Be Real
Scholarship reviewers want to get to know the real you. They’re not looking for perfect writing or fancy words. They want to understand your values, goals, challenges, and personality.
AI can support your writing, but it can’t replace your story. Your lived experiences, ideas, and dreams are what make your application stand out.
What students submit in the Madison College Foundation Scholarship Portal must be authentic, accurate, and written by the student.
- Students may not plagiarize, falsify information, commit forgery, or otherwise make a knowingly false oral or written statement as part of the scholarship process.
- AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT) may be used to support the writing process—such as refining spelling, grammar, sentence structure, or assisting with general structural organization—provided the content remains the student’s original work. Students should not use artificial intelligence technology to generate the responses submitted for scholarship applications.
Applications from students who violate this policy will be disqualified.
Using AI in Scholarship Applications—A Guide to Sharing Your Story Authentically
Generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Grammarly, and Google Docs suggestions are now a regular part of writing. They can help you brainstorm, check grammar, or get feedback—but they can’t replace your voice, your experiences, or your story.
This guide will help you understand how to use AI ethically and share your authentic story with confidence.
Here are a few ways you can use AI tools ethically:
Do:
- Ask AI to help brainstorm essay topics or outlines
- Get suggestions to improve sentence clarity or fix grammar
- Use Grammarly to check spelling and punctuation
- Use ChatGPT to ask, “What are ways students overcome challenges?” to spark ideas
- Use AI to model editing choices and ask “Model three ways to condense this idea [insert sentence] or model four ways to reword this sentence [insert sentence]”
Avoid:
- Submitting an AI-written essay
- Letting AI tell your story without your input
- Asking AI to mimic your tone (it often sounds generic)
If you use AI, try this quick checklist before submitting:
✔ Does the essay reflect your real experiences, beliefs, and goals?
✔ Would someone who knows you say, “This sounds like you”?
✔ Could you explain why you wrote what you wrote, in your own words?
Here’s how you might do it:
- Brainstorming help: “Can you help me think of essay topics about overcoming challenges?”
- Outline idea: “How can I organize an essay about my role in caring for a younger sibling?”
- Clarity check: “Can you suggest a clearer way to say this sentence?”
Then revise the response until it sounds like you—don’t just copy and paste.
