The Office of Student Fellowships officially discourages the use of Generative AI in the creation of fellowship materials. There are several reasons for this:
First, if you are applying for an external fellowship that requires Carleton nomination or endorsement, you will be required to sign a waiver that includes an affirmation that you have not used Generative AI in the process of creating your application materials. The fellowships themselves may have similar required attestations.
Second, to quote your fellow Carl Brian Klaasen ’08 (in his excellent Substack called The Garden of Forking Paths (yes, that’s in honor of Jorge Luis Borges!)):
“Writing has a way of ruthlessly exposing unclear thoughts and imprecision. This is part of what is lost by ChatGPT, the mistaken belief that the spat out string of words in a reasonable order is the only goal, when it’s often the cognitive act of producing the string of words that matters most.”
Third, writing for fellowships is deeply personal. The only benefit we can reasonably guarantee you will receive from the application process is the opportunity to reflect deeply and engage in self-discovery. At this time, we see the use of Generative AI as having the potential to limit that benefit, so we ask you to avoid using it.
Fourth, we just can’t know what the future will hold in terms of the protection of your personal information. Fellowship applications include a lot of that, and it’s just wise to limit how much of it you share with these very powerful tools.
We recognize that writing for fellowships can feel high-stakes and create anxiety. The Writing Center and the Director of Student Fellowships are available to you precisely because most writing benefits from receiving feedback — so be sure to take advantage of these resources that Carleton offers!