How AI Helps (and Hurts) Graduate School Essays for Taiwanese Applicants
- Cate Shubat
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
How AI Helps (and Hurts) Graduate School Essays for Young Professionals in Taiwan
Applying to grad school abroad is a big step, especially if English isn’t your first language. More college students and working professionals in Taiwan are turning to AI tools—like ChatGPT, Grammarly, and Quillbot—especially when they hope to study abroad. While AI tools offer shortcuts to writing admissions essays for university and graduate school, they also bring disadvantages to English learners who seek personal, academic, and career growth.
1. Language Support and Error Correction
For many English learners, grammar and vocabulary seem like major hurdles. Students feel unconfident sitting down to write their essays, and AI writing assistants can effortlessly produce pages of content that to the naked eye, look perfect. It’s true, AI can correct mistakes, improve sentence flow, and suggest academic word choices. With instant feedback from Grammarly and Google Document suggestions, students can avoid embarrassing errors, and produce higher-quality essays than they prepare by themselves.
Tools: Grammarly, Wordtune
✅ Benefits:
Quick fixes to errors in grammar and punctuation
Suggests more natural or formal sentence structure
Flags unclear or awkward sentences
⚠️ Disadvantages and Risks
Essays can sound too generic or artificial
Students may not understand or fully believe what AI wrote about their own story
Risks of plagiarism or AI-detection by universities (like GPTZero or Turnitin.com)
2. Structural Support
Instead of stressing about essays in English (asking “what do Admissions Committees want?”), AI offers templates and samples as models and examples for personal statements. This is a good way to get started, and sources from Foundry10 found that around 50% of college applicants in 2024 used ChatGPT to brainstorm their essay content.
If an applicant uses AI to brainstorm ideas and general essay structures, your paper might not get flagged. However, the more you rely on AI technology instead of using your own creativity, the more your essay will sound like other students’ papers. This doesn’t mean that the content is good or bad. However, your paper will not stand out to admissions committees, reducing chances of admission.
What’s worse, sources from theMarkup.org, a nonprofit newsroom, report that “AI detectors flagged writing by non-native [English] speakers as AI-generated 61 percent of the time,” putting English learners at a severe disadvantage compared to applicants writing in their mother tongue.
If your essay registers as “AI-generated” in sources like GPTZero or Turnitin.com, school admissions committees have not stated that they will automatically throw your application out. But, compared to students who have clearly prepared all their own work and have written with a clear personal style, your papers stand at a loss.
Tools: ChatGPT, Notion AI
✅ Benefits:
Offers outlines or sample templates for students to follow
Generates helpful ideas when students feel stuck
Provides examples of strong topic sentences, thesis sentences, or transitions
⚠️ Disadvantages
AI can't naturally express emotions, personal motivations, or unique life stories
Individual statements become less authentic or memorable
Students can’t articulate their own story as clearly or fluently
While structures save students time, I (Cate) have seen too many students copy examples word-for-word, or rely too heavily on general structures to replace their personal stories. While structures save time, applicants have to be careful not to depend on these examples. In short, AI can produce examples, but do not guarantee successful formulas.
The more personalized your essay, the more attractive you will be to the admissions committee. School committees can usually tell what’s written by a computer–you don’t want to copy their style! Cate compares AI-inspired essays to food that has too much salt added. A little bit is fine, but if you add too much, you want to spit it out. Instead of relying on AI, practice telling your story and develop your own voice to protect your essay.
3. Missed Growth Opportunities
✅ Benefits:
AI puts a “positive spin” on difficulties you’ve faced, turning challenges into progress and potential
Uses work-oriented vocabulary to turn “normal” experiences into more professional-sounding ones
⚠️ Disadvantages:
Relying too much on AI can make application essays sound generic, or impersonal, or at worse, fake. This effect is almost guaranteed if students copy AI-generated text without rewriting it in their own voice. Admissions committees that use AI-Checkers Admissions officers want to hear about real experiences, not polished or vague stories.
Overusing AI may prevent students from learning how to reflect deeply, organize their thoughts, or improve their writing over time.
Writing personal statements is about more than just good English. It’s a chance for personal growth—understanding your goals, telling your story, and showing your motivation. If students let AI do most of the thinking, they miss out on this self-discovery process.
Too much AI support prevents personal development and long-term language improvement
Students copy textbook “correct” answers without finding their real purpose in life
In Conclusion
AI can be a helpful writing tool for young people in Taiwan applying to graduate schools. Used wisely, it can improve grammar, boost vocabulary, and support planning. But to write a meaningful, memorable essay, students still need to reflect, revise, and be honest by telling their own personal stories. AI can assist—but it cannot replace your own voice.
AI is just a tool—not a replacement for critical thinking. Use it to get started, clean up grammar, or explore vocabulary—but make sure your own voice and experiences are at the center of the essay.
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