31 Mar Do Colleges Check For AI In Application Essays?
The use of AI by some students has led to universities across the world being very strict when it comes to detecting AI content. They thoroughly check with the help of AI detection tools to see whether an essay is AI-generated or not. A student goes through several nerve-wracking moments while applying for college. As part of a college application process, at times students are required to submit certain academic documents such as an essay, resume, SOP, and LOR. The application essay is a way through which students get to introduce themselves to the admissions committee.
Most of these essays revolve around a student’s reasons for choosing a particular course at a university and its alignment with their career prospects. At times, a college can also ask its students to reflect upon their past experiences, discuss a significant event in their lives, or express their thoughts on a particular topic, in an essay. Now, something as personal as the above-mentioned details is best described when you write it on your own or seek help from professionals like Contentholic who have a team of the best essay writers. In this blog, we will get to see why students are using AI to write their essays and how the university admissions committee detects AI content in an application essay.
Why are Students using AI to Write Application Essays?
One needs to draw the line between the use of AI as an aid and relying upon it to write entire essays. As students look for a way to make their applications stand out, some of them might be tempted to use AI to write their college essays. Writing a college essay is time-consuming, due to which some students may feel overwhelmed and use shortcuts such as AI. At times, a student who is going through writer’s block or feels that s/he lacks efficient writing skills might end up using AI to write essays. Some students might also feel that AI might give them an edge, especially if they feel that they don’t have an attractive profile. While these reasons may make it seem like the use of AI is an easy and convenient way to write an essay, it also raises ethical concerns related to the use of AI in college essays.
How do Colleges get to know about AI use in Application Essays?
As the use of AI becomes prevalent, a question that is often asked is whether the colleges will check whether an essay is AI-generated or not. Well, the answer is yes. As a part of the review process, admissions officers are required to check whether the students have used AI or not in their essays. The primary reason to do so is to ensure fairness and maintain academic integrity. Colleges check for AI in application essays to accurately evaluate students’ abilities and experiences.
A university’s admission panel is quite skilled when it comes to detecting AI in an application essay and other academic documents. Let us understand what helps colleges in checking AI in an essay.
- Knowledge of AI Models- The admission officers know about several AI language models and their capabilities. Due to this, they can easily recognize phrases and patterns generated by these models, which enables them to detect AI in an essay.
- Inconsistency in Writing Style- Having read so many essays, admission officials can easily figure out abrupt changes in tone, structure, and vocabulary that are generated by AI in an application essay. Also, in an AI-written essay, the information that is presented is often in contrast to an applicant’s views and thought process, which further enables an admissions officer to raise suspicion about the use of AI.
- No Personal Connection- A college essay is a medium through which you get to raise your voice and express your experiences, values, and aspirations. What a university seeks is authenticity and emotional depth in an essay, which AI fails to produce. It writes in a mechanized manner which fails to develop a personal connection that makes it easier for the admissions officer to know that you have used AI.
- Plagiarism Detection Tools and Software employ advanced algorithms to check the similarities between an essay and existing AI-produced content or previously submitted essays. This helps the admission panel know what has been copied from AI or used as a basis on which the essay has been written. Programs like Grammarly, Turnitin, and CopyScape can easily identify content in an essay that matches AI-generated content and the existing sources on the Internet.
Risks of Using AI to Write an Application Essay
The use of AI to write an entire college essay raises several concerns. A college application process involves the university being fair and just with its admissions and students being honest about their profiles. An application essay requires a student to express his/her true personality, experiences, and thoughts. Whereas, the use of AI distorts personal expression and is a dishonest way of applying to a college.
To ensure fairness, almost all universities have stringent policies related to plagiarism. If they detect AI in an essay, they end up rejecting the student’s application and at times also blacklist them from applying further at their university. Admission officers seek essays that provide insight into a student’s character, interests, and potential. On the other hand, an essay written by AI lacks the depth and originality that the admission panel looks for. In essence, AI undermines the importance of writing an essay that helps a college evaluate the applicants as individuals, worthy of being accepted into their institution or not.
Professional Help for Writing an Application Essay
With the rise in the number of international students applying for higher studies abroad, the importance of academic writing has increased. You can find several agencies that have a dedicated team of writers who provide essay writing services. An essay forms an essential part of a college application process. It gives a student a chance to express his/her interest in a specific field of study at a university and about their values and aspirations. It is your way to tell the admissions committee how you are likely to benefit from studying at their institution and how you can be an asset to them.
At times, certain students are not very confident in their writing skills, which might make them want to take the help of AI. However, instead of using AI, you should get guidance from professional academic writers who have years of experience in this domain. They are quite familiar with the nuances of essay writing. Trusting them with the writing of your essay requires you to submit accurate details about your background, academic and work life, interest in studying abroad, and its alignment with your goals and job prospects, along with the prescribed university guidelines. They will take the time to understand your profile and your choice of course and university and do the necessary research. Then, they will get down to writing your essay, by customizing it as per your needs, and demands. Not only this, but they are ready to proofread and review your essay and provide you with valuable insights to improve your writing.
Conclusion
The purpose of a college essay stands defeated when a student uses AI to write it. It is meant to share your views, experiences, and aspirations with the admissions committee. This is best represented when you write it in your own words, as it brings out your originality and creativity. With the increasing use of AI in the academic sphere, the admissions committees across all colleges are quite adept at detecting AI-generated content. An essay is written to showcase not just a student’s writing ability but also to assess his/her personality and thought process. It is not about writing what a machine thinks. AI fails to resonate with human emotions and perspective and therefore, one should not use it to write an essay or any other academic document.
If you want more clarity when it comes to writing an essay, it is better to seek help from skilled writers working with Contentholic. We provide one of the best SOP writing services in India. Our writers are quite experienced and write as per the assigned format and guidelines. Do feel free to contact us.
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