Colby CollegeAI 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
Quick Answer: Can you use AI at Colby College?
Colby College has not published any explicit policy on the use of AI tools for admissions essays, meaning there is no formal guidance permitting or prohibiting AI assistance in application materials.
Disclosure: Colby College does not require applicants to disclose whether AI tools were used in drafting any part of their application, as no such requirement appears anywhere on the admissions website.
Compliance: Colby College conducts routine audits of applications to verify accuracy and warns that submitting materially false or misleading information may result in denial or revocation of admission, though no AI-specific compliance mechanism exists.
Generally safe
- Treat your Common App personal statement as an opportunity to express your own authentic voice — write, revise, and polish the essay yourself.
- Use AI-powered grammar or spell-check tools that do not alter the substance or style of your writing.
- If you consult any AI tool at any stage, make sure the final submitted work genuinely reflects your own thoughts, experiences, and language.
- Review Colby's general integrity standards carefully and ensure everything you submit is accurate and truly representative of you.
Things to Avoid
- Avoid using AI to fabricate or embellish details about your experiences, activities, or achievements anywhere in the application.
- Do not submit writing that does not authentically represent your own ideas, background, and voice — even if the college has no explicit AI rule, this risks violating general honesty standards.
- Verified Feb 2026
“No AI-specific admissions essay policy found on Colby College admissions website or FAQ pages.”
Requirements - Colby College Admissions - Verified Feb 2026
“Colby conducts routine audits of select applications to confirm the accuracy of the information submitted as part of the application process.”
Requirements - Colby College Admissions - Verified Feb 2026
“The submission of materially false or misleading information in an application is grounds for Colby to deny or revoke admission.”
Requirements - Colby College Admissions
- https://afa.colby.edu/apply/
- https://afa.colby.edu/apply/requirements/
- https://afa.colby.edu/apply/faq/
- https://www.colby.edu/admission/apply/first-year-faq/
- https://www.colby.edu/academics/academic-integrity/
- https://life.colby.edu/your-safety/community-values-conflict-resolution-and-restorative-practice/student-handbook/
- https://www.colby.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/GC-AI-Guidance-Document-16.pdf
- https://davisinstituteai.colby.edu/
- https://news.colby.edu/story/lets-talk-about-artificial-intelligence/
The college's existing integrity framework warns that false or misleading application information is grounds for denial or revocation — this general rule is the closest applicable guardrail for AI misuse.
Colby College hub classification: (P0/D0/C0) — use program-specific pages when policies differ within the institution.
Colby does not require supplemental essays; applicants submit only the Common App (or Coalition/QuestBridge) personal statement, narrowing the surface area where AI policy questions arise.
Colby's AI expertise (Davis Institute for AI, Mule Chat platform, legal AI guidance) applies to enrolled students and faculty, not to the admissions process, creating a notable gap in applicant-facing policy.
Colby College has no explicit AI policy for admissions essays. The admissions site (afa.colby.edu) contains no mention of AI, ChatGPT, or generative AI in relation to application materials. Colby conducts routine application audits and warns that false or misleading information is grounds for denial or revocation, but this is a general integrity measure not specific to AI. The college's legal AI guidance document (August 2025) and student handbook AI references apply to enrolled students and faculty, not applicants. Colby does not require supplemental essays; applicants submit the Common App personal statement. Despite being a leader in AI education through the Davis Institute for AI and the Mule Chat platform, Colby has not published admissions-specific AI guidance.
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