Grammarly has a couple different features. If you’re just using the grammar proofreader, it’s no different than word spelling or grammar check. It’s better, but no different. I’ve used it for that in the past and it doesn’t appear to flag the ai detector in grammarly.

If you’re using the ai features to shorten, change voice, summarize, etc that’s a different story. It will actually rewrite paragraphs for you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our kids AO reached out and asked for proof they wrote the essay. My kid sent handwritten rough drafts as proof.

Who does handwritten notes nowadays?

Students from schools that still teach cursive in lower elementary grades.

Yes, the AI discussion was insane.

New admissions requirements are coming down the road.

Authenticity that goes beyond race, ethnicity, gender, and religion. They want a human connection in your essays, glimpse video, and activities.

Anonymous wrote:Several folks (here and on Reddit) have mentioned the giant NACAC college counseling conference that took place earlier this month. Then I heard Lee Coffin (Dartmouth AO's podcast) yesterday refer to the meeting as well.

Found the agenda. Look at the role AI
https://nacacconference.org/education/preconference-seminars/

They had sessions with the founders and CEOs of 2 college AI tools that I learned about on this site:
Athena AI and Kollegio

Saw another podcast today that covered the NACAC conference. A lot of news was made there

Great link and good intel from the college conference!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several folks (here and on Reddit) have mentioned the giant NACAC college counseling conference that took place earlier this month. Then I heard Lee Coffin (Dartmouth AO's podcast) yesterday refer to the meeting as well.

Found the agenda. Look at the role AI
https://nacacconference.org/education/preconference-seminars/

They had sessions with the founders and CEOs of 2 college AI tools that I learned about on this site:
Athena AI and Kollegio

This conference is the talk of the town right now in the college counseling world. I haven't seen any writeups about it yet, other than this one on reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/1nmsuxz/i_went_to_nacac_2025_the_largest_national/

really great nuggets hidden in there:

In terms of opportunities: It’s been interesting to hear so many admissions officers talk about wanting more humanities students. Engineering and AI are still super popular (as always), but there’s this under-discussed desire for more kids—especially boys—to apply as humanities majors.

On the other hand, within STEM and engineering, there are niche areas with more demand: systems engineering, materials science, environmental engineering, even things like water management. So if you’re applying to a STEM field and you have a supplemental essay about your interests — it’s really helpful to point toward a specific and less-common area of interest. Give them a vivid picture of not just what you want to study, but also why — and how that connects to something tangible or helpful in the world.

__________

Extracurriculars are not as important as most families think. An admissions presenter at NACAC shared results from a survey where families were asked to rank the top 5 most important factors in college admissions. Families ranked extracurriculars as #1, ahead of everything else (even above things like grades and test scores). But in reality, for most admissions officers, it’s closer to #10. It’s not that extracurriculars don’t matter... it’s just that other things matter way more.

Also a reminder: Summer programs hosted by colleges don’t give you an edge. That’s a common myth some parents believe. But they don’t offer preferential treatment just because you paid to attend a summer program on their campus. What actually tends to matter more is whether a student shows specific, niche interests (I think this is especially the case in STEM... so many AOs I talked to had their eyes glaze over when talking about so many general biology or chemistry major interests. Show some indication that you have a specialized interest). You don’t need tons of “pay-to-play” programs. Some might help introduce an interest, but what’s far more impressive is initiative and resourcefulness (like one AO really liked hearing about a student cold-calling professors to work with them on projects).

This is very interesting but I wonder what it means for "holistic" admissions, the colleges harping on that is why families think EC's are heavily weighted.

And it’s extra weird parents think EVs are #1 bc virtually every college’s CDS lists GPA & rigor (sometimes test scores) as Very Important whereas ECs are mostly listed as Considered or, occasionally, Important

Agree. And Talent/Ability is often scored MUCH higher than ECs....so they are telling you they don't care about your 10 ECs UNLESS there's a national recognition or something truly remarkable (recognized by an outside body). You could just spend your days reading, doodling or in book clubs and it might count for as much as MUN, robotics club, Mu Alpha Theta, and Relay for Life.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several folks (here and on Reddit) have mentioned the giant NACAC college counseling conference that took place earlier this month. Then I heard Lee Coffin (Dartmouth AO's podcast) yesterday refer to the meeting as well.

