Your college application may fall into the hands of a robot, but should it?

With colleges across the country facing a dramatic increase in applications and limited (and for many, dwindling staff resources), more and more college admissions offices are utilizing artificial intelligence to quickly analyze applications and make decisions.

So what are the pros and cons of an AI driven admissions process?

Pros:

• Non-biased, unique perspective of a student (eliminating personal opinions)

• Ability to review more student details in depth

• Colleges can increase the number of essays and materials for review

• Faster admissions decisions

Cons:

• Emphasis on quantifiable profile information (data & measurable qualities)

• Programming mistakes, errors, or glitches that may not be caught

• Inability to account for “unprogrammed” information about the student

• Lack of emotion, personal review of a student’s background and profile

Our thoughts?

As with any advancement in technology and the use of robots and artificial intelligence, they should be used with caution and awareness to their advantages and disadvantages. Overall, if done properly, AI can add a helpful, in-depth, and unique perspective of a student and their qualifications. And above all, removing any personal, pre-concieved biases and opinions from the process (i.e. an admissions officer may have a bad opinion of rural locations or students from high-income families or other circumstantial factors); therefore, the process would be more fair and equitable to a greater diversity of students.

However, AI has many limitations, such as an inability to capture and assess information not included in its programming; thus, eliminating this aspect of a student’s profile from the review process. And with any technology, glitches and errors occur that may be impossible to catch (with many colleges receiving over 50,000 applicants each year, it will be very challenging to notice mistakes unless very visible and brought to their attention). And overall, it removes the personal and emotional aspects of the process—a full understanding of a student’s life, journey, interests, which we often refer to as the “heart” of the application that drive’s a student’s passions, goals, character, and perspectives.

However, we would love to hear your thoughts!