{ "title": "College AI essay policies, verified", "source": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "as_of": "2026-10-16", "cite_as": "CollegeEssayPanel, \"College AI essay policies, verified,\" https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies, as of October 16, 2026. CC BY 4.0.", "methodology": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/methodology", "changes": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/changes", "tiers": { "prohibits": "Prohibits all AI use", "permits": "Permits with limits", "advisory": "Reported, not verifiable", "none": "No published policy" }, "entries": [ { "school": "Amherst College", "slug": "amherst-college", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/amherst-college", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "The admissions site blocks automated retrieval; its first-year application pages and writing supplement, read in a browser, carry no AI rule." }, { "school": "Appalachian State University", "slug": "appalachian-state-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/appalachian-state-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "App State's admissions and honors sites answer automated readers with a bot challenge, so their pages were read in a browser. The general application asks no essay: an interest statement and a list of activities are optional, and the only prompt the school prints is the Honors College essay. None of the pages read mentions AI." }, { "school": "Arizona State University", "slug": "arizona-state-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/arizona-state-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Barrett, The Honors College says of its own essay that AI should not be used. ASU general admission requires no essay at all and publishes no AI policy." }, { "school": "Auburn University", "slug": "auburn-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/auburn-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Auburn's guidance mentions admissions only in the other direction, saying the university's own use of AI in administrative processes should keep a human review step. Nothing addresses applicants using AI." }, { "school": "Barnard College", "slug": "barnard-college", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/barnard-college", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "Baylor University", "slug": "baylor-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/baylor-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "Boise State University", "slug": "boise-state-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/boise-state-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "General admission publishes no AI rule and asks a personal statement only of some applicants, by GPA band or application type. The Honors College says its own essay must be written in your own words without the use of AI, and that failing to comply may affect Honors admission. The university's international FAQ says it does not accept the Common Application." }, { "school": "Boston College", "slug": "boston-college", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/boston-college", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits AI as a guide; prohibits copying AI-produced content into the application", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/admission/apply.html", "operative_quote": "Generative artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT may also serve as a resource, but must only be used as a guide; content must never be directly copied from AI or other sources. The submission of original content not only adheres to the ethical expectations in applying to college, but benefits the applicant by having their authentic personal story valued by the Admission Committee.", "reading_note": "Boston College's note on AI sits inside its application-requirements page: AI may serve as a resource and guide, which covers feedback on an applicant's own writing. The line is drawn at copying AI-produced content into the application. Every submitted word must be the applicant's own.", "note": null }, { "school": "Boston University", "slug": "boston-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/boston-university", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits AI tools that support your original ideas; prohibits AI-written essays", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://www.bu.edu/admissions/apply/", "operative_quote": "If you opt to use these tools at any point while writing your essays, they should only be used to support your original ideas rather than to write your essays in their entirety. As potential future Terriers, we expect all applicants to adhere to the same standards of academic honesty and integrity as our current students. When representing the words or ideas of another in their original work, students should properly credit the source.", "reading_note": "Boston University's undergraduate Statement on Generative AI permits AI tools that support the applicant's original ideas and prohibits having AI write the essay. Feedback on a draft is a supporting use. BU also notes the most compelling personal statements carry the writer's authentic voice. Some BU graduate programs publish stricter rules; this entry covers undergraduate admissions.", "note": null }, { "school": "Bowdoin College", "slug": "bowdoin-college", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/bowdoin-college", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits AI brainstorming and feedback on a written draft; prohibits AI drafting, rewriting, or tone changes", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://www.bowdoin.edu/admissions/apply/ai-policy/index.html", "operative_quote": "[Permitted:] 'brainstorm ideas or reflect on possible essay topics' … 'review grammar or provide feedback after you have written a draft' [Prohibited:] 'you should not use AI to draft, write, or generate your responses' … 'you should not use AI to rewrite portions of your work or modify your tone' … 'you should not use AI or another tool to translate your written work from a different language into English'", "reading_note": "Bowdoin's dedicated AI-policy page is the clearest feedback permission in this directory: applicants may use AI to review grammar or provide feedback after writing a draft, while AI drafting, rewriting, tone modification, and translation are prohibited. The bracketed labels are ours; the quoted phrases are verbatim. Bowdoin applies the same ethic to human helpers.", "note": null }, { "school": "Brandeis University", "slug": "brandeis-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/brandeis-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "Brigham Young University", "slug": "brigham-young-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/brigham-young-university", "tier": "prohibits", "stance_label": "Applicants agree not to use generative AI tools; review by other people is allowed", "feedback_allowed": "No", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://enrollment.byu.edu/admissions/essays-and-activities", "operative_quote": "When you apply, you'll agree to an Essays and Activity Commitment, which includes: … Not using paid help or using generative AI tools (like ChatGPT). … Using your own words and ideas (you may ask others to review your essays for clarity).", "reading_note": "BYU's application includes an Essays and Activity Commitment that every applicant agrees to, and its first item is not using generative AI tools such as ChatGPT. The page lets other people review essays for clarity and extends no such allowance to AI, so CollegeEssayPanel reads the commitment as prohibiting AI review, the same conservative reading applied to Brown. The commitment replaced an earlier statement, quoted here until October 2026, that barred generative AI while composing and warned that offers could be rescinded for AI-generated essays; the new wording is broader, not narrower. The commitment's items are a bulleted list, joined above with ellipses. Applies to BYU's general application essays, not an honors track.", "note": null }, { "school": "Brown University", "slug": "brown-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/brown-university", "tier": "prohibits", "stance_label": "Prohibits AI for application content except basic spelling and grammar review; that excludes essay feedback", "feedback_allowed": "No", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://admission.brown.edu/apply/how-apply/integrity-application-process", "operative_quote": "Brown affirms this definition and reiterates our own independent policy that the use of artificial intelligence by an applicant is not permitted under any circumstances in conjunction with application content. While an applicant may use artificial intelligence to assist with spelling and grammar review, in the same way as any other platform that supports basic proofreading, the content of all essays, short-answer questions and any other material submitted by an applicant must be the work of that individual.", "reading_note": "Brown's prohibition covers any AI use in conjunction with application content, with only a spelling-and-grammar exception. An AI panel reading and critiquing the essay is AI used in conjunction with application content, so CollegeEssayPanel reads this conservatively as prohibiting AI feedback.", "note": null }, { "school": "Caltech", "slug": "caltech", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/caltech", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits grammar and spelling review and brainstorming prompts; substantive AI feedback is not addressed", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://www.admissions.caltech.edu/apply/first-year-applicants/supplemental-application-essays/ethical-use-of-ai-guidelines-for-fall-applicants", "operative_quote": "[Ethical examples:] 'Using AI tools, like Grammarly or Microsoft Editor, to review grammar and spelling of your completed essays' … 'Generating questions or exercises to help kick start the brainstorming process' [Unethical examples:] 'Copying and pasting directly from an AI generator' … 'Relying on AI generated content to outline or draft an essay' … 'Replacing your unique voice and tone with AI generated content' … 'Translating an essay written in another language'", "reading_note": "Caltech presents its guidance as Q&A headings with example bullets; the bracketed labels above are ours, the bulleted phrases verbatim. The ethical examples cover grammar and spelling review of completed essays, brainstorming kick-starts, and process research. Substantive critique of a completed draft is not addressed either way, so this reads narrower than a general feedback permission.", "note": null }, { "school": "Carleton