Use of Generative AI in Graduate Admissions Applications
Updated 9/1/26
Generative AI (GenAI) tools, chatbots, writing assistants, and translation and grammar tools are becoming increasingly common, and Cornell embraces AI as a subject of study, a research tool, and a driver of discovery.
The Graduate School’s approach to GenAI in admissions is grounded in a growing body of peer-reviewed and preprint scholarship produced at Cornell, and these guidelines are motivated as much by care for applicants as by academic integrity. Our goal is to help you put your best foot forward, in your own voice, and protect you from the risks of over-relying on AI tools that can flatten your writing, misrepresent your experiences, or work against you in ways you may not anticipate. Used thoughtfully and disclosed honestly, AI can be a helpful part of your preparation. When used in a way that replaces your own voice, it can undermine the very things admissions committees are looking for.
A defining feature of this guidance is its emphasis on documentation. Rather than relying solely on rules about what is or is not allowed, we ask applicants to be transparent about how they use AI tools.
Graduate admissions processes exist to evaluate your intellectual promise, authentic voice, and individual potential. This guidance does not prohibit thoughtful use of GenAI while you prepare your application. It explains where permitted assistance ends and misrepresentation begins, so you can use these tools responsibly.
These guidelines apply to every piece of required written material in your application: your academic statement of purpose, personal statement, any additional essays or short-answer responses, and all required academic writing samples. Individual graduate fields may publish supplemental guidance consistent with these principles; please check your program’s admissions page to ensure you are in compliance with all criteria.
Permitted and Prohibited Uses
| PERMITTED ✓ | PROHIBITED ✗ |
|---|---|
| • Using AI to brainstorm essay topics or explore ideas — as long as the final writing reflects your own thinking and voice • Using grammar- and spelling-correction tools to review your own writing • Using translation tools to check the meaning of individual words or short phrases (non-native English speakers are encouraged to also have a fluent speaker review the final document) • Using AI tools to help format citations in a writing sample you wrote yourself | • Using AI to outline, draft, or write all or a significant portion of your statement of purpose, personal statement, short-answer responses, other required essays, and admission interviews • Copying, pasting, or lightly editing AI-generated text and presenting it as your own writing • Using AI to translate your written works from another language into English, in whole or in substantial part • Using AI to generate or substantially produce a required academic writing sample or portfolio • Using AI to misrepresent your background, experience, research interests, or qualifications |
Special Rule for Academic Writing Samples
Required academic writing samples, including graded papers, writing portfolios, or research excerpts, must be original work authored solely by you. Using GenAI to generate, rewrite, or substantially revise a writing sample is never permitted. This applies even if AI use was permitted or required when the piece was originally written (for example, as part of a class). Minor proofreading and copy-editing (spelling, grammar) that does not change the substance or style of the original work is acceptable.
Admissions Interviews
If your application process includes an interview, whether conducted in person, by phone, or by video, it must reflect your own real-time responses.
Using generative AI tools to generate, suggest, or feed you answers during an admissions interview is prohibited, regardless of the interview format.
Disclosure Requirement
If you use any GenAI tool while preparing your application, even for a permitted purpose, you must disclose it.
Add a brief AI Use Disclosure to your academic statement of purpose or personal statement (or both, if applicable), noting:
- Which category of tool you used (e.g., a conversational AI assistant, a grammar tool, a translation tool)
- What you used it for (e.g., brainstorming, grammar check, verifying vocabulary)
- Which section(s) of your application it helped with
You do not need to name a specific product — Cornell does not endorse or recommend AI tools, and describing the category and purpose is sufficient.
Example (sample language, not required verbatim): “In preparing this application, I used a conversational AI assistant to brainstorm potential research directions before drafting my academic statement of purpose. I used an automated grammar-checking tool to review the final draft. All substantive writing, the structure, arguments, and expression of my experiences and goals are my own.”
Application Attestation
When you submit your application, you will be asked to attest that your required written materials reflect your own ideas, experiences, and writing; that you have not used GenAI to outline, draft, or write any substantive portion of these materials; and that any use of AI has been disclosed as described above.
Academic Integrity Review
Applications are always subject to an integrity review, which may include assessment of voice and consistency across materials, and verification through interviews or short writing exercises. Cornell does not rely on automated AI-detection software as primary evidence of a policy violation, as such tools can produce inequitable false positives, particularly for non-native English speakers and other writers whose style differs from the norms built into detection software. Concerns about AI use are evaluated through holistic, human-centered review, not algorithmic screening alone.
Consequences of Violations
Falsely attesting that submitted materials are your own, or submitting AI-generated content without required disclosure, may result in:
- Disqualification from the current application cycle
- Permanent rescission of any offer of admission, whether or not you have accepted it
- If discovered after enrollment, disciplinary action up to and including dismissal from the program
Guidance from Individual Graduate Fields
Graduate fields and professional programs may publish supplemental guidance specific to their discipline. Where a field’s guidance is more restrictive (for example, prohibiting all GenAI use), you must follow the more restrictive standard. Check your program’s admissions page for any field-specific policy.
AI Use After Enrollment
This guidance covers admissions applications only. Consistent with the Cornell Code of Academic Integrity, enrolled Cornell graduate students follow the norms and practices of their graduate field governing AI use in research and coursework. These vary and continue to evolve by discipline and, for research degree students, by special committee. Students are responsible for staying up to date on current policies within their graduate field, degree program, and special committee. The Cornell AI Initiative and the Office of Research Integrity provide guidance and resources for enrolled students.
Check for the Current Version
This guidance may be updated. This is the most current version. Please refer to this version when applying.