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The Day That AI Went to Bora Bora
And Why You Should Never Use It to Write Your College Admissions Essay
Let me tell you a story. One filled with heartbreak, hope, and a whole lot of holding your breath (for a file that never came). It started with a simple request:
“Can you edit my white paper about college retention and belonging?”
And AI—confident and chipper—said:
“Absolutely. It’ll be delivered in 15 minutes.”
🎬 Cue the slow fade into 72 hours of refreshing my inbox.
I imagined this white paper would arrive wrapped in velvet, maybe handed to me under a palm tree in Bora Bora by a robot in Ray-Bans. Instead? I got ghosted by a bot. Multiple times. If AI had legs, it would’ve kicked sand in my face and cannonballed into a coconut drink without a second thought.
If fact, here we are almost 4 weeks later and the edits I requested on my white paper still haven’t arrived.
🤖 But here’s the real takeaway:
If you’re a student thinking of using AI to write your college essay…
Let me stop you right there, sweet friend.
Because while AI can generate words, it cannot:
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Tell your story
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Capture your humor, heartbreak, or hustle
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Convey the late nights, the struggles, the why behind your dreams
AI will never know what it was like for you to lose sleep over FAFSA, to juggle jobs and AP classes, to be the first in your family to walk into a college classroom.
Your voice matters.
And trust me—admissions officers can smell a ChatGPT essay faster than your mom can smell gum in your backpack during finals week.
📝 Why AI-Generated Essays Fall Flat:
Admissions officers don’t want perfect.
They want real. And trust me, they can spot an AI essay faster than you can say “Common App glitch.”
Let me put it this way:
College essays are velvet-folder moments.
If you wouldn’t let a robot show up to your graduation party in your place, don’t let one write the story that could shape your future.
🌴 What Bora Bora Taught Me (Besides Don’t Trust Digital Deadlines)
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Be human.
Your imperfections, quirks, and backstory? That’s the gold. -
Don’t outsource your voice.
You are not a template. You are a testimony. -
If a robot says “15 minutes,” pack a lunch.
🎓 Final Thought: AI Can Be Your Editor, Not Your Author
Want to brainstorm? Great. Need grammar checks? Sure.
But don’t let it replace the soul of your story. College admissions essays aren’t just about getting in—they’re about standing out.
And friend, no one can do that better than you.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a white paper to find. I think it just texted me from a hammock in Tahiti.
Written by Sherri Ross
A human. Who waited. Who laughed. Who learned.
Founder of Imagine Scholarships. Believer in real stories.