Can
 ChatGPT get into Harvard? We tested
 its admissions
 essay.

By  and 

ChatGPT’s release a year ago triggered a wave of panic among educators. Now, universities are in the midst of college application season, concerned that students might use the artificial intelligence tool to forge admissions essays.

But is a chatbot-created essay good enough to fool college admissions counselors?

To find out, The Washington Post asked a prompt engineer — an expert at directing AI chatbots — to create college essays using ChatGPT. The chatbot produced two essays: one responding to a question from the Common Application, which thousands of colleges use for admissions, and one answering a prompt used solely for applicants to Harvard University.

We presented these essays to a former Ivy League college admissions counselor, Adam Nguyen, who previously advised students at Harvard University and read admissions essays at Columbia University. We presented Nguyen with a control: a set of real college admissions essays penned by Jasmine Green, a Post intern who used them to get into Harvard University, where she is currently a senior.

We asked Nguyen to read the essays and spot which ones were produced by AI. The results were illuminating.

Can you figure out which one was written by a human?

Who wrote this?

When I wasn't nose-deep in To Kill a Mockingbird or jotting down research for my paper on redlining, I wrote little pieces. But this—this was different. The room was filled with kids from my block, a neighborhood crisscrossed with stories like powerlines. My mom, a nurse who's seen her share of life, sat in the back
Incorrect
This essay was written by AI. It’s vague and trite, common features of chatbot writing.

Since kindergarten, I have evaluated myself from the reflection of my teachers. I was the clever, gifted child. I was a pleasure to have in class. I was driven and tenacious - but lazy? Unmotivated? No instructor had ever directed those harsh words at me. My identity as a stellar student had been stripped of its luster; I was destroyed.

Incorrect
This essay was written by a human. It’s specific and reflective, something ChatGPT struggles to do.

Computer science and college admissions experts say that AI-created essays have some easy tells — helpful for admissions officers who are prepping for an uptick in ChatGPT-written essays.

Responses written by ChatGPT often lack specific details, leading to essays that lack supporting evidence for their points. The writing is trite and uses platitudes to explain situations, rather than delving into the emotional experience of the author. The essays are often repetitive and predictable, leaving readers without surprise or a sense of the writer’s journey. If chatbots produce content on issues of race, sex or socioeconomic status, they often employ stereotypes.

At first, Nguyen was impressed by the AI-generated essays: They were readable and mostly free of grammatical errors. But if he was reviewing the essay as part of an application package, he would’ve stopped reading.

“The essay is such a mediocre essay that it would not help the candidate’s application or chances,” he said in an interview. “In fact, it would probably diminish it.”

Here is how Nguyen evaluated ChatGPT’s essay.

Prompt: Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
I remember standing under the spotlight at the local youth center, trembling, about to recite my first spoken word poem. I had no clue it would change my life.

Sure, I’d always liked writing. When I wasn’t nose-deep in “To Kill a Mockingbird” or jotting down research for my paper on redlining, I wrote little pieces. But this—this was different. The room was filled with kids from my block, a neighborhood crisscrossed with stories like powerlines. My mom, a nurse who’s seen her share of life , sat in the back. My dad and brother had to work but they texted me good luck emojis; that’s their way.

That night, I spoke about the hardship that our community faces. We’ve been scarred by financial instability, racial prejudice, and loss—my childhood friend Jayla was a casualty of that. She and I used to make mud pies in my backyard. I always pictured us growing up side by side, but life had other plans. My words poured out, a mix of pain, but also hope. When I finished, the room erupted into applause. The sound was healing. I stepped off the stage, having found my voice.

It wasn’t just the claps or the praise that followed. It was the conversations I started to have—with friends, teachers, even strangers. That night launched me into an active role in my community, organizing poetry nights and later using that platform to talk about issues like systemic racism, sparking dialogues we’d long ignored.

In sociology class, we learned theories about the impact of social issues. I decided to connect this knowledge with my passion for spoken word. I teamed up with my teacher and began an after-school club. It became an unexpected haven for kids to express, question, and grow. And in between planning, studying, and making time for my odd hobby of collecting vintage postcards, I finally found balance. My grades improved, my relationships strengthened, and I felt rooted.

These are Nguyen's annotations.
ChatGPT can be good at mimicking human writing in some ways.
Good opening. Creates a certain level of suspense
But isn’t good at being specific.
Vague. Little pieces about what?
AI can be bad at completing a thought.
Abrupt end to story.
ChatGPT often writes in a random way.
At this point, almost halfway through the essay, I’m beginning to get a bit annoyed with the jump from important topic to important topic
AI often puts in details that don’t fit.
Random! What’s the relevance here?
ChatGPT isn’t original.
Trite. Waste of space while saying little of value to support their application.

Nguyen said that while AI may be sufficient to use for everyday writing, it is particularly unhelpful in creating college admissions essays. To start, he said, admissions offices are using AI screening tools to filter out computer-generated essays. (This technology can be inaccurate and falsely implicate students, a Post analysis found.)

But more importantly, admissions essays are a unique type of writing, he said. They require students to reflect on their life and craft their experiences into a compelling narrative that quickly provides college admissions counselors with a sense of why that person is unique.

“ChatGPT is not there,” he said.

Nguyen understands why AI might be appealing. College application deadlines often fall around the busiest time of the year, near winter holidays and end-of-semester exams. “Students are overwhelmed,” Nguyen said.

But Nguyen isn’t entirely opposed to using AI in the application process. In his current business, Ivy Link, he helps students craft college applications. For those who are weak in writing, he sometimes suggests they use AI chatbots to start the brainstorming process, he said.

For those who can’t resist the urge to use AI for more than just inspiration, there may be consequences.

“Their essays will be terrible,” he said, “and might not even reflect who they are.”

Read the entire AI generated essay here.
About this story

Jasmine Green contributed to this report.

The Washington Post worked with Benjamin Breen, an associate professor of history at the University of California in Santa Cruz who studies the impact of technological change, to create the AI-generated essays.

Editing by Karly Domb Sadof, Betty Chavarria and Alexis Sobel Fitts.