# MBA AI-Use Policy Check: [Your name]

> A per-school checklist for finding, recording and following each business school's rules on generative AI in
> MBA applications (essays, short answers, video essays, recommendations and interviews), and then in coursework
> and recruiting assessments once you are a student. Schools take different positions, some publish nothing, and
> policies change between cycles, so this workbook makes you read each school's own wording, write down what it
> allows, and keep evidence of your own writing process. It is for applicants, admitted students and the coaches or
> recommenders who support them. Source basis: school admissions pages, student handbooks and consulting firms'
> candidate pages, checked in October 2026; facts that could not be confirmed on an official page are marked
> "reported by secondary sources".
> Replace every [bracketed] value and every row marked *Example*.
> This is a planning aid, not admissions or legal advice. The school's current instructions always take precedence
> over anything in this template.

<!--
Guidance: How to use this template
- Fill one row of the policy register (section 3) for every school before you start writing for it. Use the school's own pages and the application form itself, not forums.
- Record what the school says in your own short paraphrase, the link and the date. If you cannot find a policy, write "none found" with the date and the places you looked; do not assume permission.
- Keep the AI-use log (section 5) while you write. It is your evidence if a school asks how you used AI, and it helps you answer any disclosure question honestly.
- Apply the strictest rule that covers the piece you are writing. If one essay goes to three schools, it must meet all three policies.
- Rows marked *Example* use fictional schools A to E and a fictional applicant, Priya Raman.
- Related templates: mba/mba-application-tracker, mba/mba-personal-narrative, mba/mba-goals-essay, mba/mba-why-school-essay, mba/mba-short-answers, mba/mba-video-essay-prep, mba/mba-recommender-brief, mba/mba-interview-prep, mba/mba-case-interview-prep, mba/mba-international-applicant-plan, mba/mba-deferred-admission-plan, mba/mba-ai-risk-governance-card, ai-data/ai-usage-policy
-->

## Document control

<!-- Guidance: One workbook per application cycle. Update the "policies last checked" date every time you re-read the school pages, and always just before you submit. -->

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Document ID | AI-POLICY-[YYYY] |
| Applicant or student | [Your name] |
| Cycle or academic year | [YYYY to YYYY] |
| Schools in scope | [School list] |
| Policies last checked | YYYY-MM-DD |
| AI tools I use | [Tool names and versions] |
| Version | [0.1] |
| Status | [Applying / Enrolled / Recruiting] |
| Reviewed by | [Coach or mentor, if any] |
| Last updated | YYYY-MM-DD |

## Contents

1. Why this check matters
2. Kinds of AI use
3. Policy register: one row per school
4. Dated facts: what selected schools and firms publish
5. My AI-use log
6. Essays and short answers
7. Video essays and interviews
8. Recommendations
9. After admission: coursework and recruiting
10. Decision flow: is this use allowed?
11. Quality checklist
12. Common mistakes

## 1. Why this check matters

<!-- Guidance: Read once. The point is not fear of detection; it is that the application is a statement about you, and you sign it. -->

An MBA application asks the committee to judge how you think, what you have done and how you express yourself. Most
applications end with a certification that the content is accurate and your own work, and schools treat a breach
as grounds to deny admission or revoke an offer, even after enrolment. Generative AI tools make it easy to cross
that line without noticing, for example by accepting a "polished" paragraph that now contains sentences you did
not write.

Schools have not converged on one rule. As checked in October 2026, published positions range from allowing AI for
ideas and editing but not for complete responses, through allowing AI as long as the essay stays original and in
your voice, to requiring a citation when AI was used, to rules about outside help in general that do not name AI at
all. Some schools publish nothing. That variety is why you need a register per school rather than one personal rule.

The same questions follow you after admission: course policies set by each instructor, honour codes, and
recruiting assessments where AI use can disqualify you.

