So, Chat GPT is here. Are essay coaches worried? Not quite.

To start, what is Chat GPT? The viral AI is described by Sindhu Sundar in their piece "If you still aren't sure what ChatGPT is, this is your guide to the viral chatbot that everyone is talking about" for Business Insider: 

"Chat bots like GPT are powered by large amounts of data and computing techniques to make predictions to string words together in a meaningful way. They not only tap into a vast amount of vocabulary and information, but also understand words in context. This helps them mimic speech patterns while dispatching an encyclopedic knowledge."

Or, more simply from The Atlantic as:

"a large language model from OpenAI that automatically generates text from a prompt, to write it."

The critical thing here, at least as it relates to college essays, is that Chat GPT can mimic human speech but never truly mimic the human experience. The things we struggle to put words to, namely how we feel, are even more difficult for bots to figure out. 

Chat GPT is producing well-written college essays, yes. But the consensus continues to be that these well-constructed essays are soulless. 

After Beatrice Nolan for Business Insider sent off two Chat GPT-generated essays to experts in the tutoring field, they also found the writing to be hollow:

"Both Wong and Nguyen praised the grammar and structure of the essays and criticized the lack of personal experiences and unique feelings. Nguyen called the essays "over-predictable" and they both agreed the essays wouldn't have had a chance at any top universities. "

While the essays Chat GPT generates technically address the college essay prompts, they don't do the one thing that Admissions Officers have expressed to us as crucial. 

Students: Admission Officers want to learn about YOU. Tell your story in a way that is unique to who YOU are. 

If students choose a more common topic – that’s okay, but they should explain how an injury or trip affected them in a way it couldn’t affect anyone BUT them. How did they feel? What values did it make them realize?

If Chat GPT writes about a common topic, it will inevitably write about it in a common way. This lack of personal detail in writing will also cause problems for students as they attempt to write their supplemental essays. Why Us? prompts, for example, which ask students why they have chosen a specific institution, need details about both the school and the student to make the final essay sing. Saying that a school has 'a great psychology program with top professors' won't cut it. 

As the technology develops, we will have to continue to see how it affects the college essay process, but, for now, AI fails to capture the spark that makes any given student stand out from the crowd. Will Chat GPT write a bad essay? No. But will it write a good personal statement? We don't think so, either.  

Sources

Marche, Stephen. “The College Essay Is Dead.” The Atlantic, 16 Dec. 2022, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/12/chatgpt-ai-writing-college-student-essays/672371/.

“Read 2 College Admissions Essays Written by CHATGPT.” Business Insider, www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-read-ai-openai-college-admissions-essays2023-3?amp. Accessed 9 May 2023.

Sundar, Sindhu. “If You Still Aren’t Sure What Chatgpt Is, This Is Your Guide to the Viral Chatbot That Everyone Is Talking About.” Business Insider, www.businessinsider.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-chat-gpt-2023-1. Accessed 9 May 2023.