College", "slug": "carleton-college", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/carleton-college", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "No Carleton page addresses applicants' use of AI. A feature on its admissions site about AI at the college says Carleton does not currently use AI in admissions, which describes the college's own process, not a rule for applicants." }, { "school": "Carnegie Mellon University", "slug": "carnegie-mellon-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/carnegie-mellon-university", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits AI feedback; prohibits AI-written text", "feedback_allowed": "Yes", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://www.cmu.edu/admission/admission/admission-faq", "operative_quote": "AI should never replace your unique voice, experiences and personal expression and, if used at all, should only serve as a supplementary tool to enhance your writing (i.e., grammar and spelling checks, suggested structural or vocabulary improvements).", "reading_note": "Carnegie Mellon's admissions FAQ permits AI as a supplementary tool (grammar, spelling, structural and vocabulary suggestions) while urging caution and barring AI from replacing the applicant's voice.", "note": null }, { "school": "Case Western Reserve University", "slug": "case-western-reserve-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/case-western-reserve-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "Chapman University", "slug": "chapman-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/chapman-university", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits ChatGPT and AI tools to support your essay; they may not write it for you", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": "https://www.chapman.edu/admission/undergraduate/how-to-apply/first-year/index.aspx", "operative_quote": "At Chapman University, we understand the appeal of ChatGPT and AI tools for writing assistance, but we trust in your abilities to create thoughtful and genuine essays. If you choose to utilize these resources, we ask that it be used to support your essay and not write it for you.", "reading_note": "Chapman's statement is the admissions office's own, in a banner headed Chapman Admission policy on ChatGPT and AI tools between Step 1 and Step 2 of its first-year application page; the clause asking that AI support your essay and not write it for you is bold on the page. It names ChatGPT and AI tools as writing assistance, trusts applicants to write thoughtful and genuine essays, and draws its line at AI writing the essay. Feedback is not addressed by name, so AI reviewing a draft you wrote sits on the support side of that line; AI-written text does not. Chapman asks no supplemental essay of its own, so the statement reaches the Common App essay and the Panther Profile questions inside the Common App.", "note": null }, { "school": "Claremont McKenna College", "slug": "claremont-mckenna-college", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/claremont-mckenna-college", "tier": "prohibits", "stance_label": "Limits AI to basic proofreading (grammar, punctuation, spelling); the essay must be written by the applicant", "feedback_allowed": "No", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://www.cmc.edu/admission/first-year-application-instructions", "operative_quote": "If you choose to use AI, it should be limited to basic proofreading, such as correcting grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors.", "reading_note": "CMC's first-year application instructions carry a section headed Essay Support and Artificial Intelligence, so this is deliberate admissions guidance rather than a general integrity rule read across. It admits AI for spelling, punctuation, and grammar and stops there, and separately says the essays should be written by the applicant. A panel review is substantive feedback, which sits outside that limit, so the conservative reading applies here as it does at Brown.", "note": null }, { "school": "Clemson University", "slug": "clemson-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/clemson-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "Colby College", "slug": "colby-college", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/colby-college", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Colby's site answers automated readers with a bot challenge, so its admissions pages were read in a browser; none of them mentions AI." }, { "school": "Colgate University", "slug": "colgate-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/colgate-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Colgate leaves AI use to individual faculty, course by course. No admissions AI policy." }, { "school": "Colorado State University", "slug": "colorado-state-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/colorado-state-university", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Bars having AI help write the essay or borrowing words from other places; AI feedback is not addressed", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": "https://admissions.colostate.edu/2016/11/17/conquer-admissions-essay/", "operative_quote": "You may be tempted to have AI help write your essay, or borrow words from other places. Don’t. We want to hear what YOU have to say. And remember that plagiarism is grounds for rejection of your application.", "reading_note": "Colorado State's line sits in the admissions office's own essay-tips post, which the freshman application guide links for guidance; the post dates from 2016 and its page metadata shows it last modified in May 2026, with the AI sentence present. It tells applicants not to have AI help write the essay and calls plagiarism grounds for rejection, and it says nothing about AI commenting on a draft the applicant wrote. A review that writes none of your text is not AI helping write your essay; if you read the line more broadly, keep AI away from your Colorado State essay.", "note": null }, { "school": "Columbia University", "slug": "columbia-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/columbia-university", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "No explicit rule on AI feedback; we read the published own-work standard as permitting it", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu/apply/firstyear", "operative_quote": "Students may utilize a wide range of resources, tools and support during the college admissions process. Regardless of the tools and support you may have used, we expect that all submitted application materials are your own original work and reflect your authentic voice.", "reading_note": "Columbia does not enumerate permitted or banned AI uses; it permits a wide range of tools while holding submissions to an own-original-work, authentic-voice standard, which excludes AI-written text but is consistent with AI feedback.", "note": null }, { "school": "Cornell University", "slug": "cornell-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/cornell-university", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits AI feedback; prohibits AI-written text", "feedback_allowed": "Yes", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://faq.enrollment.cornell.edu/kb/article/428-can-prospective-students-use-generative-ai-to-help-with-their-application-to-cornell/", "operative_quote": "If you choose to use generative AI in your application process, we expect you to do so ethically. Ethical uses of generative AI include researching colleges, brainstorming essay topics, and reviewing the grammar and spelling of your completed essays. Unethical uses include (but are not limited to) using generative AI to outline, draft, or write your essays…", "reading_note": "Cornell's enrollment FAQ draws an explicit line: brainstorming and review of completed essays are ethical; outlining, drafting, or writing with AI is not. The quoted unethical-uses list continues with translation and portfolio images, unrelated to essay feedback.", "note": null }, { "school": "Dartmouth College", "slug": "dartmouth-college", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/dartmouth-college", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Guidance exists only as admissions-podcast remarks, not a written policy." }, { "school": "Davidson College", "slug": "davidson-college", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/davidson-college", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Davidson's Artificial Intelligence Policy sits under IT guidelines and covers teaching, research, and administrative use. Admissions publishes no AI rule." }, { "school": "Drexel University", "slug": "drexel-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/drexel-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "Duke University", "slug": "duke-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/duke-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Publishes no rule on applicant AI use. Its 2026-27 essay prompts no longer include the optional question about AI." }, { "school": "Elon University", "slug": "elon-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/elon-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Elon's public pages print no essay prompt and name no writing supplement, while calling the application essay the second most important factor after the academic record; its own application's questions sit behind the Elon Application login. None of the pages read mentions AI." }, { "school": "Emory University", "slug": "emory-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/emory-university", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits AI feedback; prohibits AI-written text", "feedback_allowed": "Yes", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://apply.emory.edu/apply/faq.html", "operative_quote": "While AI and similar tools can provide some assistance and feedback, it is essential that your thoughts, voice, and story remain at the core of your application. AI tools could polish or refine, but they should not replace or generate your personal input or creativity.", "reading_note": "Emory's admissions FAQ explicitly allows AI assistance, feedback, polishing, and refining, while prohibiting AI that replaces or generates the applicant's own content.", "note": null }, { "school": "Florida State University", "slug": "florida-state-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/florida-state-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "Fordham University", "slug": "fordham-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/fordham-university", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits AI in its proper place, such as brainstorming ideas or polishing a draft; cautions against AI-manufactured content", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://www.fordham.edu/undergraduate-admission/apply/what-were-looking-for/writing-for-the-common-application/ai-policy-for-application-writing/", "operative_quote": "The