By Katherine Emmanuel, Co-Director of Staff Development
As college application deadlines loom on the horizon, high school seniors grapple with effectively managing their demanding academic schedules while crafting compelling essays for their applications. Following a rigorous day filled with classes, extracurricular commitments and homework, it’s all too common for college essays to be pushed to the back burner. After all, it’s only fall, and most application deadlines aren’t until December, right?
Despite this rationalization, seniors find themselves under significant pressure. In an environment where it often seems like everyone around you is more intelligent, has better SAT scores or more extracurricular involvements, it’s easy to succumb to feelings of inadequacy. In order to feel like they can compete, many students opt to use ChatGPT as a means of enhancing the sophistication of their college essays. However, it’s important to acknowledge that ChatGPT can never truly supplant the unique voice and perspective of an individual writer.
Sanibel Chai, a reporter for New York Magazine, shared that in her attempt to prompt ChatGPT to write a student’s college essay, “its first draft was unsettlingly well-composed, but stiff in a way that kept it from resonating emotionally.”
In my own encounters with ChatGPT, I’ve found that it consistently weaves together sentences with a pleasing flow. However, upon closer inspection, its absence of a distinct personality becomes apparent.
College essays stand as one of the few avenues for applicants to authentically convey their personalities and life narratives to admissions officers. The depth cultivated through years of English classes, the refinement honed through countless practice essays and the richness derived from real-life experiences contribute an essence that ChatGPT can never hope to reproduce.
Some may argue that ChatGPT’s ability to generate decently composed essays might still make it a tempting option for students struggling to find inspiration for essay content. They may argue that it offers a quick solution to the pressure of deadlines and competition among peers. However, it’s important to acknowledge that ChatGPT can never replicate the unique voices of students.
Reporter Christopher Rim from Forbes Magazine furthers this argument by explaining that in his experience with ChatGPT, “the essay tells rather than shows” and “the language is vague and impersonal.” When it comes to crafting impactful essays, only students themselves can accurately represent and share their experiences and personal stories. While ChatGPT may have the ability to generate essays rapidly, it struggles to infuse these essential qualities into the writing.
Instead of using it to entirely write essays, my suggestion for seniors to ethically harness ChatGPT is to use it as a tool in the brainstorming and editing processes. Much like the widely accepted practice of implementing feedback from personal tutors or loved ones, by using ChatGPT as a supplementary resource, students can enhance their writing process while preserving the authentic and unique essence of their personal narratives in their college applications.
Katherine Emmanuel can be reached at [email protected].
