At CoolSpeak, we know educators and program leaders are navigating big questions about AI and academic integrity, especially when guiding students through scholarship and college application writing. To help support that work, CoolSpeaker Joaquín offers practical insights you can share with your students about using AI responsibly while still protecting the authenticity that scholarship committees expect.
Below, he breaks down how to talk with students about voice, originality, and writing that truly reflects who they are.
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One of the questions I get asked more and more lately is, “Joaquín, how do you feel about the use of ChatGPT as it concerns writing a scholarship essay?” I’m rather torn on the whole ChatGPT issue. I feel there may be a place for it out in the world. Say, for instance, there’s a person who is a manager for a major corporation, and for the life of them, they just cannot write a well-crafted memo concerning a company policy change…then maybe that could be a time for ChatGPT to be used.

But you have to keep in mind that the scholarship process is an extension of your academic journey and the springboard to higher education. So, we have to think, act, and write as though it is an extension of that journey. I would say my answer is…never use ChatGPT to craft a personal reflective essay in its entirety. Use ChatGPT the way one uses spell check or grammar check, as an “after the fact” tool. Write the paper in its entirety on your own. Then copy and paste it into ChatGPT, if you like, and instruct ChatGPT to spell check and grammar check the paper and to offer two to three revision tips to make the essay more fluid.

In doing so, you ensure that the bulk of the writing is yours. Keep in mind that some people on the scholarship selection committee may be academics… someone with an MFA or PhD, or maybe even on faculty at a college or university. If they read something in your essay that rings as hollow, untrue, or AI-generated…they have the right to check it. They might use an app like Turnitin or ChatGPTZero to check whether your paper is AI-generated. And while those detection tools are not perfect, they, just like ChatGPT, are getting stronger and smarter every day.

Keep in mind that your professors may use these detection tools on their campuses. And there are now some stiff academic punishments on some campuses for using ChatGPT and passing it off as your own writing. Some professors are even writing in a “no ChatGPT rule” into their syllabus. So, it’s best to start practicing the craft of writing your own paper and using ChatGPT sparingly as a sort of spell-check or grammar-check tool now. By doing this, we are prepared for what lies ahead on a college campus. Most scholarship selection committee members, just like most professors, care what you think about a particular issue. What you think about the world we live in and share. And remember there is only one voice in the universe that sounds like yours, and that is an astonishing fact. So, use that unique and brilliant voice and mind of yours to craft an original, reflective, personal essay. Who knows…what you create could change your life and help you be admitted to the college or university of your dreams.

Your students’ stories are powerful – powerful enough to earn scholarships, build confidence, and transform your future. Together, we can guide students to use the most powerful resource they have, their own voice, as they pursue scholarships, opportunities, and pathways to college success.

If your school, district, or organization is looking for scholarship-writing workshops, student leadership programming, or family engagement sessions that complement your efforts, CoolSpeak can help you elevate those experiences.