Yes, college admissions, UCs, and scholarship committees can check for AI-generated content.
Many institutions use AI detection tools to ensure authenticity in essays and applications. But does AI use automatically hurt your chances?
In this article, we’ll explore how admissions officers check for AI-assisted writing and how to avoid getting caught & flagged by using AI humanizer tools like Walter Writes AI.
Let’s dive in!
Do College Admission Officers Detect AI & ChatGPT?
Yes, college admission officers are detecting AI-generated content (such as ChatGPT) in applications, including personal essays.
Although AI tools like ChatGPT can generate well-written text, admissions officers employ a range of strategies to sniff out any AI involvement and measure a student’s veracity.
How Admissions Officers Identify AI? With the following methods:
- Pattern Recognition – AI-generated text often adheres to predictable formats and lacks the subtle complexity of human prose. And college admissions officers, who have seen the same phrases used over and over again, can quickly recognize an unnatural sequence.
- Inconsistencies in Writing Style – Any abrupt changes in tone, vocabulary, or sentence structure, is a sign that AI is involved. When the essay feels different than all the other writing in an application, you get red flags.
- Non-Relatability – College essays should capture an applicant’s feelings, values, and experiences. Humans can’t identify with AI, so essays always come off as inauthentic.
- Academic Integrity & Fairness – Universities prioritize honesty in applications. AI-generated content can provide an unfair advantage to people with access to advanced tools. This led institutions to take steps to ensure the originality of all submissions.
Are UC Applications Reviewed for AI & ChatGPT?
No, The University of California (UC) system does not currently use AI detectors in its application review process. It’s mentioned on their official website.
However, admissions officers are increasingly aware of AI-generated content, especially in Personal Insight Questions (PIQs).
So if they (UC) are aware of AI-generated content, How do they check?
- Authenticity in PIQs – UC admissions officers look for personal narratives, insights, and reflections that AI struggles to replicate. A generic or not-so-personal response may signal AI involvement.
- Plagiarism & Integrity Checks – UC runs plagiarism detection on applications. If AI-generated responses pull from unattributed sources, it could lead to disqualification.
Are Scholarships Applications Reviewed for AI & ChatGPT?
Yes, a lot of scholarship committees now screen applications for AI-generated content. We did some research and we found:
They want authenticity, creativity, and a personal touch — the sorts of things that even the best AI programs find hard to mimic.
How Scholarship Application Reviewers Identify AI
- AI-Detection Software – Many scholarship sponsors employ AI detectors to mark essays that seem artificially generated.
- Impersonal Tone & Generic Responses – Essays that are devoid of depth, emotion, or personal anecdotes are warning signs.
- Weird Language & Incoherence – Content produced by AI can sometimes include strange language.
Should You Use AI in Scholarship Applications?
No, you should not use AI in scholarship applications. Using AI in scholarship applications is a gamble. AI can assist you with fleshing out ideas or brainstorming new concepts, but complete reliance on it can damage your credibility.
There are ways you can use it and not get flagged. We will discuss it later.
Why you should not use AI essays in scholarship applications?
- Reputation Matters – The majority of scholarship are government or industry based, or professionals from those sectors who judge the applicants. Submitting AI-generated work will dent your reputation and might haunt you in your career later on.
- Scholarships Value Authenticity – Committees want to know about your experiences, your hopes, and your own personal voice. AI-generated content does not have the depth and individuality that would make an application shine.
- Risk of Disqualification — This is the most important reason. Some scholarships forbid the use of AI; applications with AI-generated work can be rejected outright.
What Softwares Do College, UC or Scholarships Authority Use to Check AI?
- Turnitin AI Detection – Used heavily in academia, this tool examines the writing for both AI-generated content as well as plagiarism detection.
- GPTZero – Purpose-built for detecting AI-generated text, this model examines writing style, complexity and burstiness.
- Originality.ai – Educators and admissions officers often use this tool. It’s good at showing a percentage score that shows AI likelihood.
- Copyleaks – Machine learning-based temp detection that compares AI writing tools to how a human would write.
How to Use AI And Not Get Caught By College Admission Officers?
The best and easiest way to ensure your application remains free from AI detection is to use an AI humanizer tool.
What is an AI humanizer tool and what does it do?
An AI humanizer tool refines AI-generated text so it sounds more natural and personal. The idea is to convert the somewhat robotic style of large language models into a human-like narrative.
Not only does this help with readability and engagement, but it also makes your essay less likely to trigger AI detection systems employed by universities, UCs, or scholarship committees.
For instance, let’s generate a short personal statement using ChatGPT:
Now let’s see how this statement scores on some of the top AI detection tests with Walter Writes AI Detector:
Next, we’ll use Walter Writes AI Humanizer—one of the top tools for creating human-like text:
With just one click on the “Humanize and Scan” button, we’ve made the essay more human-like and it’s ready to avoid being flagged by college admission officers or scholarship panels.
You might think we’re biased toward our own tool and that this is only a single example. Why not test it out and see for yourself?
Try Walter Writes AI for free (300 words): https://app.walterwrites.ai/register
Conclusion
If we have to summarize everything:
- Yes, college admissions, UCs, and scholarship committees can check for AI-generated content.
- While it’s okay to use AI for College Admission & UC, it is not suggested to use AI for scholarship admissions. The risk is too high.
- Use AI Humanizers to make your AI generated content sound like you and not get caught.
