Common App Adds AI Help from AdmitHub for College Entry Process

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 04/29/20

To help keep students on track to enter college in the fall, Common Application is working with AdmitHub to provide access to a free conversational artificial intelligence chatbot. The Common App is a membership organization of 900 institutions of higher education with tools to help students identify and apply to multiple colleges with a single application.

Roughly 200,000 students who have used Common App to apply to schools in the United States will get real-time guidance and reminders throughout the enrollment process from AdmitHub AI, along with personalized coaching through College Advising Corps. They'll receive two or three messages each week from "Oli" the chatbot, with specific tips to help them through the college entry process.

Coverage will include guidance on applying for FAFSA and scholarships, choosing a college and getting support during the COVID-19 pandemic.

If a student has specific needs, he or she can ask Oli for help via text and receive a response, also by text. That includes referrals to the College Advising Corps for one-on-one coaching.

"Even in the best of times, the complexity of the enrollment process can lock out the students who stand to gain the most from higher education," said Eric Waldo, vice president for access and equity at Common App, in a statement. "We're thrilled to partner with AdmitHub and College Advising Corps to leverage technology and great counseling to tear down those barriers — and ensure that in the midst of this crisis, students have the resources they need to attend and succeed in college."

"The scale of the COVID-19 crisis has deepened the urgency of supporting low-income and first-generation students through the transition between high school and college," added Nicole Hurd, founder and CEO of College Advising Corps. "AI technology can help us both respond in real time to urgent questions as they arise, and free up time for our advisers to provide personalized guidance and support."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

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