DH and I just had this discussion. Some of the applications are very clear that AI cannot be used to write the student essays. I didn't see anything that specifically applied to the parent essays but it didn't feel like the right thing to do. Yes its a pain and I despise some of the questions but we're writing our own responses.

I think it's completely ok, OP.

The way to use chatGPT is to write it yourself. Put it in ChatGPT and say, "fix grammar"... then take what is given and write it again so it sounds like you.

If you just put "fix grammar" they don't change the tone etc.

If you feel like your not sure which thoughts sound better 1st... put "fix grammar and organize to be clear".... then rewrite the result in your own voice.

The hate GPT people are like the hate alcohol people they are always gonna say none is better but they are wrong.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The importance of parent questionnaires relative to other admissions factors is way overstated in my opinion.

Our school makes a huge deal about them, as well as the parent interview. I don't think they are just saying that.

Parent interview is almost always going to be more important than what's written. Again though, way less important than recommendations, transcripts or playdates, legacy/sibling, etc.

Don't. It isn't hard to write those, but if you need help you should ask another human for it.

Anonymous wrote:The importance of parent questionnaires relative to other admissions factors is way overstated in my opinion.

Our school makes a huge deal about them, as well as the parent interview. I don't think they are just saying that.

The importance of parent questionnaires relative to other admissions factors is way overstated in my opinion.

Beyond the ethical concerns, I would think about it this way.

Those parent essays are to determine family fit. Do you want your child at a school where ChatGPT's writing style is a good family fit? I wouldn't.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did! We used it to edit, and polish and we then edited it but used for all the schools last year and got into all of them so as long as you use it well, don’t worry about it

Do kids really get into all the schools they apply to? I wonder if this person is messing with you.

DP. Depends on the schools. All big 3/5? Possible but probably unlikely. More mid-tier? Sure. DC did. We only considered VA schools (commute was important). I think DC would have had a strong shot at one particular big 3 (legacy, but also DC was a very strong candidate), but it would have been a bad fit and a terrible commute, so we didn’t try.

GPT is not cheating if used responsibly. No, you shouldn't leverage it to write your entire statement or paint a picture that's not accurate. Its meant to be a supplemental tool to make tweaks, adjustments etc. Its no different than writing a draft and getting someone to proof or edit. And certainly no better than those that use services to answer these questions on their behalf. Ultimately, be responsible. If you're using it to fully generate ideas where you're providing minimal input, that's not great.

Anonymous wrote:We did! We used it to edit, and polish and we then edited it but used for all the schools last year and got into all of them so as long as you use it well, don’t worry about it

Do kids really get into all the schools they apply to? I wonder if this person is messing with you.

As someone who values authenticity and would like an even playing field when it comes to admissions, I'd say no.

But we all know lots of people are going to use it and some are probably hiring professionals to write application essays, so...

FWIW, I keep hearing student essays are run through something like Turnitin to make sure the students aren't using AI or plagiarizing. Not sure if they're doing that for parent essays.

We did! We used it to edit, and polish and we then edited it but used for all the schools last year and got into all of them so as long as you use it well, don’t worry about it