The short answer
Common App’s published policy does not say that it scans essays with AI detection software. What it does say is clear: intentionally presenting the output of an AI tool as your own original work is application fraud. Each member college then decides how it reviews the applications it receives.
- There is a rule. The fraud policy names artificial intelligence directly.
- There is no published scanning process. The policy does not mention detection software at all.
- Colleges make their own decisions. The policy says so in plain terms.
What the fraud policy says about AI
Common App’s Fraud Policy defines fraud as “an intent to deceive, mislead, or otherwise perpetuate misinformation upon a Common App member regarding the candidacy of a student-applicant for admission”. It then lists examples. One of them is:
“Submitting plagiarized essays or other written or oral material, or intentionally misrepresenting as one’s own original work: (1) another person’s thoughts, language, ideas, expressions, or experiences or (2) the substantive content or output of an artificial intelligence platform, technology, or algorithm”
Three things in that sentence are worth reading slowly.
- AI output is placed next to plagiarism. Passing off an AI tool’s writing as yours is treated the same way as passing off another person’s.
- The word “intentionally” is there. The policy is about misrepresenting work as your own, which fits its definition of fraud as an intent to deceive.
- The word “substantive” is there too. The policy is aimed at the content of the essay. It does not define the word, and it does not give a list of AI uses that are allowed.
Because the policy does not list permitted uses, we will not guess at them. Where a college has published its own reading, use that. An example is in the section on colleges below.
The affirmation you sign
Before you submit to each college, Common App shows you a set of affirmation statements that you must confirm. The first one covers authorship:
“I certify that all information submitted in the admission process — including this application and any other supporting materials — is my own work, factually true, and honestly presented…”
The same statement goes on to say that you may be subject to a range of possible disciplinary actions, including admission revocation, expulsion, or revocation of course credit, grades and degree, if what you certified is false.
The affirmation does not use the words “artificial intelligence”. It does not need to. “My own work” covers it, and the fraud policy spells out that AI output presented as your own is not your own work. Common App says your signature and the date are captured and sent to the college as evidence that you saw and confirmed these statements.
What the policy says about detection software
Nothing. We read the whole fraud policy looking for it. It does not mention AI detection software, an AI score, or scanning essays. It does not name any tool.
Here is what it does say about how fraud comes to Common App’s attention.
| Question | What the fraud policy states |
|---|---|
| Does Common App look for fraud? | It says it “monitors instances of alleged fraud” across its services, including alleged fraud that Common App identifies itself. It does not say how. |
| Who else can report it? | A member college, or an individual such as a counselor, recommender, school representative, parent or guardian. |
| Does it verify what colleges report? | It says it will not independently judge, evaluate, verify or investigate information from a reporting college, except as far as needed to address misuse of its own service. |
| Is AI detection software mentioned? | No. |
So if you came here for a yes or no on whether Common App runs your essay through an AI detector, the accurate answer is that Common App has not published one. Be careful with any site that states it as a fact either way without pointing to a Common App page.
What happens if fraud is alleged
The fraud policy sets out a process. In short:
- Written notice. Common App tells the user that it has received an allegation and is working to determine whether its Terms of Use were violated.
- Investigation. It may communicate with the college or person who reported it.
- A determination. If Common App decides fraud occurred, it notifies the user and gives the basis for the decision.
- An appeal. The user has ten business days from the written notice to send a written statement and supporting documents.
- A final decision. Common App reviews the appeal within fourteen business days and then communicates its final determination in writing.
The policy says that after a fraud determination Common App may, at its discretion, suspend the account temporarily or permanently, or terminate it, and may disclose the fraud to the colleges on the user’s My Colleges list.
Notice what this process is built on: an allegation, an investigation and a chance to respond. It is not described as an automatic result of a software score.
Each college sets its own review
Common App sends your application to colleges. The colleges read it and decide. The fraud policy is direct about this: any determination or action a member college takes on an application is “undertaken solely at the discretion and risk of the member”.
The policy also says that Common App does not require colleges to report every case of alleged fraud, but that they may do so “consistent with the member’s own internal fraud detection protocols”. That phrase tells you colleges have their own ways of checking. It does not tell you what they are.
Some colleges publish their own guidance. Yale’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions, for example, says it adheres to Common App’s fraud policy. It adds that using an AI platform to review grammar or spelling, or to seek general advice or topic suggestions at the start of the writing process, does not constitute application fraud. It also says that submitting written responses composed by text-generating software may result in admission revocation or expulsion.
That is one college’s statement, and it applies to that college. For every school on your list, read its own application instructions, and email the admissions office if AI is not covered. Our guide on whether colleges use AI detectors looks at the wider picture, including coursework after you enrol.
What this means for your essay
The question to ask is not whether a tool will check. It is whether the essay is your own work, because that is what you certify when you submit.
- Write it yourself. The essay is there so a college can hear from you.
- Check each college’s rules before you use any AI tool for help, even small help.
- Keep your drafts. Notes, outlines and version history show how the essay came together. If a question is ever raised, that record is your best answer. See how to prove you didn’t use AI.
- Do not treat any detector as a judge. Detectors can flag human writing and miss AI writing. Our guides on whether AI detectors work and AI detector false positives explain why.
If you want to see how your own essay reads, the Plagiarism Checker Plus AI detector for essays and the main AI detector give an overall AI score and a likelihood for every sentence. The score is a probability, not proof. It cannot tell you what Common App or a college will decide, and it should never be the only basis for a decision about anyone’s integrity.
This page does not explain how to make AI writing harder to spot, and we will not help with that. If the essay is yours, you have nothing to hide. If it is not, hiding it does not make it yours.