Using AI on College Application Essays Quiz

Answers and explanations appear as you take the quiz.

1. How does the Common App's updated fraud policy treat AI content?
   • It bans any use of AI, including spell check
   • Submitting substantive AI-generated content as your own counts as fraud
   • It requires applicants to attach their chatbot history
   • It has no policy on AI
2. Which use of AI is most often described as acceptable?
   • Having AI write a first draft you then edit
   • Asking AI to rewrite paragraphs in a stronger voice
   • Asking AI to supply an anecdote about leadership
   • Having AI ask you brainstorming questions about your experiences
3. Why does the guide recommend checking each college's own website?
   • Because college policies on AI vary beyond the Common App's baseline
   • Because colleges require AI use
   • Because the Common App has no fraud policy
   • Because websites include free AI tools
4. According to the guide, why do AI-written essays tend to sound generic?
   • Models are limited to short sentences
   • Models only know about famous people
   • Models tend to choose high-probability wording already used by many writers
   • Models are trained only on college essays
5. In Using AI on College Application Essays: what happened to OpenAI's AI text classifier in 2023?
   • It became the standard tool for admissions offices
   • It was withdrawn because it wasn't accurate enough
   • It was built into the Common App
   • It was proven to be perfectly accurate
6. In Using AI on College Application Essays: what did a 2023 Stanford study find about AI detectors?
   • They performed best on essays by non-native English writers
   • They could identify which chatbot wrote an essay
   • They were only used by high schools
   • They often mislabeled essays by non-native English writers as AI-generated
7. Which prompt best fits the guide's advice for getting feedback on a draft?
   • 'Identify where a reader would lose the thread; do not rewrite.'
   • 'Rewrite this essay to sound more impressive.'
   • 'Add a stronger conclusion for me.'
   • 'Replace my weak sentences with better ones.'
8. Why does the guide suggest drafting in a tool with version history?
   • It automatically improves grammar
   • It hides your AI use from admissions offices
   • A record of drafts and edits can show authorship if it's ever questioned
   • Colleges require a version history file