What changed in the directory

November 3, 2026 · Schools added

Seventeen more high-volume schools added after their admissions pages were read on 2026-11-03, the second pass of the day. Chapman University publishes an admissions-office statement on ChatGPT and AI tools and enters as a verified permits-feedback policy. The other sixteen publish no AI rule for the general application and enter as checked schools with the pages read, the applications they accept and their own words on the essay and on honesty; two of them, Boise State and UNC Charlotte, bar AI for their Honors College essays, quoted on their pages. Each also gets a 2026-27 prompts entry: twelve listed or no-supplement, three Common App-only (unreadable), and Oklahoma State and Appalachian State read in a browser because their sites refuse automated readers. American University's site refused every reader a second time.

Chapman University, Carleton College, University of Richmond, Elon University, Pepperdine University, Washington State University, Oregon State University, Oklahoma State University, Kansas State University, Mississippi State University, Georgia State University, University of North Carolina at Charlotte and 5 more

November 3, 2026 · Schools added

Nineteen high-volume schools added after their admissions pages were read on 2026-11-03. Two publish an AI rule and enter as verified permits-feedback policies: William & Mary (a dedicated AI and the Application Process page) and Colorado State (its admissions essay-tips post). The other seventeen publish none and enter as checked schools with the pages read, the applications they accept and their own words on the essay and on honesty. Each also gets a 2026-27 prompts entry: eleven listed or no-supplement, seven Common App-only (unreadable) and Colby read in a browser. American University's site refused every reader and waits for the next pass.

William & Mary, Colorado State University, Florida State University, University of Central Florida, University of South Florida, Baylor University, Howard University, James Madison University, University of Cincinnati, Miami University, University of Houston, Texas Tech University and 7 more

October 25, 2026 · Prompts re-checked

Six batch-11 entries re-read and re-dated 2026-10-25 (NC State short answer added, LSU and Nebraska honors prompts, Pitt sourced); notes tightened elsewhere without moving dates, so the oldest prompt check remains 2026-10-24.

North Carolina State University, Louisiana State University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Pittsburgh, University of Idaho, Michigan State University

October 25, 2026 · Prompts added

Seven schools whose sites block automated reading were read in a browser; nine Common App-only schools recorded as unreadable and Tulane as having no current supplement, completing coverage of all 117 directory schools.

Columbia University, University of Michigan, Haverford College, University of Chicago, Claremont McKenna College, Fordham University, State University of New York (SUNY), Emory University, Wesleyan University, University of Southern California, Boston University, Tulane University and 5 more

October 24, 2026 · Prompts added

Supplemental-prompts module created; 2026-27 prompts for 100 directory schools recorded verbatim from each school's own page and dated 2026-10-24.

Rice University, Stanford University, Cornell University, University of California (all campuses), Brown University, Caltech, Yale University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University, Vanderbilt University, Carnegie Mellon University and 88 more

October 16, 2026 · Full re-check

October sweep: all 117 entries re-checked and dated 2026-10-16; notes updated for Duke (its AI essay prompt is gone), UNC (FAQ now says the office does not use AI), Missouri, UNLV, Alaska Fairbanks, Princeton.

Brown University, Caltech, University of California (all campuses), Yale University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University, Cornell University, Columbia University, Vanderbilt University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Michigan and 105 more

October 16, 2026 · Label changed

UC received a label saying its statement names AI only for readability help; BYU's label reworded for the new commitment; Swarthmore's label now lists translation among prohibited uses.

University of California (all campuses), Brigham Young University, Swarthmore College

October 16, 2026 · Quote updated

BYU's quote replaced after its page became an Essays and Activity Commitment (broader wording, stance unchanged); Swarthmore's quote expanded to include translation; ellipsis and punctuation fixes at five other schools.

Brigham Young University, Swarthmore College, Caltech, Harvard University, Bowdoin College, Tufts University, Georgia Tech

October 16, 2026 · Schools added

Wesleyan added as verified permits-feedback from its international-applicants authenticity statement; SMU added to no-published-policy because its AI rules cover only a scholarship essay and graduate applicants.

Wesleyan University, Southern Methodist University

October 16, 2026 · Tier moved

Georgetown moved from advisory to verified as the fifth prohibits-all school once its application form became readable without logging in; Rice, USC, and Haverford moved from no-published-policy to verified permits-feedback.

Georgetown University, Rice University, University of Southern California, Haverford College

August 11, 2026 · Schools added

Claremont McKenna added as the fourth prohibits-all school by owner decision: its application instructions limit AI to basic proofreading, the same structure as Brown's rule.

Claremont McKenna College

August 10, 2026 · Schools added

Coverage reached all 50 states: BYU added as the third prohibits-all school and UConn as permits-feedback; 44 public flagships and selective colleges added to the no-published-policy tier (16 carry checked_on 2026-08-11).

Brigham Young University, University of Connecticut, The California State University (all campuses), State University of New York (SUNY), University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Arizona, University of Utah, University of Oregon, Iowa State University, University of Oklahoma, University of Tennessee, Knoxville and 34 more

August 9, 2026 · Advisory added

Syracuse added as an advisory: a secondary source reports the Newhouse School bars AI, but no such statement was found on any syracuse.edu page.

Syracuse University

August 9, 2026 · Schools added

Expansion sweep added ten verified entries, including Villanova as the second prohibits-all school (writing supplements must be unaided by AI), and 27 schools to the no-published-policy tier.

Swarthmore College, Bowdoin College, Boston College, Boston University, Villanova University, Fordham University, University of Rochester, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Washington, University of Georgia, Amherst College, Williams College and 25 more

August 4, 2026 · Full re-check

Full re-sweep for the 2026-27 cycle: every verified, advisory, and no-published-policy entry (30 in all) re-read against its source and dated 2026-08-04.

Brown University, Caltech, University of California (all campuses), Yale University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University, Cornell University, Columbia University, Vanderbilt University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Michigan and 18 more

August 4, 2026 · Tier moved

Penn and Notre Dame moved from no-published-policy to verified (permits feedback): both published dedicated first-party AI pages after the July sweep, verified in a real browser.

University of Pennsylvania, University of Notre Dame

August 4, 2026 · Quote updated

Quotes re-transcribed verbatim from the live pages for seven schools; Michigan's quote and source URL replaced because it published new explicit guidance for 2026-27. No stance changed.

Brown University, Caltech, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University, Cornell University, Vanderbilt University, University of Michigan

August 4, 2026 · Label changed

Per-school display labels added so each label claims only what the quote supports: Brown, Harvard, Columbia, Michigan, Washington University; the same day Caltech received one and Michigan's was rewritten for its new guidance.

Brown University, Harvard University, Columbia University, University of Michigan, Washington University in St. Louis, Caltech

July 18, 2026 · Advisory added

Advisory tier created for policies known only from secondary sources: Georgetown's reported login-gated AI attestation and Princeton's dean's-blog caution; advisories are shown as cautions and never stop a review.

Georgetown University, Princeton University

July 18, 2026 · Schools added

Top-30 sweep added 16 verified permits-feedback entries (verified tier now 18) and created a no-published-policy tier for 10 schools whose sites carry no applicant AI rule.

University of California (all campuses), Yale University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University, Cornell University, Columbia University, Vanderbilt University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Michigan, Washington University in St. Louis, Emory University and 14 more

July 18, 2026 · Directory created

Directory created with two entries quoted from the schools' own published pages: Brown University (prohibits all AI use, including feedback) and Caltech (permits feedback, prohibits AI-drafted text).

Brown University, Caltech