What Most Pre-Law Students Think About the Use of AI in Applications  

Most pre-law students don’t think law school applicants should be allowed to use AI tools in admissions essays.

A recent Kaplan survey found that 66% of pre-law students are against using ChatGPT or other GenAI tools to help them write their admissions essays. 14% say they should be allowed to use it, while 20% say they aren’t sure.

In recent months, a number of law schools have announced specific policies around the use of AI in admissions essays. Back in July, the University of Michigan Law School announced a ban on the use of AI tools on application—a first among law schools. Other law schools, such as the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, have announced policies explicitly allowing the use of AI.

WHAT PRE-LAW STUDENTS THINK

A majority of pre-law students surveyed by Kaplan don’t believe that AI should be allowed in applications.

“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,” one student says.

“Using GenAI would defeat the entire point of writing a personal statement, which I believe is to express a key part of your identity in a short but impactful piece,” another student says.

Still, some students argued in favor of allowing AI.

“Banning the use of AI in personal statements does nothing but penalize students willing to play by the rules,” one student says. “We need to learn to work with AI instead of against it.”

Amit Schlesinger, executive director of legal and government programs at Kaplan, says that the survey results are somewhat expected.

“Pre-law students took their admissions exams on Test Day without the use of GenAI and built up their GPAs without using it either, so it’s not entirely surprising that they think it shouldn’t be a part of the admissions process either,” Schlesinger says. “One common thread in the survey results is the concern that it would unfairly level the playing field for applicants who are not strong writers, in addition to permit inauthenticity.”

Preliminary results from Kaplan’s 2023 survey of law school admissions officers reveal that most schools have yet to establish policies regarding the role that GenAI can or cannot play in applicants’ admissions essays.

Sources: businesswire, Reuters, Reuters