What's up, fellow applicants? I've heard rumors that the Common App can detect AI-generated essays. Is that true? I'm not planning on using an AI to write my essay, just curious about how the platform works.
Hey there! It's true that the Common App, as well as many colleges, use plagiarism-detection tools to ensure the authenticity of submitted essays. While these tools are primarily designed to detect copied content from public sources or previously submitted essays, they are also becoming increasingly sophisticated in identifying AI-generated passages. AI-generated text can sometimes exhibit patterns or odd phrasings that could potentially flag the system.
It's a good thing you're not planning on using an AI to write your essay, because it's essential to represent your authentic voice, experiences, and perspectives in your application. While there's no way of knowing for sure whether an AI-generated essay will be flagged by the Common App, you still want to avoid relying on AI when writing your essays, as only you can tell your own story.
When writing your essay, focus on delivering a genuine reflection of your thoughts and experiences, to not only avoid any potential issues with plagiarism-detection tools, but also provide a more engaging and compelling narrative for the admissions officers reading your application.
If you want to learn more about how AI has impacted the college admissions process (so far), I'd recommend checking out this blog post from CollegeVine: https://blog.collegevine.com/impact-of-ai-on-college-admissions/. Alternatively, if you want tips on how to write a strong essay yourself, without AI, you can check out this post: https://blog.collegevine.com/how-to-write-the-common-application-essays
Good luck with your essays!
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