Anonymous
11/04/2025 09:06
Subject: Re:Robotic AI essays
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Honestly, everything sounds like AI to me now. I don't think I can even tell the difference. All these "tell tale signs" of AI are things I have done my whole life. I am super annoyed I can't use em-dashes anymore.
YES, I have used em dashes and the rule of 3s for a long time. Annoying.
Right, lots of people do. That’s why LLMs do. They trained on our stuff. But you can still pick up on the LLM patterns. It’s that it’s ALWAYS threes.
Anonymous
11/04/2025 08:55
Subject: Robotic AI essays
Damn why does it always have to be an Asian grandma? Don't Black, Italian, Mexican, French grandmas also cook???
Anonymous
11/04/2025 08:51
Subject: Robotic AI essays
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Yikes. My DC has been working on an essay since January that’s an extended metaphor related to food and her chosen major. I thought it was creative but now it seems like a dime a dozen.
Also, “three things clumped together” is how everyone writes, especially at work.
I guess you didn't see the website she copied the idea from.
Look at this shit, being actively promoted by colleges:
https://www.conncoll.edu/admission/apply/essays-that-worked/elle-yarborough-28/
💯 AI in originality
Which ai checker did you use
Anonymous
11/04/2025 08:44
Subject: Re:Robotic AI essays
I work in communications, and I agree with OP.
We don't have a uniform policy on AI, and I can easily pick out the teams that use it vs. the teams that don't. The ones who use AI all sound the same -- cheery, polished, with a little can-do punch at the end that isn't really our company's voice.
FWIW, I like the grandma essay, but I would have said AI, too. It's just SO polished, plus, loaded with cliches.
We don't have a uniform policy on AI, and I can easily pick out the teams that use it vs. the teams that don't. The ones who use AI all sound the same -- cheery, polished, with a little can-do punch at the end that isn't really our company's voice.
FWIW, I like the grandma essay, but I would have said AI, too. It's just SO polished, plus, loaded with cliches.
Anonymous
11/04/2025 08:44
Subject: Robotic AI essays
Anonymous wrote:I made my kid take out em dashes, but there's no way to write an essay without using three adjectives/verbs/whatever without it reading as pretty simplistic.
Of course there is a way.
Anonymous
11/04/2025 08:43
Subject: Robotic AI essays
Anonymous wrote:Why I hope that recommendations and school activities will end up carrying more weight this cycle.
If you have a kid who is a class president, team captain or president of a club that meets regularly with large membership, shows kid has confidence of peers. Great recs reveals competence in classroom and likely character to some degree (probably not a kid serving a lot of detention). That seems like a better bet than essays because it shows the kid has the confidence of teachers and peers in current community. And isn’t that what many essays are about? How the kid will contribute to the college community?
That should mean more than a pointy activity a kid concocted to get into college with grade inflation grades, superscore from 5 sittings (and tutor), and an AI-generated essay.
Recs from an actual person can confirm the validity of the applicant in a way that these other metrics seem to fall short these days. Certainly not a perfect system either, but what else do they have?
I would also value AP test scores if aubmitted but that is just me (can only take those once).
In many public schools, some counselors/teachers plugs in a boilerplate letter, fills it with some paragraph from brag sheets, changes student's names, submit. Reality of working with 1500 students.
Anonymous
11/04/2025 08:42
Subject: Robotic AI essays
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Yikes. My DC has been working on an essay since January that’s an extended metaphor related to food and her chosen major. I thought it was creative but now it seems like a dime a dozen.
Also, “three things clumped together” is how everyone writes, especially at work.
I guess you didn't see the website she copied the idea from.
Look at this shit, being actively promoted by colleges:
https://www.conncoll.edu/admission/apply/essays-that-worked/elle-yarborough-28/
💯 AI in originality
Anonymous
11/04/2025 08:39
Subject: Robotic AI essays
I made my kid take out em dashes, but there's no way to write an essay without using three adjectives/verbs/whatever without it reading as pretty simplistic.
Anonymous
11/04/2025 08:38
Subject: Re:Robotic AI essays
The one in the posted link: https://www.conncoll.edu/admission/apply/essays-that-worked/elle-yarborough-28/
Anonymous
11/04/2025 08:38
Subject: Robotic AI essays
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Yikes. My DC has been working on an essay since January that’s an extended metaphor related to food and her chosen major. I thought it was creative but now it seems like a dime a dozen.
Also, “three things clumped together” is how everyone writes, especially at work.
