How does college vine ensure that essays are not stolen/used by someone else?

Answered

Great question @anupamkhar!

We understand people have concerns about plagiarism and we take the issue extremely seriously. We want people feeling safe and comfortable when they submit their essays so here's what we have in our system to prevent plagiarism:

(1) we assign a unique fingerprint to all submitted essays. We use this to verify the original author and track down potential bad actors.

(2) we remove all access to the essay once a review is complete. Only the submitter will continue to have access.

(3) we have an automated system in place to permanently ban any bad actors from using the essay review if we catch any suspicious or flagged activities.

Even with these measures in place, we know that cheaters will find ways to cheat. And we know this has big consequences in admissions for both the original author and the student who plagiarized another’s work. If we suspect plagiarism, we have measures in place to work with the students and universities to ensure we can protect our students and their hard work.

Keep in mind that college essays are also meant to be a personal narrative which means the risk of someone stealing your work is less than a typical argumentative or persuasive essay from school. Your essay is going to include unique experiences you've had, lessons you've learned in life, and other unique personality touches that make it more difficult for someone to steal and include in their essay. Oftentimes the authenticity of an essay doesn't feel the same if someone is trying to replicate what they read without actually having experienced it.

If you have any suggestions on changes we can make so you feel like your essays are safe and secure from plagiarism don't hesitate to let us know!