rise in artificial intelligence tools (e.g. ChatGPT) creates the ability to use shortcuts that may seem attractive, but won't yield the same result as reflection, revision, and original thought. … AI can't capture how you think or what you value. You can use AI as a tool—but proceed with caution. … Using AI in its proper place, such as brainstorming ideas or polishing a draft, ensures that your work remains original.", "reading_note": "Fordham publishes a dedicated AI Policy for Application Writing page that names brainstorming and polishing a draft as AI 'in its proper place' while warning that AI-manufactured content defeats the essay's purpose. Feedback on the applicant's own writing sits squarely inside that permission. The page is public but served through Fordham's login gateway, which passes anonymous visitors through; verified in a real browser 2026-08-09.", "note": null }, { "school": "George Washington University", "slug": "george-washington-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/george-washington-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "Georgetown University", "slug": "georgetown-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/georgetown-university", "tier": "prohibits", "stance_label": "Applicants sign an attestation that AI tools may not be used to complete any part of the application, including essays", "feedback_allowed": "No", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://uapply.georgetown.edu/register/firstyearapplication", "operative_quote": "Further, the applicant understands that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to complete any portion of the application, including essays, is prohibited.", "reading_note": "Georgetown's first-year application ends with a signed attestation, readable on the public application form, in which every applicant affirms that using AI tools to complete any portion of the application, including essays, is prohibited. It makes no exception for grammar or feedback. Because it is worded around completing the application, a narrower reading (AI that writes) is arguable; CollegeEssayPanel does not take it, for the reason it does not at BYU: the student signs this statement, and being wrong costs them the application. Until October 2026 this attestation was known only from secondary reports and listed here as an unverified caution.", "note": null }, { "school": "Georgia State University", "slug": "georgia-state-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/georgia-state-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Georgia State's essay is optional, and its first-year page prints the topics; the Honors College essay is answered inside the Common App and not printed. None of the pages read mentions AI." }, { "school": "Georgia Tech", "slug": "georgia-tech", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/georgia-tech", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits AI feedback; prohibits AI-written text", "feedback_allowed": "Yes", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://sites.gatech.edu/admission-blog/2023/07/27/seniors-can-we-chatgpt/", "operative_quote": "We believe there is a place for them in helping you generate ideas, but your ultimate submission should be your own. As with all other sources, you should not copy and paste content you did not create directly into your application. … Use it to brainstorm, edit, and refine your ideas.", "reading_note": "The most affirmatively AI-friendly verified stance: Georgia Tech's admissions guidance encourages collaborative use of AI to brainstorm, edit, and refine, prohibiting only copy-pasted AI text.", "note": null }, { "school": "Hamilton College", "slug": "hamilton-college", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/hamilton-college", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Hamilton's generative AI guidelines come from its library and IT office and address coursework. Admissions publishes no AI rule." }, { "school": "Harvard University", "slug": "harvard-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/harvard-university", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "No explicit rule on AI feedback; we read the published fraud standard as permitting it", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://college.harvard.edu/resources/faq/what-help-can-students-receive-writing-their-essays", "operative_quote": "A student's essay should reflect their own content, writing style, and English proficiency. … The Common Application identifies the following as a possible form of fraud and violation of its application standards: 'submitting plagiarized essays or other written or oral material, or intentionally misrepresenting as one's own original work: (1) another person's thoughts, language, ideas, expressions, or experiences or (2) the substantive content or output of an artificial intelligence platform, technology, or algorithm.'", "reading_note": "Harvard publishes the Common Application fraud standard on its own admissions FAQ without an explicit feedback carve-out. The prohibition targets submitting AI's substantive output as your own work (AI-written text) rather than AI review, so feedback reads as permitted; this is the strictest of the fraud-standard schools. Some outside lists count Harvard among schools that ban AI help; Harvard's own page adds no AI rule beyond the Common Application standard it quotes.", "note": null }, { "school": "Harvey Mudd College", "slug": "harvey-mudd-college", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/harvey-mudd-college", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "The first-year Application FAQ makes no mention of AI. Mudd's AI guidelines are an IT rule about vendors not training models on college data." }, { "school": "Haverford College", "slug": "haverford-college", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/haverford-college", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Names generative AI for brainstorming supplement responses; AI feedback is not addressed", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://www.haverford.edu/admission/supplement", "operative_quote": "Good writing is a process, and there are many resources you might use as you craft your responses, including asking someone you trust to review your work and offer feedback or using generative artificial intelligence to brainstorm your response. But please know that what is most important to us is to hear your voice and ideas.", "reading_note": "Haverford's first-year supplement page, which every Early and Regular Decision applicant completes, names generative AI as a resource for brainstorming responses and credits feedback to someone you trust, without saying whether AI feedback counts. Nothing on the page restricts AI, and it asks above all to hear your voice. The statement covers the Haverford supplement responses and does not separately address the Common App essay. It has been on the page since at least January 2024; this directory listed Haverford as publishing nothing until October 2026. Verified in a real browser, because the site blocks automated retrieval.", "note": null }, { "school": "Howard University", "slug": "howard-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/howard-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Howard's university-wide AI policy governs the campus community and says nothing about applicants or admissions, and its admissions pages do not mention AI." }, { "school": "Indiana University Bloomington", "slug": "indiana-university-bloomington", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/indiana-university-bloomington", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "Iowa State University", "slug": "iowa-state-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/iowa-state-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "James Madison University", "slug": "james-madison-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/james-madison-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "Johns Hopkins University", "slug": "johns-hopkins-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/johns-hopkins-university", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits AI feedback; prohibits AI-written text", "feedback_allowed": "Yes", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://apply.jhu.edu/frequently-asked-questions/", "operative_quote": "It is Hopkins' policy that you may use AI tools for brainstorming or refining ideas before the writing process begins and for basic proofreading of your own writing, such as spelling and grammar review, but all material submitted within the application must be your own original work.", "reading_note": "Johns Hopkins' admissions FAQ explicitly permits brainstorming, idea refinement, and basic proofreading, and treats submitting AI's substantive content as application fraud under Common Application policies.", "note": null }, { "school": "Kansas State University", "slug": "kansas-state-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/kansas-state-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "K-State's freshman pages list no essay; admission runs on Kansas qualified-admissions criteria, applicants who miss them answer short-answer questions in a holistic review the site does not print, and competitive scholarships take supplemental applications. None of the pages read mentions AI. The essay sentence quoted is the page's own wording." }, { "school": "Lehigh University", "slug": "lehigh-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/lehigh-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Publishes an AI statement for graduate program applications (mechanics-level AI help only); nothing is published for undergraduate admissions." }, { "school": "Louisiana State University", "slug": "louisiana-state-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/louisiana-state-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "The DVM veterinary program tells its applicants that use of a third party service or artificial intelligence for generation of essay responses is prohibited, and reserves the right to rescind. That is the professional school's own application. General LSU undergraduate admission publishes no AI rule." }, { "school": "Loyola Marymount University", "slug": "loyola-marymount-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/loyola-marymount-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "Miami University", "slug": "miami-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/miami-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Miami's Oxford-campus admissions pages name the essay only as one factor in review and do not mention AI." }, { "school": "Michigan State University", "slug": "michigan-state-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/michigan-state-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "MSU's AI guidelines cover educational, research, and administrative use by members of the university, and its integrity rules govern enrolled coursework. Neither reaches applicants." }, { "school": "Middlebury College", "slug": "middlebury-college", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/middlebury-college", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "Mississippi State University", "slug": "mississippi-state-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/mississippi-state-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Mississippi State's freshman application asks no essay, personal statement or short answer; the pages read list the application, fee, transcript and optional test scores, and none of them mentions AI." }, { "school": "MIT", "slug": "mit", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/mit", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "New York University", "slug": "new-york-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/new-york-university", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits AI feedback; prohibits AI-written text", "feedback_allowed": "Yes", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://www.nyu.