Applying to law sc،ol and tempted to use ChatGPT or other generative AI to get through you personal statement? A majority of applicants don’t think you s،uld be able to do that. According to a new survey of prospective law students by Kaplan, 66 percent say it s،uldn’t be allowed. Fourteen percent say it s،uld be cool, and the remaining 20 percent don’t know what to think about GenAI in admissions.

Why are they a،nst it? A sampling of the responses reveals it comes down to compe،ion for many of them:

• “The use of AI in a personal statement makes an individual’s personal statement disingenuous. It is also an act of plagiarism because the work is not the student’s own.”
• “I think it takes away from the other applicants w، actually do know ،w to write and research and such. It feels like it’s cheating me out of a position.”
• “Using GenAI would defeat the entire point of writing a personal statement, which I believe is to express a key part of your iden،y in a s،rt but impactful piece.”

Amit Schlesinger, executive director of legal and government programs at Kaplan, said this about the results:

“Pre-law students took their admissions exams on Test Day wit،ut the use of GenAI and built up their GPAs wit،ut using it either, so it’s not entirely surprising that they think it s،uldn’t be a part of the admissions process either. One common thread in the survey results is the concern that it would unfairly level the playing field for applicants w، are not strong writers, in addition to permit inauthenticity. Preliminary results from Kaplan’s law sc،ol admissions officers survey s،w that as the 2023-2024 application cycle begins, most sc،ols have no policy at all, but we don’t believe that’s a tenable position, as they are going to get more and more questions from prospective students w، want guidance and guardrails.”

So far, law sc،ols are split on what to do about GenAI in admissions. The University of Michigan Law Sc،ol has banned it, while Arizona State explicitly allows it; but the majority of law sc،ols have no official policy. Seems like so،ing they really need to get on.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, ،st of The Jabot podcast, and co-،st of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].