a significant way. To ban or not to ban is the question, though as [*NYT* education writer Natasha Singer reports](), very few colleges or universities have thus far put rules on the books about using generative AI on applicant essays. Those who have acknowledged the technology, which in its current iteration is still so new that it was barely breaking through last year's application season, have taken stances as varied as the schools themselves. As the *NYT* notes, the University of Michigan Law School [cautioned that applicants]() "ought not use ChatGPT or other artificial intelligence tools as part of their drafting process," but noted, somewhat confusingly, that they can "ask pre-law advisors, mentors, friends, or others for basic proofreading assistance and general feedback and critiques." The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, meanwhile, said that applicants may "[use this technology responsibly]()" when writing their application essays — as long as they make sure what they're writing is true. ## Forgiveness vs. Permission As such, the question college applicants are now facing isn't whether they're *allowed* to use AI chatbots to write their essays, but in what ways they might be useful if they choose to do so — and if they do, how they can edit the writing so as not to get caught. The entire debacle sounds awfully frustrating, not to mention dystopian. There's no doubt that AI chatbots can help with some of the more menial writing tasks faced by students — and white collar workers, and teachers, and lots of other folks — from crafting outlines to grammatical proofreading and fact-checking, though as most of us know by now, [AI has a strange relationship to facts](). At the end of the day, ChatGPT has in a certain light made everyone's lives harder — and along with the normal [existential questions]() facing young adults when [applying to college](), they now have to grapple with whether to use AI, too. **More on AI writing:** [*USA Today Owner Pauses AI Articles After Butchering Sports Coverage*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()