Ever since ChatGPT hit the scene, college admissions officers have been freaking out about the impact of AI on college applications. But guess what? Those same admissions officers are using AI themselves! Yeah, according to a survey from Intelligent, a cool online education magazine for college hopefuls, 50% of higher education admissions offices are currently using AI in their review process. And get this, another 7% said they’re jumping on the AI bandwagon by the end of the year, and a whopping 80% plan to incorporate it by 2024.
Now, before you go thinking these admissions professionals are just using AI to spot the robot-written essays, think again. The survey revealed that they’re actually using AI to review transcripts and recommendation letters. Yeah, more than 70% of them listed both of those as top uses for AI. They’re running transcripts through a keyword search to find those minimum GPA and test score thresholds, and they’re scanning recommendation letters to make sure they’re at least kinda positive and don’t raise any red flags. Oh, and get this, 60% of them are even using AI to review personal essays. It’s like the robots are taking over, man!
But it’s not just about reviewing applications. These admissions officers are also using AI chatbots for preliminary interviews with applicants. And they’re even transcribing and analyzing candidate interviews with alumni and counselors using AI. It’s a whole new world, man. And Diane Gayerski, a professor at Ithaca College and higher ed adviser, ain’t surprised. She says more people are getting comfortable with AI tools like ChatGPT and realizing how useful they can be in interpreting prompts and questions. So, there’s definitely more confidence in the power of AI, dude.
But not everyone’s on board with this AI revolution. The survey showed that two-thirds of admissions professionals are worried about the ethical issues surrounding AI in admissions. One dude, Rob Lamb, who’s the director of college counseling at a small prep school in Nevada, is concerned about how exactly AI is being used. He wants more transparency, man. He thinks there needs to be more pressure to bring everyone together and figure out where we’re headed with this whole AI thing. And you know what? I kinda get where he’s coming from, dude.
The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) is all ears when it comes to AI in admissions. They’re listening and learning, man. They haven’t set any best practices yet, but they’re open to the conversation. They know AI is evolving rapidly, and they want to make sure they’re keeping up.
Look, AI technology is advancing, and that’s both exciting and nerve-racking. Lamb, for example, is nervous about the consequences of AI in the admissions process. He thinks we’re just scratching the surface and there’s so much we don’t know, man. He wants colleges to take a cautious approach. It’s like Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, you know? There’s so much potential, but there’s also a lot we could lose.
But Gayerski thinks we’re already knee-deep in the gamification of college admissions. She doesn’t believe AI will make it much worse. In fact, she thinks it could actually make things more straightforward by removing human error and bias. AI can help reduce the workload for admissions officers, especially at larger public institutions. I mean, combing through thousands of transcripts is a tedious task, man. So, if AI can do it more efficiently, why not?
But let’s not ignore the concerns, dude. Gayerski gets it. She shares the same worries about AI in admissions. She was shocked to see that the survey revealed over 80% of admissions officers said AI often makes the final decision on a student’s admission. That’s a lot of power for the machines, man. She thinks there needs to be caution because AI tools might just replicate the biases of the past. We don’t want that, dude. We want a fair and equal admissions process.
So, while AI is making its way into college admissions, there’s still plenty of room for debate and improvement. We’re in uncharted territory, man. And we need to navigate it carefully. We can’t let AI take over completely. We gotta find that balance, dude.
