Why ChatGPT Misses the Mark for College Admissions Essays Sarah O'Neill

 Sarah O’Neill Chester County Supreme Editing Coatesville

Before searching up the ChatGPT site for the first time over the summer of 2023, my husband approached me moments prior, “Did you hear about this? You are going to be out of a job!” he said in jest.

As I sank into the sofa with my padded table on my lap hovering over a Word Doc enthralled in my latest edit, a personal essay a client wrote for Stanford about Baroque music and her tendency to break conventions with her violin at Carnegie Hall, I stopped to listen to what had him so up in arms.

He explained ChatGPT in quips between the chuckles: it could mirror a human voice and write full (really good) essays. He went on to add that at some point we would not be able to detect the difference between the robot’s voice and a person’s.

Just like anything else that had threatened to shut me down in my work as a college admissions essay consultant over this decade like competitive companies, automated grammar and thesaurus tools, and counselors who claim to know better, this new technology scared me more than anything.

So, I just had to try it. When I typed a question into the portal: can you write a common application essay about my grandpa’s Alzheimer's diagnosis? the results were incredible. Right before my eyes, within mere SECONDS, I had a fully written 650-word essay. I didn’t even have to plug in any of my personal information because it filled in those gaps, and it was magically built in front of my eyes — like the glittering Roman civilizations built with Minecraft. As I sat stumped and, honestly, scared, I thought, “I can’t compete with this. It is written SO WELL, like a professor, and smooth.” But, was it believable? Authentic?

Now, a year and a half later, I have some answers of my own.

Overarchingly, the sad part, even today, is that most colleges and universities have not put out a deliberate statement regarding the use of ChatGPT for college essays. I do not know if they just assume now that proper applicants will make the “right” choice, whatever that might be. I even had a client be admitted to a top university (not naming names) who CLEARLY used ChatGPT (because you can edit it so much that it is undetectable by ZeroGPT) but was admitted for what I assume is based on the fact that this student catalyzed the AI department at their high school! I guess, despite it all, there are loopholes.

But let’s talk about the reality of ChatGPT as I am now in the trenches with it during this admissions season now that the fear has faded.

I evolved in my relationship with ChatGPT from flat-out refusing to use it and telling clients the same after listening to Yale admissions officers refute it on a podcast, to having it rewrite short sentences or conclusions if a client was stumped, to where I am today: succumbing to the fact that clients are finding a way around it to make it undetectable but, ultimately, finding that it is actually more trouble than it’s worth.

In this pithy list, here is why.

• It still generates generic statements. Go ahead, try it.
• It can still sound mechanical or too much like a professor which, let’s face it, is as polished as it gets…and impersonal for a “personal” statement.
• Admissions people are catching on at this point. Whether or not they actually trumpet a statement regarding it, we can assume it is a no-go (I think). It is sad that we do not know every institute’s position. I theorize that colleges are afraid to say yes to using as not to promote plagiarism but afraid to say NO, too, because it could mean they are not being innovative with new tools. I get it. The more hazy they are on it, however, the more frustrating it is for applicants (and mentors).
• Writing and expression still matter for synthesis and critical thinking.
• While it can rewrite sentences, it can lose the writer’s original message in its rewrite because of its focus on paraphrasing and grammar rather than content.
• According to NIH.gov, “The average plagiarism rate observed in the texts generated by ChatGPT was found to be 45%.” This means it will sound less authentic.
• Using this at all is sad for students who DO have the natural ability to write as they are now being questioned and lumped in with people who cannot.

But, let me concede to three positives:

1. Some rewrites can spin it to an idea you never thought of and you can really take off with an idea on your own after that.
2. It can bring clarity to the overarching message by asking it to identify the theme of your essay after you copy and paste it into the portal. This can help you focus your piece and think up other details.
3. It can help with structure.

On a final note, in terms of content, I would not suggest using ChatGPT to generate the whole essay or to rewrite the majority of the essay as it is dangerously general for your purposes of a personal statement for colleges.

Why do authentic college admissions essays STILL matter?

According to Time Magazine, “In 1975, a small group of mostly East Coast colleges came together to form the Common App — today used by more than 1,000 universities. The Common App led the way in formulating what we now think of as the personal statement, aimed at understanding the inner world of each student.”

The inner world. How can a robot possibly express that?

At this juncture and in this era, if we do not control ourselves, colleges will find more extreme ways to verify that applicants are who they claim to be, so why not just write your own story? Be yourself? Because, let’s face it, ChatGPT is missing the mark for college admissions essays.

Thank you for reading!

Sarah O’Neill Chester County Teacher Supreme Editing Coatesville