Do Colleges Check for AI in Applications?

One of the major academic anxieties that students are feeling today is the question of authorship– specifically, will their work be accused of being generated by AI? It’s something that plagues students, even if they aren’t using ChatGPT. After all, AI checkers are extremely inaccurate. For example, one AI content detector identified the Declaration of Independence as AI generated. It claimed that there was a 98.1% likelihood that this document, written in 1771, was the output of a chatbot! 

The fact is, AI is developing so fast that it seems like nobody is really able to keep up with it and what it can do, and we often struggle with how to interpret its results. So let’s get to the heart of the issue: Are colleges actually checking for AI in application essays? 

How Admissions Departments Are Reacting to AI

School responses to AI in the application process are somewhat chaotic right now. We know that they don’t like it; for example, all of the schools that use the Common App consider substantive use of it fraud, as it has become a Common App policy. But are they doing anything about it? The short answer is that most schools are still trying to figure it out. While a few institutions have started experimenting with AI detection tools, the majority are proceeding very cautiously. 

Some colleges, like Duke, are rethinking the way they look at essays; instead of assigning a numerical value to them, the essays are viewed as a holistic contribution to the application. Other schools, like the University of Austin, are dropping the essay requirement entirely, instead asking for test scores and a list of up to three verifiable achievements, with no more than one sentence each.

Many admissions offices don’t use AI detectors at all, and those that do rarely treat the results as definitive. There’s widespread awareness that these tools are prone to error, and admissions officers generally don’t want to risk disqualifying a student based on a faulty reading. After all, even a 1% error rate means that for every 1,000 essays read, 10 students would be disqualified for academic misconduct they didn’t commit. That’s unacceptable, and universities know it.

What’s more common is that admissions staff read applications with a close eye for tone and consistency. If an essay feels off, it might raise concerns. If it’s too stiff, too generic, or too disconnected from the feeling of the rest of the application, it might raise concerns. But in most cases, those concerns don’t lead to formal accusations. Instead, the reader may just feel that the essay doesn’t leave much of an impression. 

Your essay needs to be authentic and readable for it to stand out– and that’s just not something AI can do. The real risk isn’t being “caught” using AI. The real risk is writing something forgettable. 

Your Voice Is Your Advantage

AI is one of the hottest topics in college education today, and both students and professors feel a great deal of anxiety about it. Teachers are still deciding how to respond when they suspect AI-assisted writing. Some are strict, some are lenient, and many are unsure what to believe. That uncertainty has made its way into the college admissions world, too. But unlike in a classroom setting, admissions offices aren’t trying to police behavior; they’re trying to understand who you are. And if your essay doesn’t give them a clear sense of that, then it won’t help you much.

One of the best ways to make your application stand out is by making sure your essay sounds like you. Many students try to mimic what they think “good writing” should sound like, which can lead to awkward phrasing, overly formal tone, or vague generalities. This is something AI writing tools tend to do as well. They use grammatically correct sentences, but the results often feel impersonal. You’ll get a highly polished vocabulary selection, true, but the message doesn’t always land. 

A related issue worth noting is that even when students write their own essays, they sometimes get flagged by AI checkers. Why? Because those tools are trained to identify patterns, not intent. If you naturally write in a structured, formal way, your essay might register as “too polished” to the reader. That’s frustrating when it is your authentic voice! But again, this is why most colleges don’t rely on AI detectors alone. They’re aware of the flaws and are much more interested in whether your essay makes sense in the broader context of your application and what it says about you.

This is another thing that AI can’t do– it cannot understand your experiences. When you’re writing your personal essay, you’re drawing on a wellspring of your own memories and insights. An AI model can’t explain how you felt in a particular moment. It can’t capture the small details that make your story real. It can’t reflect the way your thinking has changed, or the way a certain event helped you grow. These are deeply personal elements, and they matter a great deal in an application essay.

Readability Is Key

Once you’ve committed to authenticity, you also need to commit to improving readability by focusing on clarity and directness. That doesn’t mean the writing has to be simple or casual. It means that your ideas should come through easily, without forcing the reader to work too hard. Admissions readers are real people with full schedules. They often review dozens of essays in a single day. A confusing or clunky essay isn’t going to hold their attention. A clear, engaging one, written with care and personality, will stand out. 

You don’t have to use fancy language or complex syntax to impress them. What you need is a sense of presence in your writing, a voice that comes through as thoughtful, honest, and grounded in your experience. Think about how your sentences flow, how your paragraphs build on each other, and how your story unfolds. The more readable your essay is, the more memorable it becomes.

Worried About AI Accusations? Focus on The Process

If you’re worried about being wrongly accused of using AI, one of the smartest things you can do is write with intention throughout the process. That means writing drafts, reflecting on your content, and revising with purpose. Don’t try to sound like someone else’s version of a perfect student. Sound like yourself, but your best self: the version of you that’s thoughtful and reflective.

However, if you’re really worried, you should pay attention to common AI grammar usage. LMMs like ChatGPT have certain grammatical structures they use frequently; while it’s still ok to use them, because they are grammatically correct, people who are really concerned about AI usage will pay attention to these and will often accuse non-AI writing of being AI if they see these conventions. For example, ChatGPT tends to overuse the em dash and use the not only, but also sentence construction more frequently than human authors. You should also look for lists of words that are overused by AI: words like crucial, landscape, foster, elevate, and game-changer. You don’t have to avoid these entirely, especially if they’re the best word choice, but overusing them can make your essay feel less authentic.  

Your Essay Is Just Part Of Your Application

So what’s the best strategy going forward? Write your own essay, focus on telling your story clearly, and avoid relying on tools that try to write for you. You’re the expert on your own life, and your application is one of the few opportunities you have to show your colleges of choice how you see yourself and your future. 

Another important thing to consider, especially as more colleges take a new approach to the essay, is the strength of your complete application. If the Duke or Austin approach takes off, your standardized test scores and GPA may become even more important. That’s part of why you need to take the steps necessary to get these numbers as high as you possibly can– and at Prep Expert, we can help you with all parts of this process. Through our SAT and ACT prep courses, academic tutoring, and college admissions counseling, we can help you present universities with the best version of your authentic, college-ready self. A strong foundation for your application can give you the confidence to write an essay worth submitting.