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/how-to-apply.html", "operative_quote": "While applicants may utilize AI as a tool during the college application process, their final application submission should be their authentic creation. NYU does not use AI detection technology as part of the review process.", "reading_note": "The most permissive verified policy: NYU affirmatively allows AI as a tool and asks only that the final submission be the applicant's authentic creation.", "note": null }, { "school": "North Carolina State University", "slug": "north-carolina-state-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/north-carolina-state-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "NC State states it has no official university-wide AI policy; use is set course by course. Admissions publishes no AI rule, and its first-year application pages carry no AI attestation." }, { "school": "Northeastern University", "slug": "northeastern-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/northeastern-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "Northwestern University", "slug": "northwestern-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/northwestern-university", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits AI feedback; prohibits AI-written text", "feedback_allowed": "Yes", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://admissions.northwestern.edu/apply/advice/ai.html", "operative_quote": "Just as you wouldn't ask another person to write your essays for you, we expect you won't ask AI to do that work on your behalf.", "reading_note": "Northwestern maintains a dedicated admissions AI-advice page (updated 9/23/25). Its Constructive Uses of Generative AI list includes, as bullets, brainstorming essay topics and reviewing the grammar, punctuation, and spelling of your completed essays; problematic uses are AI-written, AI-translated, or AI-reworked essays.", "note": null }, { "school": "Ohio State University", "slug": "ohio-state-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/ohio-state-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Graduate and professional admissions guidance requires your own ideas and defers AI permission to individual programs; undergraduate admissions publishes nothing." }, { "school": "Oklahoma State University", "slug": "oklahoma-state-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/oklahoma-state-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Oklahoma State's admissions site answers automated readers with a bot challenge, so its pages were read in a browser. They list no essay: the application for admission doubles as the scholarship application, with a leadership and involvement resume recommended, and holistic review weighs grades, scores, recommendations, leadership and involvement. None of the pages read mentions AI." }, { "school": "Oregon State University", "slug": "oregon-state-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/oregon-state-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Oregon State's pages name an optional personal statement and a response to one of its application essay prompts among the factors it reviews, and print neither; both sit inside the OSU application and the Common App. None of the pages read mentions AI." }, { "school": "Penn State University", "slug": "penn-state-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/penn-state-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "Pepperdine University", "slug": "pepperdine-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/pepperdine-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Pepperdine's Seaver College admission pages print its one essay question and say nothing about applicants' use of AI; the only AI language on the university's sites is the provost's syllabus guidance for courses." }, { "school": "Pomona College", "slug": "pomona-college", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/pomona-college", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "Princeton University", "slug": "princeton-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/princeton-university", "tier": "advisory", "stance_label": "Reported, not verifiable", "feedback_allowed": "Unclear (reported only)", "ai_written_text": "Unclear", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Princeton publishes no binding AI rule. The Dean of Admission's blog cautions against AI in applications (\"AI is not inherently 'bad', but I caution against it in your college application\"), and a September 2026 post by the same dean advises applicants to shy away from AI tools when preparing their essays: discouragement, not a prohibition." }, { "school": "Purdue University", "slug": "purdue-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/purdue-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Purdue's own application serves only its Polytechnic Statewide locations; every other first-year applicant applies through the Common App, where Purdue's own questions sit alongside the Common App essay." }, { "school": "Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute", "slug": "rensselaer-polytechnic-institute", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/rensselaer-polytechnic-institute", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "Rice University", "slug": "rice-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/rice-university", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Calls AI helpful for brainstorming or organizing ideas; any resource should amplify your voice, not create content for you", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://admission.rice.edu/frequently-asked-questions", "operative_quote": "As part of our contextual review at Rice, we value your authentic voice and story above all else. AI can be a helpful tool for brainstorming or organizing your ideas, much like consulting teachers, counselors, or family members. However, preserving your original thoughts remains essential. In alignment with Rice’s commitment to responsible AI usage, any resource you use should ultimately amplify your voice and should not create content for you, as no one else can articulate your unique lived experiences and perspective.", "reading_note": "New since the August sweep, when Rice published nothing: its undergraduate admission FAQ now likens AI to consulting teachers, counselors, or family members for brainstorming and organizing ideas, and draws the line at any resource creating content for you. The FAQ does not name feedback either way; feedback on an essay you wrote amplifies your voice without creating content, so it sits on the permitted side of that line.", "note": null }, { "school": "Rutgers University", "slug": "rutgers-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/rutgers-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "Santa Clara University", "slug": "santa-clara-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/santa-clara-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "Southern Methodist University", "slug": "southern-methodist-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/southern-methodist-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "SMU's applicant AI rules are scoped. The President's Scholars scholarship essay must be written without the use of AI, and graduate applicants to the Moody School sign a statement that they used no AI. Neither governs first-year admission, whose essay requirements do not mention AI. If you are applying for President's Scholars, keep AI away from that essay, including this review." }, { "school": "Stanford University", "slug": "stanford-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/stanford-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "State University of New York (SUNY)", "slug": "state-university-of-new-york-suny", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/state-university-of-new-york-suny", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "The applySUNY essay is described across the system's application pages with no AI language. SUNY's systemwide AI policy is institutional acceptable-use, and SUNY Empire's prohibition covers graduate admissions at one campus." }, { "school": "Swarthmore College", "slug": "swarthmore-college", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/swarthmore-college", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits brainstorming and feedback on readability, spelling, and mechanics; prohibits AI drafting, rewriting, translation, or tone changes", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://www.swarthmore.edu/admissions-aid/admissions-guidance-usage-artificial-intelligence", "operative_quote": "Whether you are getting help from AI or another person, we recommend that any assistance with writing comes at the beginning or end of the process — such as brainstorming ideas for essay topics or asking for feedback on readability, spelling, and mechanics. [Not acceptable:] 'Asking AI or another person to outline or draft an application essay' … 'Using AI to modify the tone of your writing (e.g., rewriting to sound more academic or conversational)' … 'Asking AI or another person to rewrite a significant portion of your essay(s)' … As you would when quoting or citing work from human creators, the submission of any AI-generated writing, audio, video, or graphic content in your application must include proper acknowledgement or citation.", "reading_note": "Swarthmore publishes dedicated admissions guidance on AI use. The recommended examples cover brainstorming