"The study analyzed tens of thousands of essays submitted to an unnamed selective institution over four years, starting before the introduction of generative AI tools. The researchers found that lower-income students-represented in this study by those who received an application fee waiver-were more likely to use AI in their essays, as were students who were ultimately rejected from the college."
"Even among the cohort of students who had used AI, lower-income students were more likely to be rejected than higher-income students, the researchers found. This may be because higher-income students can afford better versions of AI tools and might be working with counselors or essay coaches who understand how to use AI most effectively, she said."
""High-income students have a lot of different resources; they have counselors, they have teachers, they have more support on top of ChatGPT," Lee said. On the other hand, lower-income students "might only be able to use the free tier instead of the $200-per-month [version of] Claude, and the quality of the outcome of what free-tier ChatGPT gives us is really poor.""
Admissions offices have faced AI-generated essays for more than three and a half years. A 2024 survey found about half of applicants use AI to brainstorm and one in five use it to create a first draft. A study analyzed tens of thousands of essays submitted to a selective institution over four years, including periods before generative AI tools. The study found that applicants who received application fee waivers, representing lower-income students, were more likely to use AI. Students who were ultimately rejected were also more likely to use AI. Among AI users, lower-income students were more likely to be rejected than higher-income students, potentially because higher-income students can access better AI tools and additional support such as counselors or essay coaches.
Read at Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs
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