Skip to main content
What are your chances of acceptance?
Your chance of acceptance
Duke University
Loading…
UCLA
Loading…
+ add school
Your chancing factors
Unweighted GPA: 3.7
1.0
4.0
SAT: 720 math
200
800
| 800 verbal
200
800

Extracurriculars

Low accuracy (4 of 18 factors)

College Admissions and Plagiarism

Hi everyone, I've been wondering, do college admissions officers actually check our application essays for plagiarism? If so, how do they go about doing this, and what tools do they use?

a year ago

Hello! College admissions officers do indeed check application essays for plagiarism. While not every single essay may be scrutinized in depth, you should always assume that your essay will be checked. In fact, many colleges and universities use various anti-plagiarism tools to detect any cases of plagiarism in the essays they receive. Some common tools used are Turnitin and SafeAssign.

These tools are designed to scan the content of your essay and look for similarities between the text and any published material available online, as well as databases of previously submitted college application essays. The tools generate a similarity report, which highlights the percentage of text overlapping with other sources. If the similarity percentage is too high, it indicates potential plagiarism.

That said, you should always submit original work and never think about plagiarizing any content for your application essay. Plagiarism is a serious academic offense and can lead to consequences ranging from rejection of your application to potential legal issues (depending on the source of the plagiarized content). Instead, focus on writing an essay that showcases your unique experiences and perspectives.

Crafting an authentic, personal essay will not only help you avoid plagiarism concerns but also increase your chances of impressing the admissions officers and getting accepted into your chosen college. So, put your best effort into creating something that reflects who you are, and you'll be on the right track!

a year ago

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.