Photo courtesy of USF
By Julia Birdsall
College is often cited as a fun transitional period between high school and “real” adulthood.
The media portrays it as four years of partying and goofing off, with little focus on the work that is done.
However, in a society of growing expenses, college students have been forced to take on more responsibility. Many balance the obligations of their classes with those of work, extracurriculars and maintaining friendships.
Because of this, AI has become an integral part of college students’ ability to manage their workloads and retain the material of their courses.
A senior who chose to remain anonymous uses AI in all five of their classes.
“For the classes that don’t matter for my career, I kind of straight up just use it for everything. I don’t really learn anything—which is bad, I know, but I don’t have the time,” they said.
This student works two jobs outside of school and also runs a campus club. Their schedule leaves little room for free time or even sleep.
“If ChatGPT didn’t exist, I don’t know how I would do it,” they said.
Connie Tuccelli, a freshman biology major, has also felt overwhelmed with her five classes and uses AI to help save time.
Using AI doesn’t entirely lessen Tuccelli’s stress, she said, but it has allowed her to reduce the amount of hours spent studying and helped her better understand the content of her classes.
She believes it has been a useful learning tool and will continue to be, especially during midterms.
Another freshman uses AI in a similar fashion.
This student has become very accustomed to using AI, as they do so for work and school.
They said that finding balance between work, school, and life has been easy so far, but that AI does help them comprehend difficult course content, summarize notes, and create outlines.
While the University of South Florida itself doesn’t prohibit AI usage, the university’s professors can do so in their course syllabi. Not all do, but there are some who prohibit it on threat of academic sanction.
Because of this, students often hide their AI usage—like the two interviewees who chose to remain anonymous—or choose not to use AI even when they are aware of the benefits it could hold.
On an increasing basis, professors are beginning to allow and even encourage AI usage in their classrooms, as evidenced by the launch of the Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing.
This is because AI is becoming an essential skill in the workplace.
A 2025 Microsoft and LinkedIn survey found that workers are incorporating AI into their jobs and they do so for the exact reason as students: they’re overwhelmed.
“68% of people say they struggle with the pace and volume of work, and 46% feel burned out,” the survey claimed.
The use of AI in the workplace has allowed workers to save time so that they can focus on the most important aspects of their jobs and enjoy their jobs more.
Employers are seeing the benefits as well, and “66% of leaders say they wouldn’t hire someone without AI skills.”
Although over-reliance is a concern of universities and companies, as well as the three student interviewees, many believe that there is a responsible way to incorporate AI into their academics and their jobs.
“Everybody needs help sometimes,” the freshman student told The Crow’s Nest.
Many students agree and have taken action to ensure that their peers get the help that they need.
SPRK is an AI-powered app created by a developer group largely composed of USF students.
The app is intended to help students stay organized and on top of their homework by using AI to help them create personalized calendars and planners, flashcards and practice quizzes. It can also generate answers to any questions that students may have about their courses or homework.
This is one of the many ways that AI helps students and allows them to lighten their workload so that they can experience college the way they were meant to.
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Written by: Julia Birdsall on October 21, 2025.
Last revised by: Alisha Durosier
