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Botcadence
For admissions offices

AI Chatbot for College Admissions Offices in Application Season

In the week before a deadline, your counselors answer the same ten questions hundreds of times. An AI chatbot for college admissions office teams answers deadlines, program requirements, transcript steps, and campus visit questions on your website, WhatsApp, and SMS around the clock. Add the admissions phone line when calls peak. Applicants who need a counselor book a call with their questions already summarised.

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  • Inbound calls first
  • Channel-specific routing
  • Human handoff when needed

Pricing and scope updated

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Admissions enquiry line

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Answer

Why this matters now

Applicants research at midnight; admissions answers at 9 am.

Prospective students do most of their research in the evening and on weekends, and international applicants are in other time zones. A chatbot that answers the routine questions instantly keeps applicants moving and frees counselors for the conversations that change enrollment decisions.

The practical starting point

Start with deadline and document questions during the busiest application window.

Pricing

Chat plans from $29 a month; Growth at $79 for all channels

Most admissions offices start on Growth for website chat, WhatsApp, SMS, and email with 2,000 AI replies a month. Add Voice AI at $249 if you also want the admissions phone line answered. Admissions offices with a phone line can add the Voice AI plan at $249 a month, which includes 1,500 voice minutes and the Starter chat channels. Seasonal peaks around early action and regular decision deadlines are covered with reply credit packs for those months, so you are not paying for peak capacity all year round.

  • Approved answers on deadlines, requirements, and documents
  • Counselor calls and campus tours booked from chat
  • Answers in the applicant's language
  • Decision and aid questions always handed to staff

Where first response breaks

Why do admissions inboxes overflow before deadlines?

Repeated questions at deadline time

Counselors answer the same emails over and over.

Applicants research after hours

Evening and international questions wait a day.

Counselor calendars fill with simple questions

Appointments are used for what the website answers.

How do you launch an AI chatbot for college admissions office staff?

1

Approve admissions content

Deadlines, requirements, document steps, visit days.

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Admissions enquiry line

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Answer
2

Connect calendars

Counselor and tour availability.

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Enquiry captured00:12

Caller

I need help and would like to know the next step.

Agent

I can help start your admissions request. What can I note for the team?

Caller

I need someone to follow up with me.

Agent

What is the best phone number and time to reach you?

3

Set handoff topics

Decisions, aid, and personal circumstances go to staff.

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Calendar

Tuesday, 18

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16171819202122
8:00 AM

Admissions request

Customer follow-up

Team

10:00 AM

Where do applicants and parents ask their questions?

Admissions website chat

Answers program and deadline questions instantly.

WhatsApp and SMS

Reaches applicants where they already message.

Counselor booking

Books calls and tours from the conversation.

High-intent workflows

Which admissions questions can a chatbot handle?

Deadline questions

Answer by program and term from approved dates.

Fewer deadline emails

Document submission

Explain transcript, test score, and recommendation steps.

More complete applications

Counselor booking

Book a call when the question needs a person.

Better-used counselor time

Campus visit sign-ups

Share visit dates and register interest.

More visits

Channel playbook

How does an applicant go from question to counselor call?

Website chat

Late-night deadline check

Answer with the right term and program.

WhatsApp

International applicant

Answer document questions in their language.

SMS

Tour reminder

Confirm the visit date.

Booking

Counselor call

Book with the question summarised.

Who this is built for

Who in admissions gets time back?

Small colleges

Admissions teams with a few counselors and seasonal peaks.

Graduate programs

Programs answering detailed requirement questions from working adults.

International recruitment

Offices answering applicants across time zones.

Not for admission decisions, financial aid eligibility, visa advice, or safeguarding concerns.

Before you buy

What do admissions directors worry about first?

Will it give wrong deadlines?
It answers only from content you approve; update one source and every channel changes.
Does it integrate with our CRM?
Conversation summaries can be sent by webhook to your CRM or email.
What about student privacy?
Collect only what booking needs and review retention settings first.

