As the world enters the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, digital, physical, and biological technologies are converging, profoundly impacting industries and economies across the globe. Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of the education sector, promising to revolutionize both teaching and learning. AI’s integration into higher education, particularly in the admissions process, is rapidly redefining the educational landscape, presenting both opportunities and challenges. This blog post provides an overview of the current state of AI in college admissions as of January 2025, drawing from recent reports, expert opinions, and academic research.
The Role of AI in Higher Education Admissions
AI is clearly having significant impact on education, from personalized learning to administrative efficiencies. AI-driven solutions provide educators with data-driven insights, enhancing teaching strategies and leading to improved educational outcomes. However, challenges such as privacy concerns, algorithmic bias, and data security remain pressing issues.
AI is not only transforming classroom learning but also playing a crucial role in higher education admissions. Elite universities are experiencing unprecedented numbers of applications, making comprehensive reviews challenging. AI assists by analyzing extensive data, including standardized test scores and academic records, to provide baseline assessments. The adoption of AI in this domain streamlines application evaluations, enhances student support, and provides predictive analytics for admissions decisions. However, ethical concerns regarding fairness, transparency, and accessibility remain at the forefront of discussions.
Michael Lawrence Djorup published a research paper at the University of Virginia in the spring of 2024 under the title AI in College Admissions: Transformative Tools, Ethical Considerations, and Implications for Applicants and Institutions. He explores the growing influence of generative AI in college admissions, particularly in essay writing and evaluation. It discusses AI-driven tools like ChatGPT and Delilah.AI, which assist applicants in crafting personal statements, as well as AI-powered essay evaluation systems used by institutions.
Traditionally, admissions relied on standardized tests, transcripts, recommendation letters, and personal statements. The rise of “test-optional” policies has increased the weight of essays in applications. AI tools help students generate and refine essays, offering efficiency and accessibility. Some studies indicate AI-generated essays can be as strong as human-written ones, though concerns remain about authenticity. Higher education institutions also use AI to evaluate essays, with models trained to assess personal qualities.
The benefits that AI brings to applicants include the fact that AI democratizes access to essay assistance, providing low-cost or free alternatives to expensive college counseling services. Also, AI-assisted feedback tools, such as those from The Princeton Review, offer detailed critiques at a lower cost than human reviewers. Along with the benefits there are challenges and ethical concerns. For example, the over-reliance on AI could hinder students’ development of critical writing skills. Also, the bias in AI models remains a concern, as algorithms may reinforce existing inequalities in admissions. At the same time, transparency is needed in how colleges use AI in evaluating applications.
Djorup also discusses in his paper the implications for colleges and universities, how AI can improve efficiency by automating parts of the admissions process, how AI-driven evaluation models could reduce human bias but must be carefully monitored for fairness, and also how institutions must balance AI’s role with human judgment in admissions decisions. The paper emphasizes the need for responsible AI use, ensuring it supports rather than replaces human engagement in the admissions process.
Increased AI Adoption in Admissions Offices
A 2023 survey by Inside Higher Ed found that approximately 50% of college admissions offices have integrated AI into their review processes, with an additional 7% planning to do so by the end of 2025. AI is being leveraged to automate transcript evaluations, analyze standardized test scores, and even assess personal essays and recommendation letters.
A report from Insight Into Diversity highlights how AI tools are streamlining admissions by handling repetitive tasks, allowing admissions officers to focus on holistic student evaluations. However, this efficiency comes with challenges, including bias in AI algorithms and concerns about the authenticity of AI-reviewed applications.
A key development in AI and admissions comes from the Acuity Insights report published on October 22, 2024, which examines how applicants themselves are using AI tools. As one of the leading provider of holistic admissions assessment, program management, and analytics solutions for higher education, Acuity Insights report presents several crucial findings. 1) AI Enhances the Application Process: Many applicants use AI-powered tools like ChatGPT and Grammarly to refine their essays, prepare for interviews, and manage application deadlines, boosting their confidence and preparedness. 2) Fairness Concerns Persist: Despite the benefits, 65% of surveyed applicants refrained from using AI tools due to concerns about fairness and the potential for AI to favor students with greater access to technology. 3) Demand for Clear Guidelines: A significant 74% of respondents called for explicit guidelines on AI use in admissions, underscoring the need for transparency to ensure fairness. 4) AI Use Expected to Persist: Notably, 82% of applicants believe their peers will continue using AI tools regardless of institutional policies, suggesting that bans may be ineffective.