I guess you didn't see the website she copied the idea from.
Look at this shit, being actively promoted by colleges:
https://www.conncoll.edu/admission/apply/essays-that-worked/elle-yarborough-28/
"Essays that worked" are always gonna be essays that are not going to work anymore. Or else they wouldn't post them.
AI detector says this is likely human.
The statement holds true pre- or post-gpt. It's not about being human or AI.
Once an essay "that worked" is posted, that essay stopped working because now everyone is about sizzling rice.
And GPT, being a LLM, is only capable of reassemble old essays into one. It doesn't create anything new.
Anonymous
11/04/2025 08:34
Subject: Robotic AI essays
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Yikes. My DC has been working on an essay since January that’s an extended metaphor related to food and her chosen major. I thought it was creative but now it seems like a dime a dozen.
Also, “three things clumped together” is how everyone writes, especially at work.
I guess you didn't see the website she copied the idea from.
Look at this shit, being actively promoted by colleges:
https://www.conncoll.edu/admission/apply/essays-that-worked/elle-yarborough-28/
"Essays that worked" are always gonna be essays that are not going to work anymore. Or else they wouldn't post them.
AI detector says this is likely human.
Which one?
This entire thread is a word of warning to all of these parents who replied early on being so shocked & pleased by the great quality of their kids writing.
Anonymous
11/04/2025 08:31
Subject: Robotic AI essays
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Yikes. My DC has been working on an essay since January that’s an extended metaphor related to food and her chosen major. I thought it was creative but now it seems like a dime a dozen.
Also, “three things clumped together” is how everyone writes, especially at work.
I guess you didn't see the website she copied the idea from.
Look at this shit, being actively promoted by colleges:
https://www.conncoll.edu/admission/apply/essays-that-worked/elle-yarborough-28/
"Essays that worked" are always gonna be essays that are not going to work anymore. Or else they wouldn't post them.
AI detector says this is likely human.
Anonymous
11/04/2025 08:25
Subject: Robotic AI essays
(I actually don’t have this profile of kid fwiw, but thinking of my kids friends and who will succeed in college. They would all get great recs I would think and all have leadership within the school.).
Rigor may be another factor. They aren’t in 15 APs but they are in very advanced classes for what they want to study.
Rigor may be another factor. They aren’t in 15 APs but they are in very advanced classes for what they want to study.
Anonymous
11/04/2025 08:20
Subject: Robotic AI essays
Why I hope that recommendations and school activities will end up carrying more weight this cycle.
If you have a kid who is a class president, team captain or president of a club that meets regularly with large membership, shows kid has confidence of peers. Great recs reveals competence in classroom and likely character to some degree (probably not a kid serving a lot of detention). That seems like a better bet than essays because it shows the kid has the confidence of teachers and peers in current community. And isn’t that what many essays are about? How the kid will contribute to the college community?
That should mean more than a pointy activity a kid concocted to get into college with grade inflation grades, superscore from 5 sittings (and tutor), and an AI-generated essay.
Recs from an actual person can confirm the validity of the applicant in a way that these other metrics seem to fall short these days. Certainly not a perfect system either, but what else do they have?
I would also value AP test scores if aubmitted but that is just me (can only take those once).
If you have a kid who is a class president, team captain or president of a club that meets regularly with large membership, shows kid has confidence of peers. Great recs reveals competence in classroom and likely character to some degree (probably not a kid serving a lot of detention). That seems like a better bet than essays because it shows the kid has the confidence of teachers and peers in current community. And isn’t that what many essays are about? How the kid will contribute to the college community?
That should mean more than a pointy activity a kid concocted to get into college with grade inflation grades, superscore from 5 sittings (and tutor), and an AI-generated essay.
Recs from an actual person can confirm the validity of the applicant in a way that these other metrics seem to fall short these days. Certainly not a perfect system either, but what else do they have?
I would also value AP test scores if aubmitted but that is just me (can only take those once).
Anonymous
11/04/2025 08:04
Subject: Robotic AI essays
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Yikes. My DC has been working on an essay since January that’s an extended metaphor related to food and her chosen major. I thought it was creative but now it seems like a dime a dozen.
Also, “three things clumped together” is how everyone writes, especially at work.
I guess you didn't see the website she copied the idea from.
Look at this shit, being actively promoted by colleges:
https://www.conncoll.edu/admission/apply/essays-that-worked/elle-yarborough-28/
"Essays that worked" are always gonna be essays that are not going to work anymore. Or else they wouldn't post them.