Found the agenda. Look at the role AI
https://nacacconference.org/education/preconference-seminars/

They had sessions with the founders and CEOs of 2 college AI tools that I learned about on this site:
Athena AI and Kollegio

This conference is the talk of the town right now in the college counseling world. I haven't seen any writeups about it yet, other than this one on reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/1nmsuxz/i_went_to_nacac_2025_the_largest_national/

really great nuggets hidden in there:

In terms of opportunities: It’s been interesting to hear so many admissions officers talk about wanting more humanities students. Engineering and AI are still super popular (as always), but there’s this under-discussed desire for more kids—especially boys—to apply as humanities majors.

On the other hand, within STEM and engineering, there are niche areas with more demand: systems engineering, materials science, environmental engineering, even things like water management. So if you’re applying to a STEM field and you have a supplemental essay about your interests — it’s really helpful to point toward a specific and less-common area of interest. Give them a vivid picture of not just what you want to study, but also why — and how that connects to something tangible or helpful in the world.

__________

Extracurriculars are not as important as most families think. An admissions presenter at NACAC shared results from a survey where families were asked to rank the top 5 most important factors in college admissions. Families ranked extracurriculars as #1, ahead of everything else (even above things like grades and test scores). But in reality, for most admissions officers, it’s closer to #10. It’s not that extracurriculars don’t matter... it’s just that other things matter way more.

Also a reminder: Summer programs hosted by colleges don’t give you an edge. That’s a common myth some parents believe. But they don’t offer preferential treatment just because you paid to attend a summer program on their campus. What actually tends to matter more is whether a student shows specific, niche interests (I think this is especially the case in STEM... so many AOs I talked to had their eyes glaze over when talking about so many general biology or chemistry major interests. Show some indication that you have a specialized interest). You don’t need tons of “pay-to-play” programs. Some might help introduce an interest, but what’s far more impressive is initiative and resourcefulness (like one AO really liked hearing about a student cold-calling professors to work with them on projects).

This is very interesting but I wonder what it means for "holistic" admissions, the colleges harping on that is why families think EC's are heavily weighted.

And it’s extra weird parents think EVs are #1 bc virtually every college’s CDS lists GPA & rigor (sometimes test scores) as Very Important whereas ECs are mostly listed as Considered or, occasionally, Important

Denial? Justification for applying to too many far reach/unlikely schools?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several folks (here and on Reddit) have mentioned the giant NACAC college counseling conference that took place earlier this month. Then I heard Lee Coffin (Dartmouth AO's podcast) yesterday refer to the meeting as well.

Found the agenda. Look at the role AI
https://nacacconference.org/education/preconference-seminars/

They had sessions with the founders and CEOs of 2 college AI tools that I learned about on this site:
Athena AI and Kollegio

This conference is the talk of the town right now in the college counseling world. I haven't seen any writeups about it yet, other than this one on reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/1nmsuxz/i_went_to_nacac_2025_the_largest_national/

really great nuggets hidden in there:

In terms of opportunities: It’s been interesting to hear so many admissions officers talk about wanting more humanities students. Engineering and AI are still super popular (as always), but there’s this under-discussed desire for more kids—especially boys—to apply as humanities majors.

On the other hand, within STEM and engineering, there are niche areas with more demand: systems engineering, materials science, environmental engineering, even things like water management. So if you’re applying to a STEM field and you have a supplemental essay about your interests — it’s really helpful to point toward a specific and less-common area of interest. Give them a vivid picture of not just what you want to study, but also why — and how that connects to something tangible or helpful in the world.

__________

Extracurriculars are not as important as most families think. An admissions presenter at NACAC shared results from a survey where families were asked to rank the top 5 most important factors in college admissions. Families ranked extracurriculars as #1, ahead of everything else (even above things like grades and test scores). But in reality, for most admissions officers, it’s closer to #10. It’s not that extracurriculars don’t matter... it’s just that other things matter way more.

