American UniversityAI Policy for Admissions
- PermissionCan you use AI?No explicit policy
- DisclosureMust you disclose AI use?No disclosure required
- ComplianceHow is it verified?No compliance stated
Generally safe
- Use AI tools for brainstorming topic ideas or organizing your thoughts, but write every sentence of your essay yourself.
- Use assistive technology if you have a documented disability — at least one American University graduate program explicitly permits this accommodation.
Things to Avoid
- Avoid submitting any essay that does not fully represent your own words and thinking, even if the school you are applying to has not published an explicit AI policy.
- Do not use AI writing tools to draft, rewrite, or substantially generate any portion of your personal statement or essays — at least one AU graduate program explicitly bans AI-authored statements and requires a signed attestation.
- Avoid using AI to paraphrase or reframe your essay in a way that obscures your original voice, as this may undermine the authenticity reviewers expect.
- Verified Feb 2026
“No AI-specific admissions essay policy found on undergraduate admissions website”
Prospective First-Year Student Application Checklist
College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) Graduate Admissions
P4 • AI use prohibitedD3 • Must attest no AI usedC0 • No compliance stated“We do not accept personal statements written by AI or similar tools.”
View SourceApplies to: personal statement, statement of purpose
- https://www.american.edu/admissions/first-year/checklist.cfm
- https://www.american.edu/admissions/enrollment-edit/early-decision-early-action-application-checklist.cfm
- https://www.american.edu/admissions/enrollment-edit/5-college-application-tips-from-admissions-experts.cfm
- https://www.american.edu/admissions/transfer/instructions.cfm
- https://www.american.edu/cas/admissions/apply.cfm
- https://www.american.edu/cas/admissions/requirements.cfm
- https://www.american.edu/sis/admissions/personal-statement.cfm
- https://www.american.edu/sis/admissions/required-materials.cfm
- https://www.american.edu/sis/admissions/faq.cfm
- https://www.american.edu/spa/admissions/apply-to-spa.cfm
- https://www.american.edu/spa/admissions/faqs.cfm
- https://www.american.edu/soc/admissions/graduate-apply.cfm
- https://www.american.edu/soe/graduate/graduate-admissions.cfm
- https://kogod.american.edu/programs-admissions/mba/admissions
- https://www.wcl.american.edu/school/admissions/jd/apply/first-year/
- https://www.american.edu/wcl/school/admissions/jd/apply/first-year/faq.cfm
- https://www.american.edu/oit/security/interim-guidance-on-the-use-of-ai.cfm
- https://edspace.american.edu/cfe/artificial-intelligence/
American University hub classification: (P0/D0/C0) — use program-specific pages when policies differ within the institution.
American University has no explicit AI admissions essay policy at the undergraduate level, earning a (P0/D0/C0) rating — applicants receive no formal guidance on AI use.
The College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) Graduate Admissions is a clear exception: it explicitly prohibits AI-written personal statements and requires applicants to attest that their Statement of Purpose is entirely their own work.
CAS does carve out an exception for assistive technologies used by applicants with disabilities, making it one of the more nuanced program-level policies found at AU.
No other AU graduate schools — including SIS, SPA, Kogod, SOC, SOE, or WCL — were found to have explicit AI admissions essay policies, creating an uneven policy landscape across the institution.
American University has no explicit AI policy for undergraduate admissions essays. However, the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) Graduate Admissions explicitly prohibits AI-written personal statements on both its Apply and Requirements pages, with an attestation that the Statement of Purpose was authored by the applicant. This includes an exception for assistive technologies for applicants with disabilities. No other graduate school (SIS, SPA, SOE, SOC, Kogod, WCL) was found to have an explicit AI admissions essay policy. The university-wide Interim Guidance on AI addresses institutional use of AI in admissions decisions (human oversight required) but does not address applicant use of AI in essays. The undergraduate admissions site emphasizes authenticity and self-expression but does not mention AI specifically.
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