How to Make Your College Essay Sound Human (Not AI)

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How do you make your college essay sound human and not like AI? Well, don’t use AI to write it. Using AI as a sounding board or for brainstorming is fine. Your writing will still sound like you.

Using it to write the essay for you is where everything falls apart. AOs read thousands of essays. They’ll know. Try voice typing.

Think about it as having a conversation. AI isn’t going anywhere, but it cannot write about you better than you can write about you.

Short answer: Don’t use AI to write it.

Longer answer: Using AI as a sounding board or a brainstorming tool is fine — your writing will still sound like you. Using it to write the essay for you is where it falls apart. Admissions officers read thousands of essays. They know.

If your draft doesn’t sound like you, try voice typing. Google Docs does it well. Speak the essay the way you’d explain it to someone sitting across from you.

AI isn’t going anywhere. But it cannot write an essay about the world’s leading expert on you. That’s still your job.

Reference: the Common App essay prompts.

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