Also a reminder: Summer programs hosted by colleges don’t give you an edge. That’s a common myth some parents believe. But they don’t offer preferential treatment just because you paid to attend a summer program on their campus. What actually tends to matter more is whether a student shows specific, niche interests (I think this is especially the case in STEM... so many AOs I talked to had their eyes glaze over when talking about so many general biology or chemistry major interests. Show some indication that you have a specialized interest). You don’t need tons of “pay-to-play” programs. Some might help introduce an interest, but what’s far more impressive is initiative and resourcefulness (like one AO really liked hearing about a student cold-calling professors to work with them on projects).

This is very interesting but I wonder what it means for "holistic" admissions, the colleges harping on that is why families think EC's are heavily weighted.

And it’s extra weird parents think EVs are #1 bc virtually every college’s CDS lists GPA & rigor (sometimes test scores) as Very Important whereas ECs are mostly listed as Considered or, occasionally, Important

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really don’t understand why any kid needs to use AI at all to write this essay. Not Grammarly, not Claude, not anything. Just write the essay and ask another human to proofread or give feedback.

Because kids are applying to 15 schools, which means they have 30+ essays to write. This is on top of doing day to day school work for 6 APs (need to get an A — no A-), leadership in a club, volunteer work outside of school, varsity sport, etc. These kids are overwhelmed.

Yeah my kids didn’t use AI but this is all true. Add to it that we’ve told kids they can’t write about anything actually meaningful to them — anything like a major sports loss, first kiss, favorite movie, death of a grandparent — all the things actual teens struggle with or celebrate. So it doesn’t surprise me they turn to AI.

these are horrible topics tbh.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate AI but every kid I know has a paid essay coach. A lot of kids can’t afford that kind of assistance. If they use AI is that worse? I don’t know…the entire essay thing is kind of a mess.

Out here in the real world of regular public school seniors, I don’t know anyone who has a paid essay coach. So assuming your world is of kids aiming for tippy top schools, this is even more pathetic. They should be fully capable of writing an essay unassisted.

We got it a public school and if parents are paying thousands for the application fees at three schools, they are willing to throw a couple hundred at having an essay coach read through it and comment. They are recommended all the time on our PTSA listserve.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really don’t understand why any kid needs to use AI at all to write this essay. Not Grammarly, not Claude, not anything. Just write the essay and ask another human to proofread or give feedback.

Because kids are applying to 15 schools, which means they have 30+ essays to write. This is on top of doing day to day school work for 6 APs (need to get an A — no A-), leadership in a club, volunteer work outside of school, varsity sport, etc. These kids are overwhelmed.

Yeah my kids didn’t use AI but this is all true. Add to it that we’ve told kids they can’t write about anything actually meaningful to them — anything like a major sports loss, first kiss, favorite movie, death of a grandparent — all the things actual teens struggle with or celebrate. So it doesn’t surprise me they turn to AI.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several folks (here and on Reddit) have mentioned the giant NACAC college counseling conference that took place earlier this month. Then I heard Lee Coffin (Dartmouth AO's podcast) yesterday refer to the meeting as well.

Found the agenda. Look at the role AI
https://nacacconference.org/education/preconference-seminars/

They had sessions with the founders and CEOs of 2 college AI tools that I learned about on this site:
Athena AI and Kollegio

This conference is the talk of the town right now in the college counseling world. I haven't seen any writeups about it yet, other than this one on reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/1nmsuxz/i_went_to_nacac_2025_the_largest_national/

really great nuggets hidden in there:

In terms of opportunities: It’s been interesting to hear so many admissions officers talk about wanting more humanities students. Engineering and AI are still super popular (as always), but there’s this under-discussed desire for more kids—especially boys—to apply as humanities majors.

On the other hand, within STEM and engineering, there are niche areas with more demand: systems engineering, materials science, environmental engineering, even things like water management. So if you’re applying to a STEM field and you have a supplemental essay about your interests — it’s really helpful to point toward a specific and less-common area of interest. Give them a vivid picture of not just what you want to study, but also why — and how that connects to something tangible or helpful in the world.