and feedback on readability, spelling, and mechanics; the list of work that counts as substantially created by AI or another person covers outlining, drafting, translating, rewriting significant portions, and changing the tone. Substantive critique of a completed draft sits between those lists, so this reads narrower than a general feedback permission, and any AI-generated content submitted requires citation. The bracketed label is ours; the page introduces the list as examples of work you are not submitting.", "note": null }, { "school": "Syracuse University", "slug": "syracuse-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/syracuse-university", "tier": "advisory", "stance_label": "Reported, not verifiable", "feedback_allowed": "Unclear (reported only)", "ai_written_text": "Unclear", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Syracuse publishes no applicant AI policy on its own pages. A secondary source reports that the Newhouse School prohibits AI entirely and bars outside assistance on writing samples, but no such statement could be located on any syracuse.edu page, and the claim may refer to graduate portfolios. Check the requirements of the specific Syracuse school you are applying to before using any AI assistance, including this review." }, { "school": "Temple University", "slug": "temple-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/temple-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "Texas A&M University", "slug": "texas-a-m-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/texas-a-m-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "A first-party AI prohibition exists for the engineering major-placement (ETAM) essays of enrolled students, not for admission essays." }, { "school": "Texas Tech University", "slug": "texas-tech-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/texas-tech-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "The California State University (all campuses)", "slug": "the-california-state-university-all-campuses", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/the-california-state-university-all-campuses", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "CSU freshman admission is decided on coursework and GPA with no systemwide essay, and neither the apply pages nor the FAQ address applicant AI use. CSU's AI material governs enrolled students, faculty, and instruction." }, { "school": "The University of Alabama", "slug": "the-university-of-alabama", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/the-university-of-alabama", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "No essay or recommendation letters are required for freshman admission; the Honors College application does have an essay and is also silent on AI." }, { "school": "Tufts University", "slug": "tufts-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/tufts-university", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits AI feedback; prohibits AI-written text", "feedback_allowed": "Yes", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://admissions.tufts.edu/apply/short-answer-questions/", "operative_quote": "Tufts Admissions strongly discourages the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) for writing college admissions essays and short answer responses. … The Admissions Committee expects to read an applicant's original ideas presented in their own words.", "reading_note": "Tufts strongly discourages AI for writing essays; the hard prohibition is on submitting AI-generated text as your own. Discouragement is not a ban on feedback.", "note": null }, { "school": "Tulane University", "slug": "tulane-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/tulane-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Reportedly paused its supplemental essay for 2026-27 over AI concerns; no applicant AI-use policy is published." }, { "school": "UNC Chapel Hill", "slug": "unc-chapel-hill", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/unc-chapel-hill", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Publishes no rule on applicants' own AI use. Its admissions FAQ now says the office does not use AI anywhere in evaluating applications; earlier in 2026 the same FAQ described using AI for data points on essays and transcripts." }, { "school": "University of Alaska Fairbanks", "slug": "university-of-alaska-fairbanks", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-alaska-fairbanks", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "UAF's admission pages carry no AI rule. Other University of Alaska campuses publish AI rules for specific programs, such as the Anchorage Middle College placement essay; none governs UAF first-year admission." }, { "school": "University of Arizona", "slug": "university-of-arizona", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-arizona", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "University of Arkansas", "slug": "university-of-arkansas", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-arkansas", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "No essay is required for admission; a scholarship essay exists and asks only that published sources be cited." }, { "school": "University of California (all campuses)", "slug": "university-of-california-all-campuses", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-california-all-campuses", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits advice on content and editing; names AI only for help with readability", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://apply.universityofcalifornia.edu/docs/StatementOfIntegrity.pdf", "operative_quote": "The personal insight responses should reflect the student's own ideas and experiences, be independently written by the student and reflect the student's personal writing style. Students may receive advice on content and editing, including the use of generative artificial intelligence software to assist with readability, but content and final written text must be their own.", "reading_note": "One system-wide Statement of Application Integrity covers every UC campus, including UCLA and Berkeley. It permits advice on content and editing, names generative AI only as help with readability, and requires the content and final written text to be the student's own. It does not say whether AI may advise on content, and some guides read it as limiting AI to readability. A review that writes none of your text is advice under the statement's terms; if you read UC's line more narrowly, keep AI to readability for your UC answers.", "note": null }, { "school": "University of Central Florida", "slug": "university-of-central-florida", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-central-florida", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "University of Chicago", "slug": "university-of-chicago", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-chicago", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "University of Cincinnati", "slug": "university-of-cincinnati", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-cincinnati", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "University of Colorado Boulder", "slug": "university-of-colorado-boulder", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-colorado-boulder", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "An admissions-authored essay-tips article discusses applicant AI use but states no CU rule, telling students instead to check each university's own policies. Advice, not policy. The Norlin Scholars page bars AI for that scholarship only." }, { "school": "University of Connecticut", "slug": "university-of-connecticut", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-connecticut", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits AI feedback; prohibits AI-written text", "feedback_allowed": "Yes", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://admissions.uconn.edu/apply/", "operative_quote": "However, your ultimate submission should be your own. As with all other sources, do not copy and paste content you did not create directly into your application. If you choose to utilize AI-based assistance while working on your writing submissions for UConn, we encourage you to take the same approach when collaborating with people – use it to brainstorm, edit, and refine your ideas.", "reading_note": "One of the most explicit permissions in the directory: UConn names brainstorming, editing, and refining as acceptable AI uses and asks only that the submitted words be the applicant's own. Published on the main Apply page and applying to first-year admission generally.", "note": null }, { "school": "University of Delaware", "slug": "university-of-delaware", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-delaware", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "University of Florida", "slug": "university-of-florida", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-florida", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "University of Georgia", "slug": "university-of-georgia", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-georgia", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits AI like any other general writing aid; the submitted essay must be your own work", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://admissions.uga.edu/apply/first-year-applicants/first-year-faqs/", "operative_quote": "May I use artificial intelligence (AI) to help write my admissions essay? AI tools may be used like any other general writing aid, but the essay submitted must be your own work. The goal is for UGA to learn about you in your own voice.", "reading_note": "UGA answers the question directly in its first-year FAQ: AI tools may be used like any other general writing aid, with the requirement that the submitted essay be the applicant's own work, in their own voice. A general writing aid covers feedback and editing help.", "note": null }, { "school": "University of Hawaii at Manoa", "slug": "university-of-hawaii-at-manoa", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-hawaii-at-manoa", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "No essay is required. A page telling students not to use AI on personal statements belongs to the Pre-Health/Pre-Law Advising Center and concerns applications to OTHER schools' medical, dental, and law programs." }, { "school": "University of Houston", "slug": "university-of-houston", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-houston", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "University of Idaho", "slug": "university-of-idaho", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-idaho", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Idaho's AI guidance is an IT support standard and a thesis-disclosure rule for enrolled students. Neither governs applicants, and admissions publishes no AI