While college admissions have steadily evolved alongside technology, the rapid integration of AI within communication outreach and application review reveals a massive shift in how colleges handle enrollment. As AI becomes more integrated into higher education, colleges and universities are adapting their enrollment strategies to balance innovation, efficiency, and the student experience.
Managing thousands of prospective students each year requires significant time and resources, leading many institutions to adopt AI-powered tools and automation to streamline processes and deliver timely support. Yet, as AI becomes the mainstream, we’re left to wonder, how do prospective students feel about the role AI plays in evaluating their futures?
We asked 12,000 high school students what they think of colleges using AI in the admissions process, and they didn’t hold back.
In just 24 hours, 12,000 students shared their perspectives on colleges using AI in the admissions process.
How high school students use AI
We know that AI has found its way into high schools, with over 66% of surveyed students reporting using some sort of AI tool, with ChatGPT as the most widely used tool. The College Board reports that students are using AI tools for generating ideas, grammatical support on writing assignments, and research assistance. While students readily accept these tools for everyday schoolwork, our survey results reveal the clear boundaries they draw when it comes to college admissions.
Small vs large college applicants
Students applying to smaller colleges are less likely to embrace AI in the admissions process, as they are often drawn to the highly personal experience these institutions promote, including:
- Close meaningful relationships
- Smaller class sizes
- Direct access to faculty mentors
- A tight-knit community
Students applying to large universities also value human support, but they are 30% more likely to prefer a hybrid AI-and-human experience when gathering information during the college research phase. They appeared more willing to use AI as part of the enrollment journey if it improved responsiveness, accessibility, and efficiency.
When it matters most
The dealbreaker, it seems, is when emotions start running high. The closer a student gets to making their enrollment decision, the less they want AI involved. High school seniors showed the strongest preference for human-led support when getting their questions answered at enrollment decision time. An overwhelming 80.2% want primarily human support when deciding where to enroll. This proves that the closer students get to commitment, the more emotional the process becomes, the more reassurance matters, and then less students want AI.
Where AI stands a chance
While nothing can replace human connection, students at all college sizes are open to AI enhancing their college admissions experience in some capacities. 75.5% of high school juniors are okay with AI assisted personalization in marketing, a 10% increase in acceptance than high school seniors.
To provide more human support to your students and to increase efficiency, you can analyze the overall acceptance for AI by activity type. This allows you to gauge how comfortable students will feel throughout the admissions process when receiving communication from your college. Text reminders, applications status updates, and scheduling are all generally accepted usage examples.
It’s important to uphold trust and transparency throughout your admissions funnel. Do this by having transparent standards that clearly outline your AI usage for reading transcripts or essays if that is applicable.
Preferred communication channels
From our polled students:
- 52.2% of students are comfortable with AI agents texting them
- 37.9% of students are comfortable with AI agents emailing them
- 5% of students are comfortable with an AI agent calling them
When you align communication types with student acceptance of AI being utilized within these types, your team will be able to reach students on their level.
Students are anxious about being “processed” by machines. Use AI tools to help with department efficiency and to nudge students along the funnel, but lean on human relationships to support the key decision making moments.
How ZeeMee uses AI
ZeeMee is the #1 student community app, used by millions worldwide. It’s where Gen-Z connects, and where colleges drive 2x the apps, 3.6x the yield and half the melt.
ZeeMee analyzes tens of millions of data points daily, giving colleges access to the largest set of student behavior data and the most accurate predictive model in Higher Ed today.
With having the pulse on students today, ZeeMee consistently shares recommendations for colleges to better understand their incoming classes.
To read the complete findings, including strategic recommendations, download the report. In it you’ll find recommendations for:
- Utilizing AI across channels
- Tips on utilizing AEO
- Personalized student outreach
- Aligning AI usage throughout the funnel