There are moments when the future of college admissions reveals itself with stunning clarity,and this is one of them.
Last week, Virginia Tech announced that it'll now use AI to evaluate student essays,alongside one human reader, instead of the traditional two. And while I appreciate the transparency, I've to say: this one lit a fire in me.
We talk a lot at The Core Edge Prep about authenticity,about showing colleges who you're beyond the transcript, test score, or GPA. For many students, especially those who don’t come from “perfect résumé” backgrounds, the essay is where their story breathes. It’s the one place in the application that feels entirely theirs.
Now, Virginia Tech has decided to partially hand over that responsibility to a machine.
Let’s Be Clear: This Isn’t About Efficiency,It’s About Ethics
Virginia Tech’s justification? Too many applicants, not enough staff. A common refrain these days. But here’s the rub:
Students aren’t allowed to use AI to write their essays. But now colleges can use AI to judge them.
The double standard couldn’t be clearer. Colleges are asking students to pour their hearts onto the page,and then letting an algorithm decide if it’s “good enough.”
And let’s not pretend AI evaluates creativity, nuance, or lived experience well. It scans. It scores. It sorts. That may work for test scores or GPAs, but essays aren't data points,they’re reflections of a human life.
The Essay is More Than a Writing Sample
At The Core Edge Prep, we coach students to think of their personal statement as their first handshake. It’s the first time an admissions reader meets them,not as a name on a spreadsheet, but as a person. As a future roommate, leader, friend, or changemaker.
By outsourcing that introduction to AI, Virginia Tech is reducing what should be the most personal part of the process into an automated filter. And I can’t help but wonder: if essays are being read by a machine, why bother writing them with heart at all?
Cornell Gets It Right,Will Others Follow?
In sharp contrast, Cornell University recently issued a public statement calling it unethical for students to use AI to draft or write their college essays.
Bravo.
That’s the standard all colleges should be held to,not just for students, but for themselves. Integrity in the process has to go both ways. If you don’t want applicants using ChatGPT, don’t use it to read their essays either.
What This Means for Core Edge Prep Families
This announcement isn’t just about Virginia Tech,it’s a sign of what’s coming.
Expect more schools to test AI in the admissions process. Students must double down on clarity, structure, and authenticity. Now more than ever, their essays must read clearly,to human and algorithm alike.
We'll never let the story of your student get reduced to code. We're refining our Essay Coaching process to account for this new AI lens,so that every piece your child submits still reads as unmistakably them, no matter who,or what,is reading it.
My Take: You Can’t Automate Insight
Colleges may try to streamline the process, but the truth remains: you can’t machine-read maturity. You can’t automate voice, grit, or vision.
If Virginia Tech and others want to play this game, fine. But we’ll keep showing up with students who know how to write essays that can’t be skimmed and sorted,only read and remembered.
Because at The Core Edge Prep, our students are never just data points. They’re future leaders.
And they deserve to be seen that way.
From the desk of Alicia Sigur, The Core Edge Prep Blog