## 2. Kinds of AI use

<!-- Guidance: Policies often allow some of these uses and forbid others. Classify every use you make so you can match it to the school's wording. -->

| Code | Use | Typical position in published policies (check each school) |
|---|---|---|
| U-A | Research about the school, programme and careers | Usually not addressed; verify facts on official pages |
| U-B | Brainstorming topics or questions to reflect on | Often allowed |
| U-C | Feedback on a draft you wrote (structure, clarity) | Often allowed, similar to human feedback |
| U-D | Grammar, spelling and minor wording edits | Often allowed |
| U-E | Translating your own draft from another language | Varies; treat as drafting help unless the school says otherwise |
| U-F | Rewriting your paragraphs in new wording | Often restricted: the text is no longer yours |
| U-G | Drafting sentences, paragraphs or full answers | Commonly prohibited for complete responses |
| U-H | Scripts or real-time help for video essays or interviews | Commonly prohibited during the assessment |
| U-I | A recommender using AI to write the letter | Governed by the recommender's certification; check the instructions |

The boundary between U-C and U-F matters most. Feedback says what to change; you decide how. Rewriting changes the
words for you. If the final sentence is not one you composed, treat it as drafting help.

## 3. Policy register: one row per school

<!-- Guidance: Where to look, in order: the application form's certification or honour statement, the essay instructions page, the admissions FAQ, the video essay instructions, the recommender instructions, the admissions blog. Record the exact location so you can find it again. -->

| School | Where the policy is stated (page, section) | Allowed uses (codes) | Not allowed | Disclosure question or citation rule | Video or interview rule | Recommender rule | Checked on | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [School] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | YYYY-MM-DD | [ ] |
| *Example* School A | application certification and essay page | U-B, U-C, U-D | U-G | yes, short description | no AI during video | none found | 2026-10-28 | [link] |
| *Example* School B | admissions FAQ | U-B to U-D | complete responses | none | none found | recommender certifies own work | 2026-10-28 | [link] |
| *Example* School C | none found (checked FAQ, essay page, application form) | treat as U-D only | assume U-F to U-H not allowed | none | none found | none found | 2026-10-28 | [ ] |
| *Example* School D | essay page and honour code | U-B, U-C, U-D | U-F, U-G | citation required if used | no AI during interview | letter must be recommender's own | 2026-10-28 | [link] |
| *Example* School E | outside-help statement, AI not named | U-C, U-D (feedback only) | anyone or anything crafting text | none | none found | none found | 2026-10-28 | [link] |

**Register summary *(Example)*,** computed in `calc/mba-ai-use-policy-check.py` from the five example rows:

| Item | Schools | Share | Excel formula |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official policy found | 4 of 5 | 80% | `=COUNTIF(B2:B6,"Yes")/ROWS(B2:B6)` |
| Disclosure question or citation rule | 2 of 5 | 40% | `=COUNTIF(C2:C6,"Yes")/ROWS(C2:C6)` |
| Recommender rule | 2 of 5 | 40% | `=COUNTIF(D2:D6,"Yes")/ROWS(D2:D6)` |
| Video or interview rule | 2 of 5 | 40% | `=COUNTIF(E2:E6,"Yes")/ROWS(E2:E6)` |

In the example, one school in five has no findable policy; most applicants meet that situation somewhere. The safe
reading of silence is the school's general rule on outside help and the certification you sign, which almost
always require the work to be your own. If in doubt, ask the admissions office in writing and keep the reply.

## 4. Dated facts: what selected schools and firms publish

<!-- Guidance: These rows show the range of positions as found in October 2026. They are not a substitute for your own check: wording changes each cycle, and many schools are not listed. -->

Admissions policies (applications):

| School | Position as found (paraphrased) | Status and date | Where to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Business School | Generative AI may be used for generating ideas and editing your own work; using it to generate complete responses violates the Honor Code; work submitted must be accurate and your own | Official admissions page (search excerpt), 2026-10-28 | [Application requirements](https://academics.business.columbia.edu/admissions/mba/application-requirements) |
| Michigan Ross (Full-Time MBA) | AI tools may be used, but essays must stay original, authentic and in the applicant's own voice; some other Ross programmes require an in-text citation when AI was used to create essay answers | Official admissions pages (search excerpts), 2026-10-28 | [Full-Time MBA requirements](https://michiganross.umich.edu/graduate/full-time-mba/admissions/application-requirements) |
| Stanford GSB | The MBA essays page separates acceptable feedback from having others craft any part of the application; the page as found does not set out a separate AI rule | Official-domain search excerpt, 2026-10-28 (the page itself could not be opened) | [MBA essays](https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/programs/mba/admission/application/essays) |

