Has anyone used AI essay apps?

[IndySceptic]

@compmom

Here is a good article on words/phrases seen as suspect. Pretty amazing.
100 Most Recognizable Words in AI-Generated Text by AI Detection Tools | Metaverse Post
I assume scrutiny involves percentages, with a criterion for what is considered suspicious overuse of these.

Thanks for this.

It’s amazing to me that the transformative power of AI, which has come a long way in recent years, can lead to an application being cancelled by AOs. In my opinion, it’s a remarkable tool that can potentially revolutionize the way we communicate, notably, by allowing us to make informed decisions about what we put on paper. It remains to be seen how our thinking will evolve on this subject, but I suspect as it gains adoption, questions of trustworthiness will abate. I welcome your thoughts.

Sheesh. Now I get how LLM will kill Management Consulting. The jargon is deep.

[DadOfJerseyGirl]

@compmom

However, as an essay reader, I do not work with any student who has used AI (If they tell me that is…)

Much of the work done by AI for an essay (including brainstorming, making an outline, reviewing ideas) really should be done by the student.

The essay should evaluate the student readiness to do these things in college. Using AI basically misrepresents that ability.

Out of curiosity: If a student tells you they brainstormed their idea with a friend or family member, or that a parent provided advice on the outline (for structure only — not writing sentences for them), or reviewed their essay idea, do you decline to work with them?

[Shelby_Balik]

@Lindagaf

What others…?

In my experience, section headers for impossibly short sections (like paragraphs) are a dead giveaway.

And AI can take my em-dashes from my cold, dead hands. I’m not giving them up.

[compmom]

@DadofJerseyGirl I see your point of course. In fact the essay reader service may sometimes raise ethical questions as well. How is that different from AI? I have thought about that. I think many of us encourage creativity, individuality even eccentricity!

I am curious how AI would handle a well-written essay , for instance, on a suicide attempt or on an eating disorder that is still virulent, or other challenges. Does it just accept the topic?

I have not run into brainstorming on AI or with family. Only one student told me that AI had helped with the essay. At that time I didn’t even know enough beyond thinking that that meant AI had helped with writing it. We had a good discussion and the student rewrote it, which resulted in some improvement. It was a friendly cooperative discussion.

Most of the students I have worked with are either low income or international and do not have family help. If someone tells me they have had their essay reviewed by, say, a counselor and an English teacher, and tells me that there are differences of opinion, I tell them that a third opinion is probably not needed and that I like to work with students who don’t have that much access to help. I don’t need to spend time when someone keeps coming back with “My English teacher said…” Honestly that seems to come up after I have already reviewed the essay! We are sometimes deluged by requests often with students who have no one.

If a student told me a parent had brainstormed ideas, that seems fine, but a parent doing an outline is something I would question. But I never know that anyway. Students aren’t going to tell me and as I said, most don’t have parental help. Sometimes a parent actually sends an essay and I ask to communicate with the student.

Again I get your point. I have been pretty open about my lack of experience and my willingness to evolve. I have had interesting discussions with students who have flagged themselves when they actually did not use AI and how that limits their ability to write freely.

It’s all a mixed bag, slippery slope, but soon using AI for writing will be the norm and I will be in a rocking chair reading Strunk and White !

I mainly want to avoid a kid ending up in a program more rigorous than they can handle, though an essay is unlikely to be an important factor in that.

[momofboiler1]

This is the AI overview of this prompt - “Should I write my college essay about an eating disorder?” (Note that some of the advice is pulled form CC :))

This is the advice:

Writing your college essay about an eating disorder is a high-risk, high-reward decision. While it is possible to write a compelling, mature, and successful essay about this topic, it requires extreme care to avoid potential pitfalls that could hinder your application

.