__________

Extracurriculars are not as important as most families think. An admissions presenter at NACAC shared results from a survey where families were asked to rank the top 5 most important factors in college admissions. Families ranked extracurriculars as #1, ahead of everything else (even above things like grades and test scores). But in reality, for most admissions officers, it’s closer to #10. It’s not that extracurriculars don’t matter... it’s just that other things matter way more.

Also a reminder: Summer programs hosted by colleges don’t give you an edge. That’s a common myth some parents believe. But they don’t offer preferential treatment just because you paid to attend a summer program on their campus. What actually tends to matter more is whether a student shows specific, niche interests (I think this is especially the case in STEM... so many AOs I talked to had their eyes glaze over when talking about so many general biology or chemistry major interests. Show some indication that you have a specialized interest). You don’t need tons of “pay-to-play” programs. Some might help introduce an interest, but what’s far more impressive is initiative and resourcefulness (like one AO really liked hearing about a student cold-calling professors to work with them on projects).

This is very interesting but I wonder what it means for "holistic" admissions, the colleges harping on that is why families think EC's are heavily weighted.

I think it depends on the school. Matters more at only a handful in the T25.
What is interesting in that was LOR. I've now heard that from 3 other recent IECs on podcasts or webinars. They are hammering home the LOR.

LOR's are most opaque component of the process though I suspect it was explain the students with multiple highly selective admits and also the high stats kids with surprisingly disappointing results.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several folks (here and on Reddit) have mentioned the giant NACAC college counseling conference that took place earlier this month. Then I heard Lee Coffin (Dartmouth AO's podcast) yesterday refer to the meeting as well.

Found the agenda. Look at the role AI
https://nacacconference.org/education/preconference-seminars/

They had sessions with the founders and CEOs of 2 college AI tools that I learned about on this site:
Athena AI and Kollegio

This conference is the talk of the town right now in the college counseling world. I haven't seen any writeups about it yet, other than this one on reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/1nmsuxz/i_went_to_nacac_2025_the_largest_national/

really great nuggets hidden in there:

In terms of opportunities: It’s been interesting to hear so many admissions officers talk about wanting more humanities students. Engineering and AI are still super popular (as always), but there’s this under-discussed desire for more kids—especially boys—to apply as humanities majors.

On the other hand, within STEM and engineering, there are niche areas with more demand: systems engineering, materials science, environmental engineering, even things like water management. So if you’re applying to a STEM field and you have a supplemental essay about your interests — it’s really helpful to point toward a specific and less-common area of interest. Give them a vivid picture of not just what you want to study, but also why — and how that connects to something tangible or helpful in the world.

__________

Extracurriculars are not as important as most families think. An admissions presenter at NACAC shared results from a survey where families were asked to rank the top 5 most important factors in college admissions. Families ranked extracurriculars as #1, ahead of everything else (even above things like grades and test scores). But in reality, for most admissions officers, it’s closer to #10. It’s not that extracurriculars don’t matter... it’s just that other things matter way more.

Also a reminder: Summer programs hosted by colleges don’t give you an edge. That’s a common myth some parents believe. But they don’t offer preferential treatment just because you paid to attend a summer program on their campus. What actually tends to matter more is whether a student shows specific, niche interests (I think this is especially the case in STEM... so many AOs I talked to had their eyes glaze over when talking about so many general biology or chemistry major interests. Show some indication that you have a specialized interest). You don’t need tons of “pay-to-play” programs. Some might help introduce an interest, but what’s far more impressive is initiative and resourcefulness (like one AO really liked hearing about a student cold-calling professors to work with them on projects).

This is very interesting but I wonder what it means for "holistic" admissions, the colleges harping on that is why families think EC's are heavily weighted.

I think it depends on the school. Matters more at only a handful in the T25.
What is interesting in that was LOR. I've now heard that from 3 other recent IECs on podcasts or webinars. They are hammering home the LOR.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several folks (here and on Reddit) have mentioned the giant NACAC college counseling conference that took place earlier this month. Then I heard Lee Coffin (Dartmouth AO's podcast) yesterday refer to the meeting as well.

