18 Jun Keeping it Real: Why Your “Human” Essay is the Ultimate Competitive Advantage
If you’ve walked past your teenager’s room lately and seen them staring at a blinking cursor with a look of pure dread, you aren’t alone. The “Personal Statement” is arguably the scariest 650 words they will ever write.
In my sessions at Academic Access, I’m seeing a new trend: the temptation to just ask a bot like ChatGPT or Claude to “write an essay about my life.” I get it. It’s fast, it’s grammatically perfect, and it’s right there.
But here’s the secret I tell my students: Robots don’t have memories. They just have data.
The “Brochure” Problem
When a student uses AI to write, they usually end up with what I call a “brochure essay.” It’s full of sweeping words like leadership, resilience, and passion. It sounds “important,” but it doesn’t sound like a seventeen-year-old.
Admissions officers at places like the University of Michigan and UVA are currently being flooded with these perfectly polished, totally boring essays. What they are actually hungry for is the messy, specific, “human” stuff. They don’t want a lecture on leadership; they want to hear about the Tuesday afternoon you had to manage a chaotic group project while your laptop was dying. They want the sweat, the mistakes, and the “aha!” moments.
My Job as a Detective
When I sit down with a student, my job is to play detective. We aren’t looking for “assets”—we’re looking for the weird, wonderful details that make them who they are.
I love asking the questions that a bot doesn’t know to ask. What is the one thing you do where you totally lose track of time? What was the moment you realized you were wrong about something? If your best friend had to describe your “superpower,” what would they say?
Once we find that “human hook,” the writing stops being a chore and starts being a story.
Why I’m Obsessed with August 1st
You’ll hear me talk a lot about our May/June Intensive and my goal to have the main essay “put to bed” by August 1st.
It’s not just because I want everyone to have a relaxing summer (though I do!). It’s because human creativity needs breathing room. When we start early, we have the luxury of a “soft launch.” We can explore, change our minds, and find the right voice without the panic of a deadline looming.
When a student finishes their essay before senior year even starts, they don’t just have a great piece of writing—they have a massive boost of confidence. They’ve proven they can manage a big, scary project and come out the other side with something that is unmistakably them.
In a world full of bots, being authentically yourself is the best way to stand out.
Let’s keep the humans in the driver’s seat, shall we?