Ethical and Practical Challenges
AI’s role in admissions is not without controversy. While AI can enhance efficiency, it also raises concerns about bias and transparency. For instance, and as it was mentioned above, AI models trained on historical admissions data may unintentionally favor applicants from privileged backgrounds. As WBUR reported in September 2024, institutions must be transparent about how AI influences admissions decisions and ensure that human oversight remains integral to the process.
Further research from USC Rossier on December 4, 2023 warned that while AI can streamline admissions, it must be carefully managed to prevent unintended biases and ensure a fair review process. Additionally, an article in Forbes, September 17 2024, explored the impact of AI on college admissions, arguing that universities must balance technological innovation with ethical considerations to maintain trust in the admissions process.
The Future: Balancing AI Integration and Ethical Concerns
Experts emphasize that as AI becomes more embedded in higher education, both students and institutions must adapt. Instead of banning AI, colleges should establish clear policies to guide its use while maintaining integrity in the admissions process. Dr. Kelly Dore, Co-Founder and VP of Science & Innovation at Acuity Insights, suggests in her company´s report of October 2024 that universities should focus on creating AI policies that ensure fairness and accessibility while also maintaining rigorous admissions standards.
A study from Campus Technology on July 11, 2024 highlighted the importance of training admissions officers to work alongside AI, rather than replacing human judgment entirely. AI should be viewed as a tool that enhances the decision-making process rather than an autonomous decision-maker. Verge AI and Liaison stressed last year in different blog posts that universities must take proactive steps to ensure AI-driven admissions remain equitable. This includes refining algorithms to minimize biases, ensuring that AI tools are accessible to all students, and maintaining transparency in the decision-making process.
AI in Holistic Admissions
George P. LeBourdais, Head of Strategic Initiatives at Polygence, published some of his ideas last spring 2024 in the company´s blog where he explained how AI is increasingly shaping the landscape of college admissions, particularly in the evaluation of applicants’ personal qualities. As colleges move toward a more holistic admissions process, they consider not only academic achievements but also an applicant’s background, experiences, and personal attributes. Traits such as teamwork, leadership, and motivation have been shown to correlate with higher graduation rates, making them key factors in admissions decisions. However, with the growing number of applications, admissions offices face challenges in consistently and fairly assessing these qualities across thousands of essays.
Recent research from the University of Pennsylvania highlights how AI is being developed to support admissions teams in this effort. A model named RoBERTa was trained to identify desirable personal traits in college essays, using assessments from 36 admissions officers and applying them to over 306,000 de-identified essays. The AI demonstrated a high level of agreement with human evaluators, suggesting that it could play a crucial role in processing applications efficiently while maintaining consistency in evaluations. This is particularly important given that admissions officers often have limited time to review each application, making it difficult to give equal attention to all candidates.
The integration of AI into admissions brings both opportunities and concerns. On the one hand, AI has the potential to reduce inconsistencies in the evaluation process by applying standardized criteria across all applications. Unlike human reviewers, who may have unconscious biases or different interpretations of an applicant’s qualities, AI can provide a more uniform assessment. However, there is also the risk that AI models might inherit biases from the data on which they are trained. If historical admissions data reflect systemic inequalities, AI could inadvertently reinforce them. Yet, some argue that AI’s ability to average out individual biases from multiple reviewers may actually lead to fairer outcomes overall.
Ultimately, AI in holistic admissions should be seen as a tool to enhance—not replace—human judgment. While it can streamline the evaluation process and help admissions officers manage increasing application volumes, human oversight remains essential to ensure fairness and ethical decision-making. As colleges continue to explore AI’s role in admissions, transparency in its use and ongoing refinement of these models will be critical in maintaining the integrity of the process.
An Ongoing Discussion
AI is transforming college admissions by improving efficiency, automating routine tasks, and offering new insights into student applications. However, challenges regarding bias, transparency, and ethical considerations remain significant. As AI adoption grows, institutions must develop clear policies that balance innovation with fairness to create an equitable admissions landscape. The future of AI in admissions will depend on how well universities integrate technology while upholding the core values of higher education: accessibility, fairness, and integrity. Rather than passively resisting or negatively confronting AI, colleges and universities should embrace it as a positive force that, when used ethically and fairly, can benefit both students and the institution. At the same time, while AI offers tools to manage increasing application volumes, human judgment remains essential in the admissions process. Students should focus on authenticity and coherence in their applications to present a genuine portrayal of their achievements and aspirations.
