BLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech announced plans to incorporate artificial intelligence into its admissions process starting August 1, aiming to enhance efficiency while maintaining human oversight in application reviews.
The university’s decision comes as application volumes continue to rise. Over the past 10 years, the school’s seen a 10% increase in applicants. Under the new system, application essays will receive evaluations from both AI technology and a human, replacing the previous two-person review method.
“Virginia Tech is turning to AI as a tool to help people make better-informedtime-consuming, fair, and consistent decisions in the application process,” said Mark Owczarski, Virginia Tech spokesperson.
Owczarski emphasized that human judgment remains central to the evaluation process. “The decisions in terms of grading and scoring are by people and people alone,” he said. “AI is a tool that people are using to ensure that our process is consistent, fair and beneficial.”
The announcement has sparked discussion among current Virginia Tech students. Katherine Woody, a Virginia Tech student, expressed reservations about the new approach.
“A big part of applying to a school is very personal,” Woody said. “I think having a person read that, even if it is time-consuming, does add that element of understanding.”
Fellow student Giovanni Mantovani shared similar concerns. “I think this kind of process, admissions, is something that we should take personally, one-by-one,” he said.
As part of this transition, Virginia Tech has adjusted its early admissions deadline from November 15 to November 1. The university clarified that AI implementation will be limited to essay evaluation support, though future expansions of AI use remain possible.