How to Use ChatGPT to Brainstorm College Essay Ideas

Short answer: Use it to generate options, not answers.

Longer answer: Ask ChatGPT questions about your topic. Let it suggest angles, structures, prompts. Use it to pressure-test your thinking. That’s legitimate.

What you can’t do is let it write the actual sentences. The moment you paste ChatGPT prose into your essay, you’ve lost the thing that makes your essay yours — the way you think.

Fun fact: ChatGPT knows the average of everyone. It does not know you.

Fun fact: I had Claude.AI write this answer. Notice it doesn’t feel exactly the same as the others?

See more answers here.

For official application deadlines and requirements, visit Common App or College Board’s BigFuture.


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