Lesson 1131 of 1455
AI for College Essays: The Line Common App Won't Tell You About
Common App banned 'AI-generated' essays in 2024 but allows AI feedback — knowing the difference saves your application.
Builders · Careers & Pathways · ~4 min read
The big idea
Stanford, MIT, and Common App all updated policies in 2025: AI as editor = okay, AI as ghostwriter = rescinded admission. The line is who's typing.
Some examples
- Allowed: 'ChatGPT, what's weak about this paragraph?'
- Banned: 'ChatGPT, write me a 650-word essay about resilience'
- Gray zone: AI brainstorming bullet points you then write up
- Some schools (Caltech) require disclosure of any AI use
Try it!
Take a paragraph you wrote. Ask Claude 'What questions would a Yale reader have about this?' and rewrite based on the questions, not Claude's answers.
Key terms in this lesson
Practice this safely
Try this with a school, hobby, or family example where the stakes are low. Use the AI output as a draft you can question, not as the final answer.
- 1Ask AI to explain college essay in plain language, then underline anything that sounds uncertain or too broad.
- 2Give it one detail from "AI for College Essays: The Line Common App Won't Tell You About" and ask for two possible next steps plus one reason each step might be wrong.
- 3Check Common App against a trusted source, teacher, adult, expert, or original document before you use it.
End-of-lesson quiz
Check what stuck
8 questions · Score saves to your progress.
Lesson help
Questions are best handled with a grown-up here.
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