I read something unsettling about colleges using AI to detect whether essays were written by the applicants or not. It made me wonder—does the Common App have any similar AI checks in place that look for signs of an essay not being written by the student? Asking because I used a writing enhancement tool to help with grammar and I'm not sure if that would flag anything.
Rest assured, the Common Application itself does not deploy AI to detect authorship of essays. The primary function of the Common App is to facilitate the application process, not to scrutinize the authorship of submissions.
Individual colleges may use various tools to ensure essay authenticity, but these are mainly focused on plagiarism detection, not determining if you wrote it yourself. Using a writing enhancement tool for grammar and clarity does not equate to misrepresenting authorship of your essay.
The key is to retain your voice and ensure the content reflects your experiences and perspectives. If the tool you used simply assisted with correcting grammatical mistakes, then there should not be a problem. However, make certain that the final essay sounds like you and represents your level of writing ability—that's what admissions officers want to see. They're looking to get to know the real you through your essay, so authenticity is paramount.
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