policy." }, { "school": "University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign", "slug": "university-of-illinois-urbana-champaign", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-illinois-urbana-champaign", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "University of Iowa", "slug": "university-of-iowa", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-iowa", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "The Honors Program, a separate application, treats AI-written submissions as application fraud. General first-year admission publishes no AI policy, so Iowa applicants are not stopped." }, { "school": "University of Kansas", "slug": "university-of-kansas", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-kansas", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "The School of Architecture and Design tells its applicants that responses using AI writing tools will not be accepted, covering design and architecture majors only. General KU admission requires no essay and publishes no AI rule." }, { "school": "University of Kentucky", "slug": "university-of-kentucky", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-kentucky", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "The College of Social Work bars AI in its BASW program application, but that is submitted by students already enrolled at UK, not by admissions applicants." }, { "school": "University of Maine", "slug": "university-of-maine", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-maine", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Maine recommends an essay or personal statement and prints no prompt for it; the prompts it prints are for first-year Nursing applicants. None of the pages read mentions AI." }, { "school": "University of Maryland College Park", "slug": "university-of-maryland-college-park", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-maryland-college-park", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "University of Massachusetts Amherst", "slug": "university-of-massachusetts-amherst", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-massachusetts-amherst", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "The only AI content on UMass undergraduate admissions runs the other way: an FAQ stating the office does not use AI to evaluate applications." }, { "school": "University of Miami", "slug": "university-of-miami", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-miami", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "The Herbert Business School publishes AI guidelines for its graduate applicants (AI help permitted with mandatory disclosure); nothing is published for undergraduate admissions." }, { "school": "University of Michigan", "slug": "university-of-michigan", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-michigan", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits thoughtful AI help (brainstorming, outlining, proofreading); prohibits pasting AI-written text", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://admissions.umich.edu/apply/first-year-applicants/essay-questions", "operative_quote": "Your essays should tell your story, in your words. AI tools can be helpful when used thoughtfully, such as for brainstorming, outlining, proofreading, or organizing information. We recognize these tools may be especially useful for applicants who have limited access to application guidance. However, your application should reflect your own ideas, experiences, and authentic voice. Do not copy and paste AI-generated text or submit work that does not represent you.", "reading_note": "New for the 2026-27 cycle: Michigan replaced its fraud-standard-by-reference page with explicit guidance (Representing Your Authentic Voice, on the essay-questions page). The helpful-uses list is expressly non-exhaustive (such as), bounded by the authentic-voice requirement and a ban on pasting AI-generated text. Verified in a real browser 2026-08-04; the admissions domain blocks automated fetching.", "note": null }, { "school": "University of Minnesota Twin Cities", "slug": "university-of-minnesota-twin-cities", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-minnesota-twin-cities", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "No essay is required for freshman admission, and no applicant AI policy is published." }, { "school": "University of Mississippi", "slug": "university-of-mississippi", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-mississippi", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "The Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College warns that responses appearing to be AI-generated may affect the admission decision. That addresses AI-written text, not feedback, and general UM admission requires no essay." }, { "school": "University of Missouri", "slug": "university-of-missouri", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-missouri", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "General admission publishes no AI rule. The Honors College has its own application, separate from Mizzou admission, and allows generative AI only to assist with readability (grammar or clarity suggestions on work you wrote yourself). If you are writing an Honors College essay, keep AI to readability; a full panel review goes beyond that." }, { "school": "University of Montana", "slug": "university-of-montana", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-montana", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Montana states it has no campus-wide generative AI policy; its Student Code of Conduct counts AI in its plagiarism definition, which governs enrolled coursework rather than admissions." }, { "school": "University of Nebraska-Lincoln", "slug": "university-of-nebraska-lincoln", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-nebraska-lincoln", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "The Honors Program advises against generative AI rather than barring it. General admission requires no essay." }, { "school": "University of Nevada, Las Vegas", "slug": "university-of-nevada-las-vegas", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-nevada-las-vegas", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "No essay is required for general first-year admission. The Boyd School of Law publishes a detailed applicant AI policy, but that is a professional program. The Engelstad Scholars scholarship for admitted first-years holds applicants to UNLV's academic integrity policy, which prohibits unauthorized AI use, so keep AI away from that essay, including this review." }, { "school": "University of Nevada, Reno", "slug": "university-of-nevada-reno", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-nevada-reno", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "The university's freshman guide says its undergraduate application does not require an essay; the Honors College application does. Neither page mentions AI, and the academic standards policy that names generative AI governs enrolled students' coursework." }, { "school": "University of New Hampshire", "slug": "university-of-new-hampshire", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-new-hampshire", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "University of New Mexico", "slug": "university-of-new-mexico", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-new-mexico", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "UNM states that essays, portfolios, and recommendations are not necessary for admission." }, { "school": "University of North Carolina at Charlotte", "slug": "university-of-north-carolina-at-charlotte", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-north-carolina-at-charlotte", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "General admission requires one essay answering any of the Common App prompts and publishes no AI rule for it. The Honors College says responses to its own essay prompt must be entirely the applicant's own and that AI should not be used in producing that essay." }, { "school": "University of North Dakota", "slug": "university-of-north-dakota", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-north-dakota", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "The School of Graduate Studies discourages generative AI in the Statement of Goals and requires any use to be cited. Graduate applications only; undergraduate admission publishes no AI rule." }, { "school": "University of Notre Dame", "slug": "university-of-notre-dame", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-notre-dame", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits spelling and grammar review and pre-writing brainstorming; substantive AI feedback is not addressed", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://admissions.nd.edu/apply/ai-policy/", "operative_quote": "While an applicant may use artificial intelligence to assist with spelling and grammar review, or brainstorming support before writing, the content of all essays, short answer questions, activities, and any other material submitted must be an applicant's own work. Submitting content generated, drafted, or substantially written by artificial intelligence tools or other text-generating software may result in the revocation of your offer of admission or potential expulsion.", "reading_note": "New since the July sweep: Notre Dame published a dedicated AI Policy page under Apply that adopts the Common App fraud standard and enumerates its own permissions, which are spelling and grammar review plus brainstorming support before writing. Substantive critique of a completed draft is not addressed either way, so this reads narrower than a general feedback permission. Verified in a real browser 2026-08-04.", "note": null }, { "school": "University of Oklahoma", "slug": "university-of-oklahoma", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-oklahoma", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "OU requires a 250-650 word essay and publishes a dedicated essay page plus writing tips; neither mentions AI, which makes the absence meaningful rather than moot." }, { "school": "University of Oregon", "slug": "university-of-oregon", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-oregon", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "A hard AI ban exists on the Residential Education student-worker employment pages; that is hiring, not admissions." }, { "school": "University of Pennsylvania", "slug": "university-of-pennsylvania", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-pennsylvania", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits AI help likened to a counselor's (organizing thoughts, grammar checks); prohibits AI-generated responses", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://admissions.upenn.edu/how-to-apply/preparing-your-application/integrity-AI-in-admissions-process", "operative_quote": "Getting help is