Education and AI are squabbling head-in-neck in favor of either a wide-open, faster-informed field of better, more informed students or a terrible landscape of tone slop masquerading as unique academic thought.

A number of institutions, including my own, are promoting the use of AI as a techno-relation that will equip students and educators alike. &nbsp,

These AI tools can be incredibly important for prospective students who have to balance evolving concerns around cost, prestige, social climate, and the best value of an education. If you or your children are entering the last few years of high school, or you’re exploring more education options later in life, they could really benefit from using them.

How does AI help you choose the class that’s best for you as you make the decision to pursue your potential life-changing education? Just make sure you check everything out before applying to a college before doing anything if AI has hallucinated information about your desired program or institution.

Major programs and courses are available.

Choosing what to research is one of the first things a potential student should complete before diving into programs, according to a manager I asked at the school where I’m a teacher. &nbsp,

AI tools can comb through course catalogs, degree program requirements, outcomes, and classes at multiple schools, which are frequently dense and confusing. &nbsp,

Anthropic’s Claude, an AI engine developed by Anthropic, aided me in finding a school with more in-depth courses in the field of study and provided me with a useful top-level breakdown of programs in my chosen specialty, woodworking and furniture design. &nbsp,

Whether a research institution, community college, or trade school

You might not want to jump into a costly, lengthy four-year degree program, but you want to improve your skills or acquire the technical acumen necessary to enter a new field. &nbsp,

AI tools like Claude can review a range of challenging requirements, such as the requirement to only be available for night courses or to be certified within a certain time frame. &nbsp,

I gave the tool the task of finding some in-person, hands-on classes that would cover the fundamentals of construction over a specific period of time. Claude AI created a program that was free, in-person, and based in the state I needed despite the fact that there were no programs as short as I had specified. &nbsp,

Rate My Prof like steroids.

Students may frequently use professor review websites like Rate My Profs to test the waters before signing up for what might turn out to be too much work or being saddled with a professor who has a reputation for a number of annoyances students frequently complain about on public message boards. &nbsp,

AI tools like Perplexity, a generative AI tool developed by an ex-OpenA I employee, can look through those institutional reviews to determine whether the faculty in your targeted program is a good fit for your style of learning. &nbsp,

I requested a top three list of universities with the most devoted, knowledgeable professors, and Perplexity was able to sift through student-generated sources, such as professor rating websites and Reddit threads, to provide the insights I needed.

Student loans, grants, and other financial matters

Unsurprisingly, students I asked about their opinions on where to pursue their education are most concerned about tuition and cost-per-credit. &nbsp,

Perplexity was particularly adept at comparing costs to online programs. If current and former students have posted about the cost of things like books, tools, gear, and other related purchases that are required in some learning environments, details like hidden costs may also be at the tips of your AI tool’s intelligent tentacles. &nbsp,

Community and political climate

From the content of the curriculum to the actions of the students themselves, educational institutions are increasingly scrutinized. &nbsp,

Perplexity quickly analyzed searchable current and past media coverage, as well as determined sentiments on college campuses regarding key tenets of the academic experience, such as free speech, donor influence, and campus-related organizations and groups. &nbsp,

Perplexity provided an extremely well-organized, thoroughly researched, and thoroughly researched overview of the US’s most liberal and conservative colleges in an understandable format.

Wherever and however you made your decision to pursue your educational goals, AI tools can give you a much wider perspective on the experience you can expect than a traditional search. &nbsp,

However, taking a trip to a campus yourself, taking a class if it’s permitted, and writing a note to a professor who is introducing a course you’re interested in is the best way to get a real sense of what your educational experience will look like. &nbsp,