Degrees in the Age of Copy, Paste, Prompt

Let’s be real for a second:
If ChatGPT helped write your essay, Notion AI organized your research, and Midjourney created your class project graphics… did you earn the grade or did your AI?

And if that’s the case…
What does your degree even mean anymore?

🎓 The College Degree Was Built on Effort

College was never just about absorbing information. It was about the grind:

• Writing 10-page papers from scratch

• Wrestling with problem sets at 2am

• Learning how to think, argue, and work under pressure

But AI just blew that model wide open.

Now students can generate “A” papers in minutes using tools like Jasper, solve code assignments with GitHub Copilot, and get step-by-step calculus help from Khanmigo. Citation tools like Zotero and CiteThisForMe auto-generate bibliographies.

It’s not cheating anymore—it’s normal. So what’s left to actually “earn”?

🤖 AI Doesn’t Just Help—It Replaces the Struggle

Let’s not sugarcoat it: AI has taken over most of the academic heavy lifting.

And while some schools are scrambling to ban it (The Atlantic), most are quietly adapting. Professors use AI for grading. Students use AI for flashcards, notes, summaries, and even tutoring through apps like Quizlet AI and Socratic.

The uncomfortable truth?
AI is becoming the smartest student in the class—and it’s not even enrolled.

💡 But Here’s the Flip Side

If AI can do 80% of the work… the real test becomes the 20% only humans can do:

• Can you ask better questions than your AI?

• Can you challenge assumptions it overlooks?

• Can you use AI to do more meaningful things than just pass a class?

Because here’s the future:
Degrees won’t matter because of the workload—they’ll matter because of what you did with the tools available.

📉 The Degree Isn’t Dead—It’s Devalued by Default

In a world where AI does your homework, gets you a passing grade, and even helps you graduate, degrees become like participation trophies.

Unless you’re intentional.

Intentional students will still win.
Because they’ll treat AI as a co-pilot—not a crutch.

But if you coast through college on autopilot with ChatGPT doing your thinking?
Then yeah—your degree might look great on paper, but employers (and you) will know the truth.

🧠 What Actually Matters Now?

• Your ability to think beyond the prompt

• Your creativity in solving real-world problems

• Your ability to collaborate—with humans and machines

• Your portfolio, your projects, your impact

The resume matters less.
The results matter more.

(Need proof? Just look at hiring trends on Handshake or LinkedIn—skills and experience are trending higher than GPA.)