According to a recent report from the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), 45 percent of private schools “currently lack formalized policies for generative AI,” a concerning trend as curriculum and admissions increasingly come into contact with AI-generated work.
As families across the country face more school choice and accessibility, and as technology rapidly evolves, admissions professionals find themselves at the crossroads of tradition and transformation.
In this blog, we’ll explore the state of private school admissions, then shift gears to examine how AI is already reshaping the process—and what it means for your school’s future.
RELATED: Using AI in Your Private School Marketing Plan to Boost Engagement and Enrollment
Part 1: The Private School Admissions Landscape
A Multi-Layered Process
Private school admissions has always been a high-stakes, highly personalized process. Whether your school receives 100 applications or 1,000, evaluating candidates requires deep attention to both academic data and human potential. Admissions teams must consider:
- Academic transcripts and standardized testing
- Essays and student writing samples
- Family interviews and student observations
- Recommendations from current educators
- Extracurricular involvement and personal traits
The aim is not just to assess readiness but also to ensure students and families align with the school’s values and community.
Common Challenges
As application numbers rise and parental expectations grow, admissions offices face increasing pressure. A few familiar pain points include:
- Volume: Many teams are reviewing hundreds of applications with limited time and staff.
- Fairness: Holistic review often relies on subjective interpretation, which may introduce inconsistency or its perception.
- Equity: Families with more resources often have better access to tutoring, admissions consultants, and essay coaching.
- Consistency: With many moving parts, it’s a challenge to ensure every application gets a fair and thorough review.
Part 2: The Rise of AI in Education and Admissions
The Potential of AI
Artificial intelligence has already made an irreversible impact in higher education admissions, and it’s trickling down into the K-12 space. AI and automation tools are emerging to assist with:
- Essay Screening: Natural Language Processing (NLP) can flag plagiarism, analyze tone and readability, or assess content themes.
- Predictive Analytics: Some schools use reporting and analytics to project student retention, academic success, or fit based on historic trends.
- Interview Analysis: Emerging tools use voice and facial recognition to analyze engagement or emotional cues.
- Communication Automation: Chatbots and scheduling tools help streamline applicant communications and reduce administrative burdens.
Benefits for Admissions Professionals
For admissions teams, AI and automation offer the promise of:
- Efficiency: AI can handle time-consuming, repetitive tasks, freeing staff to focus on strategic decisions and family engagement.
- Data-Driven Insights: Having insight into historical performance, emerging admissions trends, and additional trends empower leaders to enhance private school enrollment.
- Scalability: As schools grow or accept international applications, AI can help maintain quality without needing to scale up teams proportionally.
Part 3: Where AI Meets Admissions
New Behaviors from Applicants
As AI tools become more accessible, students and parents are starting to leverage them—sometimes in ways that complicate traditional admissions practices. Schools are seeing:
- AI-Generated Essays: Tools like ChatGPT can help students write, rewrite, and polish essays—sometimes to the point of losing authenticity.
- AI-Powered Test Prep: Adaptive tutoring platforms personalize learning paths, giving some applicants an edge.
- Interview Coaching: Families are using AI avatars to practice responses and refine delivery.
What This Means for Your School
These shifts raise critical questions such as:
- How accurately can we detect AI-generated content?
- Are we penalizing students for using accessible tools that are becoming the norm?
- How do we balance innovation with fairness, especially for students without access to AI support?
Many schools are considering new policies around AI use, while also updating application questions to emphasize personal voice and lived experience. Schools that value the traditional approach are turning to solutions that minimize the impact of AI, or opt for in-person, timed essay writing.
Part 4: Ethical Considerations and Best Practices
As you evaluate how (or whether) to incorporate AI into your admissions process, consider how to ensure decisions remain fair for every applicant:
- Transparency: Be clear with applicants about how AI tools (if any) are used in your review process.
- Bias Auditing: Regularly audit AI tools for hidden biases that could disproportionately impact certain applicant groups.
- Human Oversight: AI and automation should support—not replace—human judgment. Admissions decisions are ultimately about people, not algorithms.
Enhance AI with Ravenna’s Extensive Automation
Private school admissions are built on relationships, trust, and mission-aligned decision-making. AI won’t change that foundation—but it is becoming a powerful tool in the admissions toolkit. For professionals who embrace innovation thoughtfully and ethically, AI offers the chance to improve both efficiency and equity.
Whatever AI your admissions team does adopt, make sure you get the most out of it through already-efficient operations. Learn how Ravenna’s workflow automation frees up resources and time to address your school’s mission in greater detail.
