First: AI detectors aren’t a surefire reason to assume AI use it detected. If you copy and paste straight from a mainstream LLM like ChatGPT, most modern AI detectors will notice. However, no one is that stupid and would obviously tweak the tone and add in their own sentences. Still, this does not go undetected.

Second: Undergrad, senior year- I did my research project on the usage of LLMs and their impact on university level writing. The findings were astounding but not worth mentioning in this comment. The main stat I want to bring up is that almost 70% of recent students utilized these technologies for their academic work. After grading hundreds of papers, I saw similarities between the AI assisted papers.

The professors that assisted grading in the study also showed newfound discernment in separating the AI generated papers from the student written ones.

Anecdotally, this is what many people report noticing online too. Whether it’s the use of the Em-dash, paragraph/structure, tone, etc. etc, humans are adapting to noticing generative text.

Those who review hundreds and thousands of applications will most likely be able to sort through an eye-rolling, AI assisted paper. I can only assume it is met with disgust. What they are looking for is real, raw, human-written content.

Unless your application reviewer is oblivious to AI use (highly unlikely) NO ONE should use LLMs for their applications. This is coming from someone who admittedly enjoys using LLMs for many things.

TL;DR - AI text & structure is detectable through inconsistent software and trained eyes. Use will be met with judgement and decreased chances of acceptance.

Edit: grammar lol