Columbia and Ross wording above comes from excerpts of their official pages, which could not be opened directly on
2026-10-28; read the full page before you rely on it. Other schools, including several leading US programmes, are
reported in the press and by consultants to have AI rules or an AI-use question in the application, but those rules
could not be confirmed on the schools' own pages in October 2026, so they are not listed here. Check the current
application form of every school on your list: a disclosure question, if there is one, usually appears only inside
the form.

Coursework policies (students):

| School | Position as found (paraphrased) | Status and date |
|---|---|---|
| Harvard Business School | The MBA student handbook (section 1.3.3) requires explicit faculty permission before using generative AI on graded work, disclosure and citation of any use, and no AI tools during class discussion unless the instructor allows it; students remain responsible for errors in AI output | Official handbook page, checked 2026-10-28 |
| Wharton | The MBA academic policies state that neither the University nor the School has adopted a formal generative AI policy, that instructors set expectations for each course, and that AI-generated content may not be submitted as your own without substantial engagement and modification | Official MBA policies page, checked 2026-10-28 |

Recruiting assessments (consulting, register U7):

| Firm | Position as found (paraphrased) | Status and date |
|---|---|---|
| McKinsey & Company | Candidates may not use AI tools, websites or prepared notes during the Solve assessment; the assessment integrity page lists generative AI among tools not allowed in any assessment or interview, including virtual ones; using AI to prepare (for example practising questions) is described as acceptable; breaches can lead to exclusion or a withdrawn offer | Official careers pages, checked 2026-10-28 |
| Boston Consulting Group | Some offices use an online case with an AI chatbot guide ("Casey") as an early screening step; formats and rules on AI during interviews differ by office | Reported by secondary sources; check the careers page of the office you apply to, 2026-10-28 |

Write any new information you find into the register in section 3, with the date.

## 5. My AI-use log

<!-- Guidance: Log every AI session that touched an application piece. A two-line entry is enough. If a school later asks how you used AI, you answer from this log, not from memory. -->

| Log ID | Date | Tool | Piece (school, essay or item) | Use code | What I asked | What I kept | Allowed for every school receiving this piece? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIL-001 | YYYY-MM-DD | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [Yes / No / Ask] |
| AIL-001 *(Example)* | 2026-11-02 | [chat assistant] | School A goals essay | U-C | "Where is my argument weakest?" | Moved the evidence on team turnaround earlier, rewrote it myself | Yes (A allows U-C) |
| AIL-002 *(Example)* | 2026-11-05 | [grammar checker] | School D short answer 2 | U-D | spelling and grammar pass | 4 spelling fixes, rejected 2 rewordings | Yes (D allows U-D; no citation needed for spelling) |
| AIL-003 *(Example)* | 2026-11-06 | [chat assistant] | School C essay | U-F | "Make this paragraph sound stronger" | Nothing kept: C has no policy, so I treat rewriting as not allowed | Not used |

Keep your own drafts and version history (dated files or document history) alongside the log. They show how the
text developed from your notes.

## 6. Essays and short answers

<!-- Guidance: The register tells you the outer limits. This section is the working rule set for the writing itself. -->

Working rules that satisfy the policies listed in section 4 and most others:

1. **You write every sentence.** Ideas, structure and evidence come from your experience; the words come from you.
2. **Use AI as a reader, not a writer.** Ask for questions, weaknesses and unclear points. Then fix them yourself.
3. **Do not paste AI text into a draft,** even temporarily. Pasted text tends to survive editing.
4. **Check facts yourself.** AI tools invent details about schools, courses and clubs. Verify every school fact on the
   school's own page (mba/mba-why-school-essay).
5. **Keep your voice.** Admissions readers compare essays, short answers, interviews and recommendations; a mismatch
   in style is noticeable.
6. **Disclose when asked,** accurately and briefly, using your log.

