We asked ChatGPT to write admissions essays to NC State. Here’s how it did.
North Carolina State University received nearly 40,000 applications from prospective first-year students to join its new Class of 2027. The public university in Raleigh accepted just under 40%.
In selecting students to admit, the school asked applicants to provide a short supplemental essay explaining which major they intended to study at the school and why. Answers were capped at 250 words.
The most common desired major for its latest class was engineering. Around 11,000 first-year applicants, more than 25%, named this course of study, said Jon Westover, NC State’s director of admissions.
So, when The News & Observer wanted to test the college admissions essay-writing capabilities of the popular generative artificial intelligence platform ChatGPT, we told it to explain why, in fewer than 250 words, a hypothetical student was interested in studying engineering at the state’s largest university.
Like many colleges across the country, NC State is grappling with how to approach ChatGPT-type platforms. In seconds, generative AI tools can craft original fully-formed essays, raising plagiarism concerns for both course assignments and admissions essays.
This summer, NC State became one of the few North Carolina universities to explicitly mention AI and ChatGPT on its first-year applicant webpage.
“If you want to leverage an AI tool like ChatGPT for help writing your college essay, we encourage you to use it as a learning experience that can help brainstorm ideas and structure thoughts,” the school states. “In the end, we want to hear about your experience in your own unique voice.”
The large language model is trained on an expansive library of information and uses its neural network to sequence what words or phrases are most likely to come next. But the final product can sometimes make the technology sound sentient.
So, how well did the AI craft an NC State college essay?
The N&O reached out to multiple college admissions counselors in North Carolina who reviewed the essay and shared their initial thoughts. The N&O then plugged this feedback back into ChatGPT to see if the essay could be improved.
The first AI essay
NC State prompt: Explain why you selected the academic program(s) above and why you are interested in studying these at NC State.
What the N&O asked ChatGPT: Can you write me a sample of an essay about why I want to study engineering at North Carolina State University using specific examples? Maximum of 250 words.
What ChatGPT wrote:
What college admissions counselors said:
“This to me feels significantly more polished than what most 18 year olds write,” wrote Abby Bittler, a counselor who runs Optima Educational College Planning & Coaching in Cary.
However, Bittler did say the response was often “generic” and devoid of “sensory details.”
“What street is the house/garage located on?” she said. “What high school did you attend? Who (what person) inspired your love of this subject area? This is what makes an essay special in my opinion.”
Belinda Wilkerson, an admissions counselor who lives in Fayetteville, also thought the ChatGPT essay was overly broad.
“When it said it liked to problem solve, well give examples of how you problem solved in the past,” said Wilkerson, who serves as president of the North Carolina Career Development Association.
ChatGPT makes revisions...
With this feedback, we asked ChatGPT to improve its essay.
What the N&O asked ChatGPT: I would like to make this essay include more personal details while keeping it at 250 words. Can you do that?
What ChatGPT wrote:
What a college admissions counselor said:
“My initial thoughts, I think it’s an excellent essay,” said Anna Zirkel, who runs The Admissions Wayfinder in Hillsborough. “It includes specific things at NC State and that’s typically one of the things that they’re going to be looking for. What about this campus is unique that’s different than the other schools? It’s well written, I think. That’s kind of one of the things that a lot of students need is help with structure.”
Zirkel noted it is rare for college admissions essays to include titles.
Like the other admissions counselors, she found the ChatGPT response left her with a few too many questions.
“I want to know what did you do in robotics club?” she said. “What was your position? Did you attend competitions? If you attended competitions, did you win anything? Did you overcome challenges?”
In addition to requiring students to explain what they want to study at NC State, the university also expects students to provide a 650-word personal essay based on prompts listed on the Common App or Coalition App.
“It can write all these beautiful things, but it can’t create experiences,” Zirkel said. “The hard part is you putting in that work.”
