Fordham UniversityAI Policy for Admissions
- PermissionCan you use AI?Line-level editing allowed
- DisclosureMust you disclose AI use?No disclosure required
- ComplianceHow is it verified?Manual review possible
Quick Answer: Can you use AI at Fordham University?
Fordham University permits limited AI use in the application writing process — specifically for generating initial ideas or refining a draft you have already written — but requires that all submitted work reflect your own original thinking and authentic voice. Using AI to write or substantially compose your essays for you is explicitly not allowed.
Disclosure: Fordham University does not require applicants to disclose or attest to their use of AI tools as part of the application process. No formal declaration is needed, though the expectation of original work remains in effect.
Compliance: Fordham University does not use automated AI-detection tools as a formal gate, but admissions readers may conduct manual review and are trained to watch for inconsistencies in voice or narrative coherence that may signal inauthentic writing.
Generally safe
- After drafting your essay yourself, use AI tools to identify awkward phrasing, grammatical issues, or structural improvements — as long as the core content remains yours.
- Use AI to spark initial ideas or explore essay angles before you begin writing — then set the AI output aside and write from your own perspective.
- Run your polished draft through an AI tool for light copyediting, then read it aloud to confirm it still sounds unmistakably like you.
Things to Avoid
- Do not prompt an AI to produce a complete or near-complete essay draft that you then submit with minimal changes — this violates Fordham's policy.
- Avoid letting AI rewrite your essay to the point where your personal voice, specific memories, and individual reasoning are diluted or erased.
- Do not rely on AI to supply the opinions, values, or personal insights that should come from your own reflection — readers are looking for the real you.
- Verified Feb 2026
“You can use AI as a tool—but proceed with caution.”
AI Policy for Application Writing - Verified Feb 2026
“Using AI in its proper place, such as brainstorming ideas or polishing a draft, ensures that your work remains original”
AI Policy for Application Writing - Verified Feb 2026
“AI can't capture how you think or what you value.”
AI Policy for Application Writing - Verified Feb 2026
“Your application writing is our best way to get to know you—the real you.”
AI Policy for Application Writing - Verified Feb 2026
“We expect all Fordham students to adhere to the highest level of academic integrity.”
AI Policy for Application Writing
Allowed Uses
- brainstorming ideas
- polishing drafts
Not Allowed
- wholesale drafting or generating essays
- replacing original thought or authentic voice
- https://www.fordham.edu/undergraduate-admission/apply/what-were-looking-for/writing-for-the-common-application/
- https://www.fordham.edu/school-of-law/admissions/jd-admissions/apply-to-fordham-law/application-requirements/
- https://www.fordham.edu/graduate-school-of-arts-and-sciences/admissions/how-to-apply/
- https://www.fordham.edu/about/leadership-and-administration/administrative-offices/office-of-the-provost/about-us/our-work/academics/teaching-and-learning/
- https://www.fordham.edu/about/leadership-and-administration/administrative-offices/office-of-the-provost/about-us/our-work/academic-initiatives/ai-vision-committee/
- https://news.law.fordham.edu/blog/2024/02/29/llm-guide-should-you-use-ai-tools-to-write-ll-m-personal-statements/
Fordham Law and Fordham's graduate programs (including Gabelli School of Business) have no equivalent formal AI admissions policy on file; applicants to those programs should treat the undergraduate guidance as a reasonable benchmark while noting LSAC's platform-level baseline applies for law applicants.
With an applicant pool exceeding 44,000 and no interviews offered at the undergraduate level, Fordham explicitly frames essays as its primary window into a student's character — making authentic writing especially high-stakes.
The policy permits AI for brainstorming and light polishing only; generating or substantially drafting essay content is prohibited, with Jesuit values of integrity and authentic self-expression cited as the foundation.
Fordham has one of the more explicit undergraduate AI admissions policies among peer institutions, published as a dedicated page under its Common App writing guidance — signaling that readers are actively aware of AI-generated content.
Fordham has a dedicated AI Policy for Application Writing page under undergraduate admission. The policy explicitly allows limited AI use for brainstorming and polishing while requiring original work and authentic voice. The page emphasizes Jesuit values and warns that AI cannot capture how applicants think or what they value. The parent Common App writing page reinforces this with 'if the words are not yours, revise the revision!' Compliance is soft — the page warns that manufactured content undermines narrative cohesion, implying readers watch for voice consistency. No AI-specific disclosure requirement. No equivalent AI admissions policy found for Fordham Law or graduate programs — only the undergraduate admissions office has published explicit guidance. A 2024 Fordham Law blog post discussed AI in LL.M. personal statements but was advisory, not formal policy.
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