At 56 Universities, the AI Rules Depend on Which Program You Apply To

The most common pattern is professional schools (law, business, medicine) being stricter than the institution as a whole. This makes sense: these programs have tighter application requirements, more essays that function as writing samples, and professional norms around original work.

The reverse — programs being more lenient than the institution — is less common but does occur, typically at schools with strict institution-level policies where a specific program has carved out more permissive guidance.

If you're applying to multiple programs at the same university — or using the same personal statement across applications — you need to check each program individually. The institution-level policy is a default, not a guarantee.

This is especially important for the Common App and coalition application essays. A personal statement written with AI assistance that's acceptable for one program may violate another program's policy at the same school.

When in doubt, follow the strictest policy among all programs you're applying to at a given school.

Of the 56 schools with contradictions, 49 have at least one program that is stricter than the institution, and 7 have at least one that is more lenient.