Hard to Swallow Pills About How to Use AI for College Essays, Applications

While my primary work focuses on helping sustainability-minded organizations achieve their business goals and build trust through the power of communications, a passion project of mine is helping students navigate the high-stakes college admissions process. As a first-generation college graduate, mentoring and supporting future leaders as they prepare for this next big leap is deeply personal, and important to me.

Whether you are a global brand or a seventeen-year-old staring down the Common App, the ultimate rule of communication remains the same: authenticity is your golden ticket to where you want to go. 

And with generative AI reshaping the admissions landscape, officers are being flooded with an unprecedented volume of perfectly polished essays.

According to recent data from the Common App, (while not fully comprehensive, serves as a strong indicator for the industry) - applicant volume rose 5 percent year over year, reaching a staggering 9.4 million!

I’ve been helping students craft college applications and essays since I was an undergrad myself. Over the years, I’ve seen firsthand how much the admissions landscape has evolved, and yet - how the core standards for success have stayed exactly the same.

Today, a new question dominates the conversation: How do college applicants stand out in the age of AI? And how do I use AI for college essays?

The answer lies in the hard truths or “hard to swallow pills” of communications, and there are a few realities I think today's applicants desperately need to hear:

Pill 1 💊 A Flawless Application Can & Will Get Rejected

The primary purpose of an admissions application, and the essay, isn’t to prove you can write like Shakespeare; it is to let the committee get to know you. They want raw, human stories. Granted, they expect those stories to be grammatically correct, but that is exactly how to use AI for college essays safely.

Think of AI as a developmental editor or a brainstorming partner, not a ghostwriter.

If an essay prompt asks you to share a time you faced adversity, don't ask ChatGPT to write the essay for you. Instead, feed the tool your real-life experiences and ask it to help you organize your thoughts into an outline.

AI Prompts for College Essays & Applicants

Why This Prompt?	Prompt Template
For alignment: To figure out exactly how your high school career aligns with what a specific university values most in its applicants	I am pasting my high school resume below. I want you to act as an admissions officer for [University Name]. Based strictly on [University Name]'s core values, mission statement, and institutional culture, analyze my resume and identify the top three areas where my background makes me a strong fit. Tell me what gaps or unique angles I should lean into when writing my supplemental essays for this specific school. Here is my resume: [Paste Resume]."
For brainstorming: To dig past the generic, surface-level essay topics that admissions officers see thousands of times a day	Act as a developmental writing editor. I want to write a unique college application essay, but I want to avoid standard clichés (like 'winning the big game' or 'going on a generic volunteer trip'). Here is my resume: [Paste Resume]. Based on my activities, jobs, or hobbies, help me brainstorm three non-traditional, quirky, or deeply personal story angles that I could use as a 'hook' to reveal my true personality. What is something unexpected in my background that would make a recruiter say, 'An AI could never write this'?"
For outlining: When you have a memory or an experience but aren't sure how to structure it into a narrative arc that fits a classic admissions essay	Act as an expert college admissions consultant. I am applying to [University Name] and need to write a personal statement about overcoming an obstacle. I want the final essay to sound deeply human, authentic, and reflective. Here are the raw, unedited details of what happened to me: [Insert your brief, bulleted story here]. Do not write the essay for me. Instead, analyze my experience and help me organize it into a compelling, three-part structural outline (Introduction/Hook, The Climax/Challenge, and The Resolution/Growth).

Pill 2 💊 The Only Thing Mass Applying Guarantees is Burn-Out

It is easy to get dizzy over deadlines, frantically trying to pump out dozens of early-action applications just to keep your options open. If you are a first-gen student, that urge to over-apply can feel like a necessary safety net. However, a rushed application looks rushed.

Instead of spreading your energy thin, map out the unique requirements for each school ahead of time and ruthlessly prioritize your top choices. Give yourself the time to dig deep rather than skimming the surface (see AI prompts above). If an early deadline is in November, you should be brainstorming in September at the very latest to allow for multiple rounds of edits.

Once you have your strategy, treat the process like a professional campaign. When I’ve worked with students in the past, I’ve built them (and their parents) a dedicated Trello board, or something similar, to project-manage the chaos.

Pill 3 💊 Parents Don’t Have All The Answers

I graduated from college in 2019, and the admissions landscape has transformed completely since then. College expectations, standard testing requirements, and digital evaluation tools are evolving at breakneck speed.

It is incredibly stressful for applicants (and perhaps even more stressful for their parents), but the best thing you can do is release your outdated assumptions about higher education. Stop trying to fit into the mold of what worked a decade ago. Focus instead on uncovering what makes your perspective unique today.

What is the ultimate takeaway for how to use AI for college essays and applications?

Before you hit submit on any application, ask yourself these two questions:

1. If I removed my name from this essay and dropped it on the floor, would a close friend instantly recognize that I wrote it?

2. Did I actually have fun telling this story?

When I applied to college, I opened my personal statement with a confession: my first career choice was to be a swashbuckling pirate (entirely due to a childhood obsession with Pirates of the Caribbean). I then bridged that innate love for uncharted adventure into my passion for journalism. During an interview, a committee member told me that specific hook was the exact reason they remembered my application out of thousands.

Find your pirate “hook” (I cringed when I wrote that…but hey you’ll probably remember it!) And good luck!