How should admissions roll out a chatbot before a deadline?

1

Load deadlines

By program and term.

2

Test top questions

Pull them from last season's inbox.

3

Launch before the peak

Give counselors a week to review.

What does an AI chatbot for college admissions office teams cost?

Most admissions offices run on the Growth plan at $79 a month, which covers website chat, WhatsApp, SMS, email, Telegram, and Slack with 2,000 AI replies and 5 seats. Starter at $29 covers 600 replies on web, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Voice AI at $249 adds the phone line.

Pick the plan by channel first. If applicants mostly use the website and WhatsApp, Starter can be enough outside peak season. Once you answer email or SMS, Growth is the plan that includes them.

If you add Voice AI for the admissions line, 1,500 minutes are included. At an average three-minute call, 1,500 minutes is about 500 calls a month, roughly 50 cents per call.

PlanMonthly priceAI repliesFits an admissions office that
Starter$29600Answers on the website, WhatsApp, and Instagram only
Growth$792,000Also answers by email and SMS, with 5 staff seats
Business$1996,000Runs several programs or needs white-label and 15 seats
Voice AI$249600 plus 1,500 voice minutesWants the admissions phone line answered too

Which questions does the chatbot answer, and which go to a counselor?

The chatbot answers published, factual questions and hands judgment calls to a counselor. In practice that means it covers deadlines, required documents, test policies, and visit days, while admission chances, financial aid eligibility, and personal circumstances go to staff in a booked call.

A clear split protects applicants and counselors. Applicants get an instant answer to the 2 a.m. question about transcript upload, and counselors spend their calls on the conversations that need a person.

Write the handoff list before launch. Anything that depends on a file review, an exception, or a family situation should trigger a counselor booking with the conversation summary attached.

How should an admissions chatbot handle student data?

Collect the minimum. For a counselor booking, the chatbot usually needs a name, an email or phone number, the program of interest, and the question, which is 4 or 5 fields rather than a full application record.

Botcadence does not claim FERPA compliance for your institution, and it is not HIPAA compliant. Your registrar, privacy office, or counsel should decide which data may enter the chatbot and review retention settings before launch.

Deadline weeks are when volume peaks and shortcuts happen. Plan for them with 750-reply credit packs for those months instead of collecting more data or loosening handoff rules under pressure.

In short

What does an AI chatbot do for a college admissions office?

It answers prospective students and parents from the content your admissions team approves: application deadlines, program requirements, test policies, transcript and document steps, tuition pages, and visit days. It books counselor appointments and campus tours, and passes questions about admission decisions, financial aid eligibility, or personal circumstances to staff. It works on your website, WhatsApp, and SMS, and can answer in the applicant's language.

Common questions

AI chatbot for college admissions office FAQs

No. Admission decisions, likelihood questions, and exceptions are handed to a counselor. The chatbot answers only published requirements and process steps.

Growth at $79 a month is the common starting point because it covers website chat, WhatsApp, SMS, and email with 2,000 AI replies. Offices with heavy peaks add reply credit packs during application season.

Yes. The chatbot can reply in the language the applicant writes in, using the same approved admissions content, which helps across time zones.

Yes. Connect the calendars for tours and counselor appointments, and the chatbot offers the right one depending on what the applicant needs.

Buy 750-reply credit packs for that month rather than moving to a larger plan. Your Growth allowance of 2,000 replies stays the same the rest of the year.

Botcadence does not make a FERPA compliance claim for your office. Keep student record data out of the chatbot and have your privacy office review what it collects.

Yes, the booked appointment carries a summary of what the applicant asked, so counselors start the call with context instead of repeating basic questions.

Get through application season with fewer repeat emails

Send us your deadline page and try the chatbot on your own admissions questions.

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Start with one channel and one high-intent workflow. Need a hand? Talk to our team.

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