The Hypocrisy of AI in Admissions: How Colleges Use the Tech?

During this application cycle, thousands of students across the U.S. have received their college admission decisions faster than ever, thanks to AI technology. In recent years, as many universities transitioned to test-optional policies, the barrier to entry lowered, leading to an explosion in application volumes. This has placed unprecedented pressure on admissions departments.

Today, we take a closer look at which U.S. universities are integrating AI into their admissions process, why they are doing it, and what this means for the future of applications.

Which Schools are Using AI to Read Essays?

1. Virginia Tech Virginia Tech is currently the most vocal university regarding its use of AI in the application process. According to ABC News, the university officially launched a self-developed AI essay review system for the Fall 2025 cycle, a project three years in the making.

"Humans get tired; sometimes they are in a good mood, sometimes they aren't. AI doesn't get tired, it doesn't get angry, and it doesn't have 'off' days. AI is consistent," said Juan Espinoza, Associate Vice Provost for Enrollment Management at Virginia Tech. He noted that the AI reader is primarily used to confirm essay scores. Under the new system, the AI model—trained on historical data and scoring rubrics—acts as one of the readers. If there is a significant discrepancy between the AI and a human reader on a 12-point scale, a second human intervenes.

Like many universities, Virginia Tech saw a surge in applications after going test-optional. For a freshman class of 7,000, the school received a record 57,622 applications for Fall 2025. Even with 200 human readers, the school struggled to keep up, leading to delayed decisions in the past. The AI tool can scan approximately 250,000 essays in under an hour, whereas a human takes an average of two minutes per essay. Espinoza stated that, based on current usage, "We’ve saved at least 8,000 hours."

2. California Institute of Technology (Caltech) Caltech has introduced a sophisticated new step in its

selection process specifically designed to verify the authenticity of research projects submitted by students.

High schoolers submitting research projects record videos where they are interviewed by an AI-generated voice. The AI asks a series of questions regarding their papers and experiments, similar to a thesis defense. These recordings are then reviewed by faculty and admissions officers, who also evaluate the student’s test scores, transcripts, and personal statements.

"This is an authenticity test—we want to know if you actually did the work," said Ashley Pallie, Director of Admissions at Caltech. "We want to bring the student's authentic voice back into the process; it’s a way to make admissions more credible." In other words, they want to determine if an applicant truly conducted the research or simply paid for a "ghostwritten" project. Pallie also noted that AI-assisted technology helped the university screen about 10% of early applicants, with plans to expand its use in 2026.

3. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) UNC has actually been using AI since 2019, though it took five years for the news to become widely known.

Vice Provost Stephen Farmer stated that the "PEG" automated scoring system is often more consistent than human scoring. However, he pointed out that if a human reader disagrees with the system’s score, they can override it. According to a report by GradPilot, UNC spent nearly $200,000 on the AI scoring system. After the student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel, exposed the practice earlier this year, the backlash from parents and applicants forced the school to update its website, clarifying that "all applications undergo a comprehensive holistic review by professionally trained human evaluators."

4. Stony Brook University (SUNY) Stony Brook uses AI not only to review transcripts but also to "highlight" key information. The AI summarizes essays and recommendation letters, extracting vital details that admissions officers should notice.

Richard Beaty, Associate Vice Provost for Enrollment Management, gave an example: if a student’s grades dipped in their sophomore year, it might be due to a serious illness, a death in the family, or having to care for younger siblings. While these details are often hidden in various corners of the application, AI helps pull this context forward so admissions officers see the "why" behind the numbers rather than just cold data.

5. Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) Georgia Tech is launching an AI tool to review transcripts for transfer students, replacing the manual data entry process.

"AI will completely solve these issues," said Rick Clark, Executive Director of Strategic Student Access. The school hopes to expand this service to all high school transcripts soon. Georgia Tech is also testing AI for other uses, such as identifying low-income students who qualify for federal Pell Grants but may not be aware of it.

What Does AI Review Mean for Applicants?

The trend of U.S. universities adopting AI stems from a simple fact: they are overwhelmed. With test-optional policies driving a massive increase in applications, the workload for admissions offices has skyrocketed. The efficiency of AI is undeniable—reviewing 250,000 essays in an hour is a task 200 humans couldn't finish in months.

According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), the most common use of AI remains preliminary screening and document organization. While the industry continues to discuss ethical and compliance boundaries, the specific limits are currently decided by individual institutions. For most schools, AI acts as a "checking and accelerating" tool—it ensures applications are complete and courses meet requirements before a human officer conducts the formal assessment.

So, how does this affect you?

1. A "Perfect" Essay Might Be "Dangerous"

A Kaplan survey found that 50% of admissions officers have a negative view of AI involvement in essay writing. Many noted they now look specifically for stylistic consistency. If your essay reads like a native speaker but your English proficiency elsewhere in the application clearly doesn't match, it raises red flags.

2. Authentic Voice Better Than the Fancy Vocabulary

Princeton University’s Dean of Admission put it clearly: "We aren't looking for perfection; we are looking for authenticity." They want students to write confidently in their own voices. Caltech’s official guide also states: "Our supplemental prompts are meant to spark your curiosity... Do not let a reliance on AI take that opportunity away."

When materials are screened by machines, clarity, logic, and authenticity become paramount. In a hybrid machine-human process, inconsistencies, gaps in coursework, or hollow content are identified more quickly than ever.

AI involvement in admissions is an irreversible trend. While it currently focuses on essays, next year it may expand to activity lists, recommendation letters, and interviews.

For students currently preparing their applications, the most important takeaway is this: No matter who is reading your essay, sincerity remains the best strategy. Writing that is perhaps a bit "raw" or "unpolished," but truly records your thoughts and growth, is what is most likely to move a human—or an AI. After all, AI is trained by humans; it has learned to recognize the very things that make a human admissions officer take notice.

Instead of worrying about whether an AI will misjudge you, focus your energy on writing an essay that truly belongs to you.