Is it reliable to use AI to fill in college entrance examination applications?

After the college entrance examination, students and parents will face a new round of exams - volunteer application. Recently, so-called volunteer planners and AI volunteer application card sellers have begun to appear on various e-commerce platforms and live broadcast platforms. A salesperson of a volunteer card said that as long as the score is entered, the volunteer form can be automatically generated, and the universities and majors that can be admitted can be automatically recommended, and the probability of admission can be directly given. Is the one-click generated application plan credible?

Merchants claim that they have used technologies such as artificial intelligence

Intelligently recommend colleges to apply for

Currently, there are roughly two types of college entrance examination volunteer planning services on the market. One is the volunteer application software based on the so-called algorithms, big data, and artificial intelligence, which generally costs several hundred yuan; the other is offline one-on-one consultation, with prices ranging from one thousand yuan to tens of thousands of yuan.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Education, the number of applicants for the 2022 National College Entrance Examination is 11.93 million, an increase of 1.15 million from last year. In recent years, various services for filling out college entrance examination applications have begun to appear. Some companies claim that they can use technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data to search for colleges and universities and rankings according to specified scores, simulate college entrance examination application filling, and intelligently recommend colleges and universities for application.

Candidates have different opinions on filling out applications using AI. Some are skeptical about the results, while others say they will refer to the results calculated by such tools during the simulated application process.

Different AI volunteer application software

There are differences in the admission probabilities

After the reporter entered the estimated test scores on a certain volunteer application website as a current candidate from Shanxi, the system automatically gave an estimated ranking for the province and the admission probability of some schools. However, if one wanted to see more, one would need to purchase a volunteer application card for 398 yuan.

The salesperson of the volunteer application platform said: The volunteer application card can check the information of some university majors, which is very comprehensive, including some application data. If you are not sure about the major now, you can also take the assessment, and we will recommend some related majors to you. When the college entrance examination scores are released, you can also enter the course selection scores and do a simulated application, and we will recommend you the "safe" schools.

The salesperson said that in addition to the admission scores of schools and majors that can be found in the application manual, the platform also features intelligent admission probability analysis, ranging from 1% to 99%. "If you want to check basic data, you can find it on the school's official website, but if you want to do a simulated application and analyze the schools that are 'securely guaranteed', you can only find it on our website."

However, the so-called probability is actually given according to the admission score lines of previous years, and is divided into three categories: "strive, stable, and secure". The probabilities given by different AI volunteer application software are also different, which makes some candidates even more confused.

Volunteer predictions given by AI volunteer application software

Senior high school teacher: Filling out the application form requires comprehensive consideration of many aspects

Teacher He, the head teacher of a senior class in a high school in Hebei, said that filling out college entrance examination applications is very professional. It is necessary not only to combine local policies and professional admission data, but also to consider the different choices of candidates and parents. Only by comprehensive consideration can a comprehensive and professional recommendation be given. At the same time, candidates must have a deeper understanding of their personal potential and make accurate judgments, which cannot be replaced by these so-called AI application software.

"To determine whether a career choice is truly suitable for one's abilities and interests, one should first correctly and fully understand one's potential. After understanding certain university majors, one can estimate one's future professional potential more accurately and objectively," said Teacher He.

Education experts: AI is not a magic tool for filling out college applications

A tool for reference only

In addition to AI application software, there are also businesses that offer one-on-one college entrance examination application consulting services. Their official website shows that the teachers responsible for answering questions have many titles, including gold medal and senior levels.

A staff member of an offline volunteer application company: It depends on which level you want to choose, because the tutors here are divided into grades for offline one-on-one consultations, and are divided into gold medal tutors and senior tutors. Some cost 8,800 yuan, and some cost several thousand yuan. The higher the price, the better the tutor's qualifications.

Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences, said that the market for college entrance examination application is generated by demand, but whether the services provided by these institutions are accurate is questionable.

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Chu Zhaohui said that candidates and parents should be rational when choosing AI volunteer applications. For example, if the software infers that the admission score of a certain major is very low based on big data, many candidates may apply for this major, which will raise the score. The calculation results of such software can only be used as a reference and should not be superstitious.

Chu Zhaohui suggested: "In fact, AI is just an information tool. Some students may need it, but it is not necessary. This information can also be comprehensively viewed through other channels. Never regard AI as a magic tool to decide your application preferences, but only as a reference tool."

Source: China National Radio, China Media Group (ID: zgzs001)

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