#170 AI and College Essays: What Families Need to Know with Susan Knoppow

Flourish Coaching

Apr 15, 2025

In this episode, Lisa and Susan discuss:

How AI impacts the essay-writing process for students.
Mistaken beliefs about what makes a strong application essay
Crafting essays that truly reflect a student’s voice and experiences
Helpful strategies and tools that can assist in writing a strong college essay

Key Takeaways:

AI should not be used to generate or refine college essays. It can assist with research, but all information must be verified, and the writing must be entirely the student’s own.
Admissions officers value essays that show a student’s true personality and experiences over overly polished or generic ones. They seek real people who will contribute to the college community, not just applicants with strong credentials.
Essays should reflect the voice of a 17 to 18-year-old. Unnecessarily formal or complex language can make an essay feel inauthentic; clear and honest communication is more important.
Rather than focusing on structure or a single moment, strong essays thoughtfully respond to the prompt, offering meaningful personal insights that reveal the student’s true character.

“You don’t have to create a persona that you think will be appealing to your reader. You need to answer the question and show who you really are.” – Susan Knoppow

About Susan Knoppow:

Focused, incisive, and creative, Susan can turn the most daunting writing challenge into a series of simple steps; she conceptualized and developed the Wow Method for teaching writing. A former executive speechwriter and copywriter, Susan is also a published poet and essayist. She holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Michigan and an MFA in Writing from Vermont College. When she’s not running Wow, Susan likes to garden, cook, and go on adventures with her husband and their dog, Luna. She has three adult children who are all talented creative writers as well.

Episode References:

College Essay Resources from WOW https://flourishcoachingco.com/essays
#066 Everything You Think You Know About College Essays Is Wrong with Susan Knoppow: https://www.flourishcoachingco.com/066
Says Who? by Anne Curzan: https://www.amazon.com/Says-Who-Kinder-Funner-Everyone/dp/0593444094

Get Lisa’s Free on-demand video: How-to guide for your teen to choose the right major, college, & career…(without painting themselves into a corner, missing crucial deadlines, or risking choices you both regret).

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