Something shifted this year in how some colleges are thinking about the admissions essay. A few schools are experimenting with video. Most are not moving away from writing. But the trend is real enough that families applying in the next two to three years should understand what is happening and why.
A gathering of over 100 college admissions stakeholders in March 2026 explicitly discussed whether video components could or should replace traditional written essays in the college admissions process. The conversation reflects a broader pressure on admissions offices to find ways to assess students that feel more authentic and less susceptible to AI-generated content.
The short answer for current applicants: written essays are still the standard at every major college and university. Video has not replaced writing. But the conversation about why writing matters and what it actually demonstrates is worth having now, because the ground is shifting in ways that will affect how colleges think about authenticity in the years ahead.
Why Some Colleges Are Interested in Video Essays
The problem admissions offices are dealing with is straightforward: AI writing tools have made it easier than ever to produce polished, grammatically correct, thematically coherent prose that sounds like a strong college applicant. For admissions readers who review thousands of essays, the question of whether an essay reflects the student’s actual voice and thinking has become more complex.
Video, for all its limitations, is harder to fake in the way that written text can be generated. A student speaking directly to a camera about something they care about gives admissions readers information about the person that a written essay, even a genuine one, does not always convey: natural language patterns, how they think in real time, what they look animated about versus what feels rehearsed.
A few schools have begun experimenting with optional video components. Goucher College in Maryland piloted a video essay program years ago. Some selective schools are studying whether short video components could supplement or eventually replace certain essay requirements. None of the major universities have moved away from written essays entirely for the 2025-26 or 2026-27 cycles.
What This Means for Students Applying Now
If you are applying in fall 2026 or 2027, the college essay is still a written document. The Common Application, Coalition Application, and the UC PIQs all require text responses. The supplemental essays at selective private schools are written. Your student should focus on mastering the written essay, not on video preparation.
However, the emphasis on authenticity that the video essay conversation reflects does have a direct lesson for written essays: the essays that will stand out in an era of AI-generated content are the ones that are specifically, unmistakably the student’s own voice. The detail that only they would know. The observation that only they would make. The story that does not sound like it was assembled from prompts and templates.
AI can produce competent essays. It cannot produce essays that feel genuinely personal, because it does not know your student. The students who write about something they have actually lived, in the way they actually think about it, are increasingly distinct from the ones whose essays could have been written by anyone. That distinction matters to admissions readers.
The Stakes of Authenticity in 2026 Essays
Admissions offices are developing tools to detect AI-generated content. Some are using software. Others are training readers to recognize patterns in AI-generated prose. The institutions that are most concerned about this are also the ones with the most applications, where the pressure to generate a compelling essay is highest and the risk of detection is also highest.
The safe path and the best path are the same: write in your student’s actual voice about something they have actually experienced or thought about. Use specific details. Do not optimize for what sounds like a strong college essay. Optimize for what sounds specifically like this student.
A student who can read their essay out loud and have it sound like them, the way they talk to someone they respect, is in a better position than one whose essay reads like a polished document that could belong to anyone.
What About Supplemental Video Questions Some Schools Offer
A small number of schools include optional video questions as part of the supplemental application. If a school your student is applying to offers or requires a video question, treat it seriously. The same principles that apply to written essays apply to video responses: be specific, be authentic, do not read from a script, and make sure what you say could only be said by this student about this school.
For video responses, one additional piece of advice: record in a quiet, well-lit environment. Look at the camera, not at the screen. Speak in a conversational way, not in a performance voice. The schools that use video components are trying to see the student, not a produced presentation. Natural and real beats polished and stiff every time.
The Long View: Will Video Replace Writing in Admissions?
My honest assessment: the written essay is not going away in the next five years. The infrastructure for Common Application and the institutional habit of written evaluation are both too deeply embedded for a rapid shift. What is more likely is that video becomes an optional supplement at some schools, the way portfolio submissions are optional at art programs.
The more meaningful shift is how admissions offices evaluate writing for authenticity. The bar for what reads as genuinely the student’s own voice is rising, not because admissions officers are becoming more skeptical of students, but because the baseline of AI-polished prose has shifted what generic sounds like.
Students who do the hard work of actually reflecting and actually writing, in their own voice, will be at an advantage in this environment. That has always been the advice. It is just more consequential now.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are colleges replacing written essays with video essays in 2026?
No. Written essays remain the standard at all major colleges for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 application cycles. Some schools are studying or piloting optional video components, but no major university has replaced written essays with video. Students should focus their preparation on the written college essay.
Can admissions offices tell if an essay was written by AI?
Detection is improving but imperfect. Many admissions offices use software tools and trained reader protocols to identify AI-generated content. The practical implication is that essays written authentically in the student’s own voice, with specific personal details, are increasingly distinguishable from AI-polished prose and are more compelling to readers.
How do I help my student write an authentic college essay in 2026?
Start with a genuine memory, observation, or idea, not with what sounds like a good essay topic. The best essays come from things the student has actually lived and thought about specifically. Avoid topics that are generic or that AI would naturally produce. The more specific and personal the content, the more authentically the student’s voice comes through.
What should a student do if a school offers an optional video component?
Treat it as optional only if the student has a genuinely weak video presence or if the video would not add anything that the written application does not already communicate. For most students, completing the optional video component demonstrates engagement and provides an additional channel to show personality. Record in good lighting, look at the camera, and be natural.
Is the college essay still important given AI writing tools?
More important, not less. The essay is increasingly one of the clearest signals of whether a student can think and communicate independently. In an environment where AI can produce competent generic prose, a genuinely personal, specific, authentic essay stands out more than it did five years ago.
Tony Le is a former UC Berkeley Admissions Reader and UCLA Outreach Director with 15+ years of college admissions coaching experience. A full-ride scholarship recipient to UCLA, UC Berkeley, and UCI, Tony has helped 500+ students gain admission to top universities including Stanford, Harvard, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and Columbia. Featured in the Wall Street Journal. Official TikTok College Admissions Educational Partner. Founder of egelloC.
Tony works with a focused group of families each year. Book a free strategy call to see if it is the right fit.