The holidays are over, but college essay season is not, as many of the supplemental essays are due on January 15th for regular decision and others aren’t due until late spring. The rule of thumb is: the more competitive the college, the earlier the deadline.

This year marks my busiest year in regards to college consulting, and I can only assume this trend will continue. Statistics show that each year more and more students apply for college and most of them apply to the same top 20 schools. That being said, the application process is getting uber competitive. Will AI change this trend? It is too early to tell, but my thinking is that it will as some students will veer off of the college path and choose trades instead. But as of now, we are in full swing.

So now, more than ever, it’s important to have accurate information when it comes to applications. While many students are watching TikTok videos to glean information and learn the supposed tricks of admission, they are often times being mislead. I’ve had students tell me all sorts of dubious information about how to position yourself perfectly for a school or get in with a specific major. Some of the information is possible, but a lot of it is simply hearsay. Misinformation gets passed on from one student to another quite quickly and then it continues to spread until everyone has the wrong deadline for a school or other false information ranging from [insert school] doesn’t read essays or only accepts students from a specific racial group.

There is also a lot of misinformation in the parent communities as well. I’ve spoken with countless parents who are under the impression that their child has to volunteer one place, start a club on campus about something else, take up an obscure sport, and take all of the AP courses available. This too, is not accurate, and in fact, may hurt their chances of getting in as it looks like the student is simply going through the motions.

However, there are some trends that are consistent. Previously, completing a rigorous course load and maintaining a high GPA were enough to make a student stand out. If they had some community service or had started a club, it was a plus. Now, schools seem to want a student to have the grades and the coursework, but also a passion (something they adore and dedicate their time to outside of school, something that is philanthropic in nature but also tied to a specific interest).

Another change is the amount of energy schools are dedicating to analyzing the supplemental essays, rather than the Common App general essay. Many of the college admissions representatives have explained that they are weighing these supplementals heavier than the general essay because they have so many applicants and want to see that the student has “done their research” on the program they offer and know why they want to attend their university. This is a shift in that the general essay, being that it’s 650 words and has more breadth, used to be the main thing.

Lastly, the advent of AI has refocused what colleges are looking for in essays (both supplementals and the general) because they’ve found that students are using ChatGPT to help them write their essays (using it for organization or ideas) or plagiarizing their essay completely. Because of this, many admissions boards are focusing more on content and specific activities/programs, rather than creative writing ability or flow. This will be a continuously changing issue since machine learning will continue to accelerate and what it can do will grow exponentially. All of this to say, it more important than ever to get direction in this process and learn from those who know the system the best, specifically by getting help on the supplemental essay. It may be what tips the scale in your favor.