Found the agenda. Look at the role AI
https://nacacconference.org/education/preconference-seminars/

They had sessions with the founders and CEOs of 2 college AI tools that I learned about on this site:
Athena AI and Kollegio

This conference is the talk of the town right now in the college counseling world. I haven't seen any writeups about it yet, other than this one on reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/1nmsuxz/i_went_to_nacac_2025_the_largest_national/

really great nuggets hidden in there:

In terms of opportunities: It’s been interesting to hear so many admissions officers talk about wanting more humanities students. Engineering and AI are still super popular (as always), but there’s this under-discussed desire for more kids—especially boys—to apply as humanities majors.

On the other hand, within STEM and engineering, there are niche areas with more demand: systems engineering, materials science, environmental engineering, even things like water management. So if you’re applying to a STEM field and you have a supplemental essay about your interests — it’s really helpful to point toward a specific and less-common area of interest. Give them a vivid picture of not just what you want to study, but also why — and how that connects to something tangible or helpful in the world.

__________

Extracurriculars are not as important as most families think. An admissions presenter at NACAC shared results from a survey where families were asked to rank the top 5 most important factors in college admissions. Families ranked extracurriculars as #1, ahead of everything else (even above things like grades and test scores). But in reality, for most admissions officers, it’s closer to #10. It’s not that extracurriculars don’t matter... it’s just that other things matter way more.

Also a reminder: Summer programs hosted by colleges don’t give you an edge. That’s a common myth some parents believe. But they don’t offer preferential treatment just because you paid to attend a summer program on their campus. What actually tends to matter more is whether a student shows specific, niche interests (I think this is especially the case in STEM... so many AOs I talked to had their eyes glaze over when talking about so many general biology or chemistry major interests. Show some indication that you have a specialized interest). You don’t need tons of “pay-to-play” programs. Some might help introduce an interest, but what’s far more impressive is initiative and resourcefulness (like one AO really liked hearing about a student cold-calling professors to work with them on projects).

This is very interesting but I wonder what it means for "holistic" admissions, the colleges harping on that is why families think EC's are heavily weighted.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several folks (here and on Reddit) have mentioned the giant NACAC college counseling conference that took place earlier this month. Then I heard Lee Coffin (Dartmouth AO's podcast) yesterday refer to the meeting as well.

Found the agenda. Look at the role AI
https://nacacconference.org/education/preconference-seminars/

They had sessions with the founders and CEOs of 2 college AI tools that I learned about on this site:
Athena AI and Kollegio

This conference is the talk of the town right now in the college counseling world. I haven't seen any writeups about it yet, other than this one on reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/1nmsuxz/i_went_to_nacac_2025_the_largest_national/

really great nuggets hidden in there:

In terms of opportunities: It’s been interesting to hear so many admissions officers talk about wanting more humanities students. Engineering and AI are still super popular (as always), but there’s this under-discussed desire for more kids—especially boys—to apply as humanities majors.

On the other hand, within STEM and engineering, there are niche areas with more demand: systems engineering, materials science, environmental engineering, even things like water management. So if you’re applying to a STEM field and you have a supplemental essay about your interests — it’s really helpful to point toward a specific and less-common area of interest. Give them a vivid picture of not just what you want to study, but also why — and how that connects to something tangible or helpful in the world.

__________

Extracurriculars are not as important as most families think. An admissions presenter at NACAC shared results from a survey where families were asked to rank the top 5 most important factors in college admissions. Families ranked extracurriculars as #1, ahead of everything else (even above things like grades and test scores). But in reality, for most admissions officers, it’s closer to #10. It’s not that extracurriculars don’t matter... it’s just that other things matter way more.

Also a reminder: Summer programs hosted by colleges don’t give you an edge. That’s a common myth some parents believe. But they don’t offer preferential treatment just because you paid to attend a summer program on their campus. What actually tends to matter more is whether a student shows specific, niche interests (I think this is especially the case in STEM... so many AOs I talked to had their eyes glaze over when talking about so many general biology or chemistry major interests. Show some indication that you have a specialized interest). You don’t need tons of “pay-to-play” programs. Some might help introduce an interest, but what’s far more impressive is initiative and resourcefulness (like one AO really liked hearing about a student cold-calling professors to work with them on projects).