June 16, 2026

AI and the Admissions Process at Bucknell with Kevin Mathes

How is AI impacting college admissions? How can schools preserve the human process of admissions while still implementing AI? In what ways can AI genuinely help students in the process? Explore these topics in this episode!

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About the episode

In this episode, Kevin Mathes, Vice President of Enrollment Management at Bucknell University, dives deep into one of the hottest topics in higher education: the role of AI in the college admissions process. Kevin shares how Bucknell became one of the first schools to publish an official AI admissions statement, and walks through the collaborative campus process it took to get there. He explains how his team has trained readers to spot AI-generated essays, and why he still believes admissions must remain a fundamentally human process, where students tell their own stories in their own voices.

Kevin also opens up about where he sees AI genuinely helping students, from brainstorming essay topics to condensing activity descriptions, while issuing an important reminder that AI policies vary widely from school to school.

Mentioned in this episode

Bucknell University

Host

Will Geiger

Will Geiger is the co-founder of Scholarships360 and has a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. He is a former Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Kenyon College where he personally reviewed 10,000 admissions applications and essays. Will also managed the Kenyon College merit scholarship program and served on the financial aid appeals committee. He has also worked as an Associate Director of College Counseling at a high school in New Haven, Connecticut.Will earned his master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania and received his undergraduate degree in history from Wake Forest University.

Guest

Kevin Mathes

Bucknell University alumnus Kevin Mathes currently serves as Vice President of Enrollment Management & Dean of Admissions. After earning his master’s degree in College Student Personnel from Ohio University, he began his admissions career at St. Lawrence University and later worked at Dartmouth College before returning to Bucknell in 2017. Kevin also serves as Past Chair of the Board of Directors for the Coalition for College and on the steering committee for the College Admissions Collaborative Highlighting Engineering and Technology.