High schoolers and parents turn to ChatGPT and other chatbots for college admissions help

High school students and their parents are increasingly using A.I. chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude Pro and Microsoft Copilot to research schools, brainstorm essays and estimate admission chances, the New York Times reported on Jan. 28, 2026. In one example, Rosemary Davis, a Massachusetts school librarian, began asking ChatGPT about how to fill out the Common App and then copied a list of 14 colleges into the paid chatbot Claude Pro to predict where her son might be accepted; her son later received an acceptance to Muhlenberg College.

The story notes that decision letters began going out in December and that most students will have heard back from every school by April. Surveys and experts cited in the report show broad use: one-third of high school students surveyed in 2024 by the education consulting firm Ruffalo Noel Levitz said they had used A.I.

tools as part of their college planning, most often to research schools. The story points to strained counseling resources — an average of 376 students to every school counselor in 2023-24, versus a recommended 250-to-1 — and to nonprofit College Possible’s A.I. coaching service, which its chief executive said is being used by more than 3,000 students.

Students and parents described chatbots as constantly available and inexpensive compared with private admissions consultants, but admissions professionals warned of limits. Angel Pérez, chief executive of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, said, “A.I.

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