Applying to college can be extremely stressful for students and their parents alike. Some people are turning to artificial intelligence to help make this process a little easier. Generative AI is still a relatively new technology, but it’s already changing the college application process in surprising ways.
So before you complete your next application, learn how the admissions process is evolving to incorporate AI.
The importance of college essays is waning.
The first domino to fall was an essay from a prestigious university. These essays are intended to give students an opportunity to showcase their personality, writing voice, and writing ability. But some teens are turning to AI to speed up the essay writing process, and colleges are taking notice.
Unfortunately, there is no reliable way to identify AI writing. As a result, many universities don’t put as much emphasis on these essays as a whole.
How many students are using AI to write their college essays? It’s impossible to know for sure. “Scholarships360” is a website that helps students find scholarships. ran essays for 1,000 students Through our AI detection tools, we flagged 42%. And while AI detection tools are notoriously unreliable, research shows that more than half of Gen Zers use AI on a weekly basis, including to help with college applications.
Will Geiger, CEO of Scholarship360, told The Hechinger Report that he started noticing how students’ essays used similar words to each other, and how sterile each essay felt, full of words that teenagers wouldn’t normally use. According to Geiger, the format and length were also perfectly acceptable.
duke university famously stopped One of the main reasons why students’ application essays are given numerical grades or even not considered at all is because of AI. “Essays are part of our understanding of applicants. We no longer assume that essays accurately reflect students’ actual writing abilities.” said Christoph Guttentag, director of undergraduate admissions at Duke University, said: duke chronicle.
Students are not the only ones using AI
According to Research by Foundry10almost 30% of students and Teachers now consistently use AI for college applications. As mentioned earlier, students are primarily using AI to write admissions and scholarship essays, and teachers are using it to write letters of recommendation, which are often included in college applications.
This was a double-edged sword. While AI has certainly made it easier for teachers and students to create these essays and letters, if they sound like they were generated by AI, it can negatively impact a student’s application, even if they aren’t.
Additionally, Foundry10 research shows that letters and essays written with AI are generally considered less reliable and competent than those written by hand.
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Universities often use AI during admissions as well
Despite the general mistrust of AI-generated college essays, many universities still trust technology to read and summarize the same student essays. became one of Virginia Tech America’s first major public university The official adoption of such a system, which uses AI to screen students’ essays during admission, will be introduced in the 2025-26 school year. Universities like UNC-Chapel Hill are also using AI to analyze applicant essays.
At the other end of the spectrum, some universities are also using AI to check AI writing. For example, Brigham Young University uses software to check AI-generated content and plagiarism. California Institute of Technology AI is also utilized They may also analyze research projects from applicants and assist with initial interviews.
around graduate pilot, Roughly 50% of U.S. admissions offices now use AI in at least some way, including reading essays, checking for plagiarism, summarizing letters of recommendation, and processing transcripts. The true number is unknown, as it is estimated that many universities are using AI without saying so to avoid media scrutiny.
Students applying to universities should expect their universities to make some use of AI.
Some universities have completely banned the use of AI.
Whether or not your application is flagged due to the use of AI largely depends on which university you apply to. University of Georgia No problem at all Students are using AI responsibly and even pilot program In 2026, some students will be licensed to use ChatGPT. Therefore, using generative AI for the Georgia application is probably perfectly fine as long as most of the work is done by the students.
Other universities have taken a tougher approach, banning the use of AI entirely and promising to penalize students who use it. brown university That’s one of them For example, if students are prohibited from using AI for anything other than “basic proofreading.” Other universities with similar restrictions include Georgetown University, Yale University, and Duke University.
Therefore, as part of the application process for students in 2026 and beyond, you should review the AI policies of the universities you apply to. If you use AI in the wrong way or apply to the wrong university, you could be automatically rejected.
New AI tools for college admissions
Students and parents now have access to a plethora of new tools to help them prepare and apply for college. This includes tools that young people may use every day, such as ChatGPT and Grammarly, as well as specialized tools for tracking enrollment. Tools like Kollegio, ESAI, and KapAdvisor can help young people streamline the application process and find schools to apply to.
There are also plenty of AI learning tools for high school students who need help with homework, SAT/ACT preparation, and other assignments.
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Finally, some students are using AI as a general-purpose admissions counselor. new york times Recently reported. While ChatGPT can help students find colleges to apply to or simply act as a counseling center, students should also be aware that AI chatbots can still hallucinate or make mistakes.
AI will continue to change the admissions process
Just as digitalization did nearly 30 years ago, AI will continue to transform the college admissions process. In the old days, applicants had to do everything on physical paper until the internet revolutionized the process and allowed students to apply to more colleges faster with less effort.
AI’s ability to automate many processes has similar potential, and in some cases is already helping students and admissions officers. Rules are still being created in real-time as universities navigate the AI landscape and students find new ways to use AI.
In the meantime, the best practice is to not rely on AI for personal essays and to check the university’s AI policy before applying.
Disclosure: Mashable’s parent company, Ziff Davis, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April 2025, alleging that it infringed on Ziff Davis’ copyrights in the training and operation of its AI systems.
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