Study abroad6 min read
How to use AI on your personal statement without it sounding like AI
The Draimo team
Short answer
Use AI to think and to check, not to write. It is good at helping you find what to say, asking you questions about your experiences, pointing out where a draft is vague, and checking facts about a course. It is bad at sounding like you. An essay written by AI reads like everyone else's, and a personal statement exists to show what is different about you. Write every sentence yourself.
Try it in Draimo
Let Draimo interview you
- Ask me ten questions, one at a time, about why I want to study economics. Do not write anything for me.
- Here is my draft. Which sentences are vague, and which claims have no example? Do not rewrite it.
- University lookup
- For more than a hundred top universities, Draimo reads the official website of the one you are aiming for and shows you the page.
- Every plan
- Echo
- Records a lecture, meeting or info session, then gives you a transcript and a summary you can ask about.
- Five minutes to try; unlimited on monthly plans
- Files
- Attach a PDF, Word file, slides or a photo and ask about it.
- One file per message on every plan; several at once on paid plans
Where AI helps
- Finding material: have Draimo interview you about why you want this course, and answer out loud or in notes.
- Structure: for UCAS, map your notes onto the three questions before you write.
- Feedback: share your draft and ask which sentences are vague, which claims have no example, and what a reader would remember.
- Facts: check what the course actually covers. Draimo reads the university's own course page.
- Length: UCAS allows 4,000 characters; the Common App essay is up to 650 words.
Where AI hurts
Generated prose is smooth and forgettable: 'I have always been passionate about', 'this experience taught me the value of'. Admissions readers see those phrases constantly. Your statement also has to be yours; applications ask you to confirm that, and an interview can test it.
A method that keeps it yours
- Ask Draimo to interview you: 'Ask me ten questions about why I want to study economics.'
- Answer in your own words. Record yourself with Echo if talking is easier than typing.
- Pick the three strongest, most specific stories.
- Write the draft yourself.
- Ask Draimo for feedback on clarity and evidence, not for rewrites.
- Read it aloud. Any sentence you would not say yourself, change.
Know the course before you write about it
Saying why you want a course is stronger when you name something specific it teaches. Pick the university in Draimo and ask what the first year covers; the answer comes from the university's own course page.
Questions people ask
- Can I use AI to write my UCAS personal statement?
- Use it to brainstorm and get feedback, but write the statement yourself. It must be your own work, and AI-written prose tends to read like every other applicant's.
- How long is the Common App essay?
- Between 250 and 650 words.
Let Draimo interview you about your course, and find what only you can say.
Start the interview