not the same as losing ownership. Talking through an idea with a parent, teacher, or counselor, having someone proofread your writing, or using a tool, including an AI tool, to organize your thoughts or check your grammar, doesn't compromise your application certification. What would compromise your application is submitting work, ideas, or experiences that aren't authentically yours, whether that means someone else wrote your essay, an AI tool generated your responses, or your activities and honors are embellished or invented.", "reading_note": "New since the July sweep: Penn published a dedicated integrity-and-AI page that analogizes AI help to a parent, teacher, or counselor. Its enumerated AI examples are organizing thoughts and grammar checks, with the ban aimed at AI-generated responses; its own test is whether you could explain your writing in an interview. Verified in a real browser 2026-08-04.", "note": null }, { "school": "University of Pittsburgh", "slug": "university-of-pittsburgh", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-pittsburgh", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "The School of Medicine FAQ addresses AI for the AMCAS medical application, allowing brainstorming, proofreading, and editing but not AI-written essays. That is the medical application; undergraduate admission publishes no AI rule." }, { "school": "University of Rhode Island", "slug": "university-of-rhode-island", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-rhode-island", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "University of Richmond", "slug": "university-of-richmond", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-richmond", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Richmond's admissions pages and its Insider's Guide posts say nothing about applicants' use of AI; the essay guide asks that any advice you take still sound like you." }, { "school": "University of Rochester", "slug": "university-of-rochester", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-rochester", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Acknowledges AI may help with topic ideas and editing or refining; discourages AI-composed essays", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://admissions.rochester.edu/applying/how-to-apply/", "operative_quote": "While artificial intelligence tools may be helpful in generating essay topic ideas, and in editing or refining students' writing, the University of Rochester discourages the use of AI to compose application essays or short answer responses. The effect often stifles an applicant's authentic voice – a key element of what we hope to hear within their personal statement.", "reading_note": "Rochester's statement, published with its application instructions, itself acknowledges AI can help with topic ideas and with editing or refining a student's writing, and stops at discouraging (not prohibiting) AI-composed essays. Feedback on an essay the student wrote is on the permitted side of that line.", "note": null }, { "school": "University of South Carolina", "slug": "university-of-south-carolina", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-south-carolina", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "The Joseph F. Rice School of Law tells applicants not to use generative AI, but that is J.D. admissions. The undergraduate bulletin's application-integrity section carries no AI language." }, { "school": "University of South Dakota", "slug": "university-of-south-dakota", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-south-dakota", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "South Dakota's AI guidance addresses classroom use and disclosure by enrolled students. Admissions publishes no AI policy." }, { "school": "University of South Florida", "slug": "university-of-south-florida", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-south-florida", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "USF reads no essay for admission: its academic-requirements page says any essay or personal statement submitted will not be opened or reviewed, so there is nothing for an AI rule to govern." }, { "school": "University of Southern California", "slug": "university-of-southern-california", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-southern-california", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Accepts AI for brainstorming, getting unstuck, or improving a sentence; bars AI drafting, rewriting paragraphs, or generating your ideas", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://admission.usc.edu/prospective-students/how-to-apply/what-we-look-for/", "operative_quote": "Plenty of applicants will use them somewhere in their writing process from brainstorming a topic, to getting unstuck, to improving a sentence that isn’t landing. Those examples aren’t too different from asking a teacher or a parent to read a draft, and we don’t expect you to pretend these AI tools don’t exist. What we do expect is that the words and thoughts you share are yours. If AI is drafting your essay, rewriting your paragraphs, or generating the ideas you’re presenting as your own thinking, that crosses a line, even if you technically “wrote” the final version by copying it down.", "reading_note": "New since the August sweep, when USC published nothing: its undergraduate What We Look For page added a note on AI covering the Common App essay, USC's short responses, and the activities list. It likens brainstorming, getting unstuck, and improving a sentence to asking a teacher or parent to read a draft, and draws the line at AI drafting the essay, rewriting paragraphs, or generating the ideas you present as your own. USC also says it does not penalize thoughtful, appropriate AI use. Feedback on a draft you wrote sits on the accepted side of that line.", "note": null }, { "school": "University of Tennessee, Knoxville", "slug": "university-of-tennessee-knoxville", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-tennessee-knoxville", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "University of Texas at Austin", "slug": "university-of-texas-at-austin", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-texas-at-austin", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "University of Utah", "slug": "university-of-utah", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-utah", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "University of Vermont", "slug": "university-of-vermont", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-vermont", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "University of Virginia", "slug": "university-of-virginia", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-virginia", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits AI feedback; prohibits AI-written text", "feedback_allowed": "Yes", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://admission.virginia.edu/node/1146", "operative_quote": "Generative AI may play a minor role in your final product by helping you brainstorm essay topics or check for grammar mistakes, but we ask that you do not cut and paste any part of your essay or personal statements from an AI tool. All final submitted materials should be your original work.", "reading_note": "UVA permits brainstorming and grammar checks, prohibits pasting AI text, and backs the rule with the honor statement every applicant signs pledging the materials are not primarily a product of AI. Verified in a real browser 2026-08-04; the admission subdomain blocks automated fetching.", "note": null }, { "school": "University of Washington", "slug": "university-of-washington", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-washington", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Explicitly permits an AI tool reviewing your writing; the essay must remain your own original work", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://admit.washington.edu/apply/first-year/how-to-apply/writing-section/", "operative_quote": "All writing in the application, including your essay/personal statement, must be your own original work. If you choose to have a parent, counselor, tutor, friend or AI tool review your writing, it must be done responsibly and ethically — again, it must be your own original work.", "reading_note": "The University of Washington's first-year writing-section page names an 'AI tool' alongside parents, counselors, tutors, and friends as an acceptable reviewer of the applicant's writing, conditioned on responsible use and the essay remaining the applicant's own original work. It is the most direct permission for AI feedback in this directory.", "note": null }, { "school": "University of Wisconsin-Madison", "slug": "university-of-wisconsin-madison", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-wisconsin-madison", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "No disqualification for AI use and no AI detection; strongly discourages having AI write the essay for you", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://admissions.wisc.edu/essays/", "operative_quote": "We will not disqualify an applicant found to have used or suspected of using AI in their admissions essays, nor are we running essays through any system to detect if AI was used. However, we strongly discourage students from simply feeding AI a prompt for their essay, as it denies you the opportunity to help us better understand why you would be a good fit for UW–Madison.", "reading_note": "UW–Madison's essay page carries a dedicated 'Use of AI in Admissions Essays' section and is the most explicit non-enforcement statement in this directory: no disqualification for AI use and no AI detection, paired with a strong discouragement of wholesale AI generation. Feedback on a student-written essay is not discouraged by the text at all.", "note": null }, { "school": "University of Wyoming", "slug": "university-of-wyoming", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/university-of-wyoming", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "The graduate Speech-Language Pathology application says its written prompt should not be generated using artificial intelligence. One graduate program, not a university rule; undergraduate admission publishes no AI policy." }, { "school": "Utah State University", "slug": "utah-state-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/utah-state-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Utah State's first-year application lists no essay; the only prompts the school prints are the University Honors Program's three essays, open to students once admitted to USU. Its apply pages name only the university's own application. None of the pages read mentions AI." }, { "school": "Vanderbilt University", "slug": "vanderbilt-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/vanderbilt-university", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits AI feedback; prohibits AI-written text", "feedback_allowed": "Yes", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/apply/expert-advice/", "operative_quote": "We understand that you might use other forms of assistance, such as ChatGPT or other forms of AI, as you prepare your essay. … Likewise, AI should never be used to replace your own independent thinking. As you complete the essay portions of the application, you should always use your own voice and write about your own life experiences.", "reading_note": "Vanderbilt names ChatGPT directly and accepts AI assistance for brainstorming and grammar by analogy to human helpers (the elided text endorses asking a parent or peer for feedback on clarity and structure), while prohibiting AI that replaces the student's own thinking or rewrites the essay.", "note": null }, { "school": "Vassar College", "slug": "vassar-college", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/vassar-college", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "Villanova University", "slug": "villanova-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/villanova-university", "tier": "prohibits", "stance_label": "Writing supplements must be unaided by AI, which prohibits AI feedback on Villanova supplemental essays", "feedback_allowed": "No", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://www.villanova.edu/university/undergraduate-admission/applying-to-villanova/application-essays.html", "operative_quote": "The Admission Committee expects that each writing supplement be the original work of the applicant, unaided by artificial intelligence. Those found to be submitting writing that is not their own may be denied or have their admission rescinded.", "reading_note": "Villanova's Important Note names the writing supplements specifically: each must be 'unaided by artificial intelligence,' with denial or rescission as stated consequences. 'Unaided' admits no feedback exception, so CollegeEssayPanel reads this as prohibiting AI review of Villanova-bound essays. The note sits on the page that also carries the Common App and Coalition essay requirements without a separate AI statement for them; we apply the conservative reading to any essay named for Villanova rather than guessing where the line sits. One 2026-27 supplement prompt opens by saying Villanova embraces AI with thoughtful, ethical use and asks how technology can help you serve the common good; that is a question about technology, not permission to use AI on the supplement, and the 'unaided' requirement sits on the same page.", "note": null }, { "school": "Virginia Tech", "slug": "virginia-tech", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/virginia-tech", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "Announced that its own office uses an AI reviewer alongside each human essay reader; publishes nothing on applicants' own AI use." }, { "school": "Wake Forest University", "slug": "wake-forest-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/wake-forest-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "Washington State University", "slug": "washington-state-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/washington-state-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "General first-year admission asks no essay; the Honors College application and applicants aged 25 and over write one. Student Financial Services publishes a policy for the WSU General Scholarship Application that permits generative AI tools on that application, which governs the scholarship application, not admission; no admission page mentions AI." }, { "school": "Washington University in St. Louis", "slug": "washington-university-in-st-louis", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/washington-university-in-st-louis", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits grammar and spelling review only; substantive AI feedback is not addressed", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://admissions.washu.edu/how-to-apply/common-questions/", "operative_quote": "Reviewing the grammar and spelling of your completed essays can be a helpful use of AI, but you may ask a teacher or counselor to review as well. Unethical uses include (but are not limited to) using AI to brainstorm essay topics or draft or write your essays.", "reading_note": "Narrower than most permits-feedback schools: WashU allows grammar-and-spelling review of completed essays but explicitly lists brainstorming essay topics (not just drafting) among prohibited uses.", "note": null }, { "school": "Wellesley College", "slug": "wellesley-college", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/wellesley-college", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": null }, { "school": "Wesleyan University", "slug": "wesleyan-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/wesleyan-university", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "No explicit rule on AI feedback; bars submitting AI-copied content as your own (published for international applicants)", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://www.wesleyan.edu/admission/undergraduate-admission/international/", "operative_quote": "A candidate’s personal statement must be their own work. The personal statement’s purpose is to provide more insight into the candidate’s own ideas, background, and writing abilities in English. Wesleyan recognizes there are artificial intelligence (AI) tools and resources available to candidates. Nonetheless, we expect that candidates’ responses to all application questions are authentically their own and reflective of their abilities. Candidates may not submit as their own, any content either copied and pasted from an AI resource or authored by another individual. If it is determined that an applicant received inappropriate assistance with the application essays, candidacy will be compromised and/or admission rescinded.", "reading_note": "Wesleyan publishes this under a Special Statement About Authenticity, AI, and the Use of Agents on its International Applicants page. The wording addresses candidates generally and the other admission pages we checked carry no separate statement, so it is listed here for every Wesleyan-bound essay. It bars submitting content copied from an AI resource as your own and warns that inappropriate assistance with the essays can cost the application or the offer. It does not say whether AI feedback counts as inappropriate assistance; a review that writes none of your text leaves the submitted words yours, which is the line the statement draws. Some outside lists count Wesleyan among schools that ban AI help; its own statement bans AI-written content and does not mention feedback.", "note": null }, { "school": "West Virginia University", "slug": "west-virginia-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/west-virginia-university", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "WVU states that no essays or recommendations are required for first-time freshmen, so there is no admissions essay for a policy to govern. Its MSW and medical programs do bar AI in application materials, graduate only." }, { "school": "William & Mary", "slug": "william-mary", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/william-mary", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Calls AI helpful for brainstorming, organizing ideas or refining grammar; applicants affirm their materials are their own original work, not primarily the product of AI", "feedback_allowed": "Within limits", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-11-03", "source_url": "https://www.wm.edu/admission/undergraduateadmission/how-to-apply/first-year-applicants/ai-application-process/", "operative_quote": "While AI tools can be helpful for brainstorming, organizing ideas or refining grammar, essays and personal statements that depend too much on AI often miss what matters most: your unique perspective, experiences and personal voice. In reviewing admission applications, we remain focused on understanding who you are, reading your individual story and learning why the W&M community could be a good fit for your next chapter. As part of the Common App, all applicants are required to affirm that the information they submit is \"my own work, factually true and honestly presented.\" W&M is proud to claim the first student honor code in the nation, and this affirmation reflects William & Mary's enduring commitment to a community grounded in trust and integrity. We expect our students - and our applicants - to uphold the highest standards of honesty. By submitting your application, you affirm that the materials submitted are your own original work - not primarily the product of AI.", "reading_note": "William & Mary keeps a dedicated admissions page, AI and the Application Process, linked from its first-year applicant pages. It calls AI helpful for brainstorming, organizing ideas or refining grammar, warns that essays depending too much on AI lose the applicant's voice, and ties the Common App affirmation to the school's honor code: what you submit must be your own original work, not primarily the product of AI. A review that writes none of your text leaves the work yours. The two quoted paragraphs are consecutive on the page, and the spaced hyphens are the page's own.", "note": null }, { "school": "Williams College", "slug": "williams-college", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/williams-college", "tier": "none", "stance_label": "No published policy", "feedback_allowed": "Not addressed", "ai_written_text": "Not addressed; the Common App rule still applies", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": null, "operative_quote": null, "reading_note": null, "note": "The admissions site blocks automated retrieval; its first-year application page, read in a browser, carries no AI rule." }, { "school": "Yale University", "slug": "yale-university", "page_url": "https://collegeessaypanel.com/policies/yale-university", "tier": "permits", "stance_label": "Permits AI feedback; prohibits AI-written text", "feedback_allowed": "Yes", "ai_written_text": "No", "checked_on": "2026-10-16", "source_url": "https://admissions.yale.edu/ai-policy", "operative_quote": "Using an AI platform to review one's grammar or spelling, or to seek general advice or topic suggestions at the start of the writing process does not constitute application fraud. Submitting personal statements or other written application responses composed by text-generating software may result in admission revocation or expulsion.", "reading_note": "Yale maintains a dedicated admissions AI-policy page with an explicit carve-out: grammar review, general advice, and topic suggestions are fine; submitting AI-composed text is application fraud. The two quoted sentences come from separate paragraphs of that page.", "note": null } ] }