Road2College +1

Here is a breakdown of considerations based on admissions expert advice:

Reasons to Avoid It (The Risks)

• Perceived as a Liability: Admissions officers are responsible for ensuring students can thrive, and they may worry about the potential for relapse in a high-stress college environment.
• “Wound” vs. “Scar”: If you are still in the active, ongoing phase of an eating disorder (the “wound”), it is not a good topic. It should only be considered if you are in a place of recovery and can reflect on it as a past challenge (a “scar”).
• Overexposure: Due to the pandemic, mental health challenges are commonly written about, making it harder for your essay to stand out.
• Overshadowing Strengths: An essay focused too heavily on the struggle can detract from the academic and personal achievements you want to highlight.

[image]College Confidential +4

Reasons It Can Work (The Approach)

• Showcases Resilience: If handled with maturity, it can demonstrate immense strength, self-awareness, and personal growth.
• Humanizes Your Application: It moves beyond grades and test scores to show who you are, making you a more memorable, three-dimensional applicant.
• Explains Context: If your GPA or extracurricular involvement dropped during a specific period, this topic can provide necessary context.

Road2College +4

How to Write It Safely (If You Choose This Topic)

If you decide to write about this experience, it must be carefully crafted to pivot from the struggle to the resolution:

1. Focus on the “Phoenix, Not the Fire”: Devote 25% of the essay to the struggle and 75% to your recovery, lessons learned, and the tools you now possess.
2. Highlight Growth: Focus on the skills, maturity, or new perspectives you developed, not just the medical details of the disorder.
3. Show Action: Describe the concrete steps you took toward recovery and how you have thrived since.
4. Connect to Your Future: Explain how this experience has shaped your perspective and how it will help you succeed in college.

[image]Collegewise +4

Better Alternatives

If you are worried that this topic will raise red flags, consider using the Additional Information section of the Common App to explain the experience in a few, direct sentences. This allows you to address it without making it the focus of your main application essay.

[image]Reddit +1

Conclusion: If you can write about it from a place of strength, growth, and resolution, it can work. If the essay feels like a “cry for help” or a therapeutic release, it is safer to choose a different, less personal topic.

[image]Collegewise

Not terrible advice IMO!

[compmom]

Wow I feel reassured that I answered well, if more simply! As I said this particular student was nowhere near better and said they could not write about anything else because the eating disorder was “their life”. I am pretty reassured that AI would answer really effectively, with that info. more thoroughly than I ever could!

[compmom]

This year many essays contained one sentence paragraphs. It makes for continuous drama. Impactful one-liners need to be used very sparingly. I helped the students consolidate. Is this format of so many one-liners related to AI? I have not seen it in previous years.

I guess I frame this kind of discussion with a student as a writing lesson, less than an application focus. Most of these kids don’t have much writing instruction and many are either not native speakers or their parents aren’t.

One student learned English by reading Shakespeare and Danta in translation. Her essay was word salad, truly bizarre. I wonder what AI would have done with that! She had no access to English instruction. But was applying to Ivies.

[hebegebe]

@compmom

I mainly want to avoid a kid ending up in a program more rigorous than they can handle, though an essay is unlikely to be an important factor in that.

An aside, but this just happened to one of my low-income students, who I helped with college selection and essay prep. After reviewing her initial essay topic, I suggested she come back with 10 opening lines for other essay topics that could help tell her unique story. One of them sounded really promising to me, so I encouraged it, and it ended up being the best student essay that I have ever read.

Academically, she just made cutoff to be in the top 10% of her high school class, and had a 1200 SAT. I had recommended that she apply ED to Boston College. She instead applied to a top-10 college that’s still test-optional, but known for being highly rigorous, and she ended up being accepted. I congratulated her of course, but am really worried that she’s never faced that type of workload and expectations before. Particularly because her goal is to become a lawyer, so undergrad GPA really matters.

[heavyweightcollege]

@IndySceptic

What kind?

very structured writing. less flowery. tight.

[j_t_03]

@Mellome

So far he has been pretty impressed with it

I think that the essay should be a struggle (and often is) if it will be authentic. The ideas need to originate from within for that to happen. If a large language model is feeding regurgitated ideas, phrases, etc. to you (because that is exactly what it is designed to do), it will not be an authentic essay. It could certainly be impressive and well-written, but that is not the main objective.