# Chatbot for admissions

**Authors:** Nikolaos Polatidis  
**arXiv:** [1408.6762](https://arxiv.org/abs/1408.6762)  
**Date:** 2014-08-28  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/paper/1408.6762v1/

## Key points

- Challenges faced by a university department in manually handling communication with potential students
- Large number of applications received each year makes one-to-one conversations with every student infeasible
- Development of a chatbot to reduce burden on the head of admissions and other users
- Chatbot utilizes an algorithm to search through data and provide potential answers to user queries
- Provides relevant web links for further information if user is not satisfied with the answer
- Development of a web interface for both users and an administrator
- Literature review, investigation of existing tools, and consultation with head of admissions conducted to establish system requirements
- Algorithm combining keyword matching with string similarity developed for effective searching through data sets
- Usable system successfully implemented using the developed algorithm
- Evaluation conducted through question logs and feedback from potential students who used the chatbot

## Summary

The existing summary describes the challenges faced by a university department in manually handling communication with potential students. Due to the large number of applications received each year, it is not feasible to have one-to-one conversations with every student. This process requires significant time and effort from academic staff members who have to search for suitable answers and contact each student individually. To address this issue, the project aims to develop a chatbot that can reduce the burden on the head of admissions and other users. The chatbot will utilize an algorithm to search through a set of data and provide potential answers to user queries. If the user is not satisfied with the answer, the program will also provide relevant web links for further information. The project includes the development of a web interface for both users and an administrator. To prepare for the project, a literature review was conducted along with an investigation of existing tools. Consultation with the head of admissions helped establish the requirements of the system. Various algorithms and tools were explored, including keyword and template matching. Ultimately, an algorithm combining keyword matching with string similarity was developed. The project has successfully implemented a usable system using this algorithm. To evaluate its effectiveness, logs of questions and answers were kept, and feedback from potential students who used it was collected. In summary, this research paper titled "Chatbot for admissions" by Nikolaos Polatidis addresses the manual communication challenges faced by university departments when dealing with potential students. It proposes developing a chatbot as a solution to reduce costs and save time for academic staff members involved in admissions processes. The paper outlines how an algorithm combining keyword matching with string similarity was devised to search through data sets and find suitable answers while providing relevant web links if needed. The implementation of this system was evaluated through question logs and feedback from potential students who interacted with it in order to assess its effectiveness.