As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, college applications dropped, especially among first-generation and low-income students, according to the latest Common App data, which analyzed applications submitted through Nov. 16. For first-generation students and students eligible for fee waivers, applications fell by 10% compared to fall 2019.
Common App is launching a new initiative aimed at addressing the problem – an artificial intelligence chatbot named Ollie, designed to guide students through the admissions process.
When the pandemic started, “our heart went out to the first-generation and low-income students and underrepresented students who already probably feel very alone in the college process,” said Common App CEO Jenny Rickard, “and now … they were home and not in school and not having a connection to whoever their counselors might be, if they even have counselors in their schools. We wanted to figure out a way to reach out to them.”
So, the organization decided to use technology to bring college advising into students’ homes, in partnership with the College Advising Corps and AdmitHub, a company that develops conversational AI to engage students. As a part of the program, students have free access to the chatbot, which texts them to check in about steps in the admissions process. It can ask and answer questions, follow up with relevant resources, and, if need be, ultimately connect them to College Advising Corps advisors for individualized help.
As a pilot program this past summer, the chatbot sent out more than 23 million messages to 173,000 college applicants. About 65% of students engaged with it. Now the option will be expanded to over half a million students, with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Capital One Foundation, UBS and the Educational Credit Management Corporation Foundation. Students and families typically receive two to three messages per week.
If the chatbot is proven to be an “effective tool to help students get through,” Rickard hopes to “embed this process as a part of our regular efforts at Common App,” she said.
The advantage of using an AI chatbot is it can offer targeted supports, noted Rahje Branch, senior manager of student and family engagement at Reach Higher, a college access initiative housed by Common App and started by former First Lady Michelle Obama.
