Are your institutions seeing changes in enrollments given the use of AI LLMs like ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews by prospective students?

I’ve been looking at what the publicly traded postsecondary companies said on their most recent earnings calls, and there seems to be a recurring theme around student acquisition and its evolution given the adoption of LLMs by prospective students.

The management teams are saying that prospective students are going through longer and more iterative evaluation processes. Folks are having conversations with their LLMs, who are providing a wealth of information and are offering alternatives. LLMs are now serving as the intermediaries between prospective students and institutions. In the case of the publicly traded companies, this has caused web leads to go down and acquisition costs to go up.

Given that the publicly traded institutions are for-profits, I have no sense if what they are seeing is reflective of their sector or if this is something that all higher ed institutions are seeing.

What are you seeing at your institutions?

What are your thoughts on what's happening regarding prospective student use of LLMs and how it's altering the student journey?

Submitted 2026-08-25T13:45:56Z by TruthHonestyJustice https://ift.tt/xTy2j9J

I don’t know how much longer I can carry this by myself

I honestly don’t know where else to put this. I feel completely lost right now.

I worked so hard for my education. I graduated as valedictorian, represented my school in national and international competitions, and recently secured a scholarship that could finally give me a chance to move forward with college.

But instead of feeling happy, I feel terrified.

There’s one financial problem from my previous school that is preventing me from moving forward. I’ve been trying everything I can think of to solve it. I’ve reached out to people, looked for loans, asked for help, and exhausted almost every option I know.

And somehow, I still have no solution.

The hardest part is that I feel like I have to carry this quietly. I know my parents already have so much on their shoulders, and I don’t want to make them feel like they have to fix another problem for me. So I keep everything to myself and pretend I’m okay.

But I’m not.

I’m scared that everything I worked for could disappear because of one problem I can’t solve. I keep thinking, What if I finally got this far just to lose it now?

I’m exhausted from constantly trying to find an answer. I just want one person to tell me that things can still work out.

I don’t really need advice right now. I think I just needed somewhere to finally admit that I’m struggling, I’m scared, and I don’t know what to do anymore.

Submitted 2026-08-25T08:02:57Z by Fancy-Television7289 https://ift.tt/FZkJ8Dn

A struggling student

I (18F) study in 12th grade

I really want to be a good student. I crave academic validation. I want to get into a really good university. I have such big ambitions. Why don't i put in the effort? I always procrastinate. I always doom scroll. Play stupid games watch stupid videos. I try to quit it then go right back. I want to lock these things away in a vault but I'm pretty sure I'd break that vault open. I feel tired and sleepy all the time. I sleep 4 hours i feel tired. 8 hours still tired. 12 hours also tired. I want to do well but once i do one thing wrong i waste the whole day. I can't get out of this vicious cycle. I sometimes get real motivated and study super well for like 4 days then back to square one. I keep wishing for time to turn back so i could do better. I don't know what's wrong with me. Why can't i keep up with my ambitions? Even those 3 or 4 days that i study real well it feels like I don't actually get enough done. It feels like a huge mountain is in front of me. I feel like a disappointment and waste of my parents money. I'm so scared of being deemed a failure by society yet i still don't put in the work. It's like I don't know how to study until it's the day before my exam. I want to quit everything and go back to 10th grade. Back when i somehow did really well without putting in the work.

Submitted 2026-08-24T19:44:30Z by art__is https://ift.tt/WfQl1y9

I’m building Classboard, a browser-based whiteboard for educators—here’s what it does and I’d love your feedback

I’m a developer working on Classboard (https://classboard.online), a browser-based whiteboard tool I’m building specifically with teachers in mind. It’s still in active development, but I wanted to share it here transparently.The motivation came from seeing how many whiteboard apps are either clunky for live teaching or require downloads. Classboard aims to be lightweight and browser-based, with live collaboration sessions that include camera and microphone support—so you can teach or work with students in real time without leaving the board.It also has a math geometry figures recognition feature, which I’m hoping can save time when drawing shapes or diagrams on the fly.I’m not here to sell—just to get honest feedback from people who know classrooms better than I do. What would make this genuinely useful for you? What’s missing or broken in current tools? I’m listening.

Submitted 2026-08-24T18:21:32Z by iNFERN4 https://ift.tt/PQDvf8y

Free undergraduate education from a popular university!

Actually, I'm someone who wants to learn. I already have a university degree. I just want to learn things online in my free time.

I've always wondered about the quality of education a good university provides. Therefore, I'm curious if I can access all the courses a student takes in architecture, engineering, computer science, literature, or another field at a good university for free. I've looked at platforms like Edx, Udemy, and Coursera, but they either offer parts of the course or don't offer free access.

I want to watch all the courses of any undergraduate program at a good university, in a classroom setting, for free, without providing a diploma. Is there such a thing? I haven't been able to find anything comprehensive online.

Submitted 2026-08-24T03:52:49Z by GuitarHeroes55 https://ift.tt/iglSdk2

What are the origins of education?

This is a paper that takes a Darwinian view on education to try to understand it origins. If we go back far enough in time, education does not exist. So, when does it appear? It largely depends on how we define it and distinguish it from learning. This paper attempts to do this by examining the academic literature in hunter gatherer societies, what psychological studies say about the way children learn, and then what changes when civilizations utilize scripts and have bureaucracies that are in charge of accounting.

The origins of formal education

Submitted 2026-08-23T19:46:00Z by Low-External-3116 https://ift.tt/Gca3opl

Would you say math/physics teachers or engineers in industry do more calcs by hand? Trying to choose a career path that suits my passion for the subject matter...

Submitted 2026-08-23T07:20:03Z by TheNextOne8797 https://ift.tt/wIvcebk