School AI policies · University of Southern California
Does University of Southern California allow AI help with college essays?
Accepts AI for brainstorming, getting unstuck, or improving a sentence; bars AI drafting, rewriting paragraphs, or generating your ideas
What University of Southern California publishes
“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.”
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.
Verified October 16, 2026 · published policy
Do your own fact-checking. This page is a starting point, not the authority. The school's own admissions pages are. Policies can change after our check date (October 16, 2026), and you are responsible for verifying University of Southern California's current policy yourself before you rely on it, here or anywhere else.
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