PhD applicant emails up 4x YoY due to AI — writing without AI now makes you stand out
AI4Code · x · 2026-10-27
A professor reports a dramatic surge in prospective PhD applicant emails this year — roughly 4x YoY in October (chart shows 60 in Oct 2026 vs 15 last year, 37 in Sept vs 16).
He notes unfortunate side-effects for everyone, but says it's now incredibly easy for a thoughtful applicant to stand out by simply writing without AI: he and a colleague independently spotted the same such applicant and both encouraged the student to apply to their PhD program, listing each as a potential advisor.
Takeaway for applicants: in an AI-flooded applicant pool, sincere, specific, human-written outreach has become a scarce, valuable signal.
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