Before and after: one sentence written with feedback, not rewriting.

- *Before (your first draft):* "I led a project that improved things for the team and taught me a lot."
- *Feedback received (U-C):* "Which project? What changed, by how much, and what did you learn?"
- *After (your own revision):* "I led the six-week re-planning of our night-shift rota, which cut overtime by a
  fifth and taught me to ask the people doing the work before I redesign it."

A disclosure answer, when a school asks one, can follow this pattern (fictional, adapt to the school's limit and
wording): "I used an AI assistant to ask for feedback on the structure of my first draft and a grammar checker for
spelling. I wrote and revised all text myself."

## 7. Video essays and interviews

<!-- Guidance: Video and interview formats exist to see you think without preparation tools. Treat them as closed-book unless the school says otherwise. -->

Video essays and interviews are designed to show how you think and communicate in real time. Practise with any
tool you like beforehand (for example mock questions), then do the real recording or interview without scripts,
notes generated by AI, or live assistance, unless the school's instructions explicitly allow notes. Turn off
assistants and overlays on your device before you start. See mba/mba-video-essay-prep and mba/mba-interview-prep.

| School | Video or interview format | Notes allowed? | AI rule stated | Checked on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [School] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | YYYY-MM-DD |
| *Example* School A | timed video questions, one take | no | no AI during recording | 2026-10-28 |

## 8. Recommendations

<!-- Guidance: You cannot control how a recommender writes, but you can make the school's rule visible to them. -->

Recommenders usually certify that the letter is their own. When you brief them (mba/mba-recommender-brief), include
the school's rule on recommendations if it has one, and offer facts and examples rather than drafted text. Never
write your own letter, and never ask a recommender to submit text written by you or by an AI tool on your behalf.

| School | Recommender instruction on AI or authorship | Told my recommender (date) |
|---|---|---|
| [School] | [ ] | YYYY-MM-DD |

## 9. After admission: coursework and recruiting

<!-- Guidance: Policies continue in the programme. Check the syllabus of every course, every term, and every employer's assessment instructions. -->

**Coursework.** Many schools leave the rules to each instructor, so the syllabus is the policy. For each course,
record whether AI is allowed for preparation, for individual written work, for group work and in exams, and how to
cite it. Case discussions test your own reasoning in the room; even where AI helps you prepare
(mba/mba-case-prep-sheet), arrive with your own analysis.

| Course | Preparation | Individual assignments | Group work | Exams | Citation rule | Source (syllabus page) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Course] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| *Example* Core finance | allowed | allowed with disclosure | allowed with disclosure | not allowed | footnote naming tool and use | syllabus p. 2 |

**Recruiting.** Employers' online assessments and interviews are generally closed to AI assistance during the test,
and consulting firms state this explicitly (section 4). Prepare with practice cases and drills
(mba/mba-case-interview-prep, mba/mba-market-sizing-drills), then take the assessment alone and unaided.

## 10. Decision flow: is this use allowed?

<!-- Guidance: Run this check for any use you are unsure about. If the answer is "ask", do not use the tool until you have a written answer. -->

When a piece goes to more than one school or course, run the flow once per destination and follow the strictest
result.

```mermaid
flowchart TD
    A["Planned AI use, classify with codes U-A to U-I"] --> B{"Does the school or course state a policy?"}
    B -- "No" --> C["Apply general outside-help rule and certification: own work only"]
    B -- "Yes" --> D{"Is this use explicitly allowed?"}
    D -- "Yes" --> E{"Disclosure or citation required?"}
    D -- "No or unclear" --> F["Do not use, or ask admissions in writing"]
    C --> G{"Is it feedback, research or spelling only?"}
    G -- "Yes" --> H["Use, log it, be ready to disclose"]
    G -- "No" --> F
    E -- "Yes" --> I["Use, log it, disclose as instructed"]
    E -- "No" --> H
```

## 11. Quality checklist

<!-- Guidance: Run before every submission. -->

- [ ] Register row complete for this school, checked within the last 14 days and again on submission day.
- [ ] Every AI session for this piece is in the log with a use code.
- [ ] Every use is allowed by every school receiving the piece.
- [ ] No sentence in the piece was drafted or rewritten by an AI tool.
- [ ] All school facts verified on the school's own pages.
- [ ] Disclosure question answered accurately from the log.
- [ ] Recommenders told the school's rule.
- [ ] Video and interview: no scripts or live assistance; devices cleared.
- [ ] Drafts and version history saved.

## 12. Common mistakes

<!-- Guidance: Each of these has caused applicants trouble. Most come from treating one school's rule as everyone's. -->

1. **Assuming one rule for all schools.** A use allowed by one school may breach another's policy for the same essay.
2. **Reading silence as permission.** No AI policy still means your certification of own work applies.
3. **Accepting "light" rewrites.** Rewording a paragraph is drafting help, not editing, under most policies.
4. **Relying on AI for school facts.** Invented course names and clubs show that you did not research the school.
5. **Answering a disclosure question from memory.** Use the log; vague or inaccurate answers are worse than either a
   simple "yes" with a description or a true "no".
6. **Using last year's policy.** Policies change between cycles; check the current application.
7. **Scripting a video essay with AI** and reading it on screen.
8. **Giving a recommender an AI-drafted letter** or drafting the letter yourself.
9. **Using AI during an online assessment or interview** for a consulting firm or employer that forbids it.
10. **Forgetting coursework rules after admission.** Instructors set different rules per course; the syllabus decides.
11. **Deleting drafts.** Your version history is the best evidence of your own process if a question arises.

## Sources and further reading

<!-- Guidance: Add every school page you used, with the date checked. -->

- Columbia Business School: MBA Application Requirements. [business.columbia.edu](https://academics.business.columbia.edu/admissions/mba/application-requirements) (checked 2026-10-28).
- Michigan Ross: Application Requirements for Full-Time MBA, and graduate programme application pages. [michiganross.umich.edu](https://michiganross.umich.edu/graduate/full-time-mba/admissions/application-requirements) (checked 2026-10-28).
- Stanford Graduate School of Business: MBA Essays. [gsb.stanford.edu](https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/programs/mba/admission/application/essays).
- Harvard Business School: MBA Program Handbook, 1.3.3 Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools. [hbs.edu](https://www.hbs.edu/mba/handbook/standards-of-conduct/academic/chatgpt-and-ai) (checked 2026-10-28).
- The Wharton School: Wharton MBA Academic Policies. [mba-inside.wharton.upenn.edu](https://mba-inside.wharton.upenn.edu/wharton-mba-academic-policies/) (checked 2026-10-28).
- McKinsey & Company: Solve, McKinsey's assessment game; Assessment Integrity Expectations. [mckinsey.com/careers](https://www.mckinsey.com/careers/assessment-integrity-expectations) (checked 2026-10-28).
- Boston Consulting Group: careers pages of the office you apply to. [careers.bcg.com](https://careers.bcg.com/).
- For organisational AI policies in general, see ai-data/ai-usage-policy.

## Revision history

<!-- Guidance: Add a row whenever you re-check policies or add a school. -->

| Version | Date | Author | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | YYYY-MM-DD | [Name] | First version from template |
| [0.2] | YYYY-MM-DD | [Name] | [Added School F, re-checked all policies before Round 2] |

## Standard and licence note

Based on the public admissions pages, student handbooks and candidate pages of the schools and firms named, as
found in October 2026, which are named only to describe their published positions; facts not confirmed on an
official page are labelled as reported by secondary sources. The text is original; it is not affiliated with or
endorsed by any school or firm and does not reproduce any essay prompt. Check each school's current instructions
before you rely on them. Template licence: MIT.