In the bustling downtown DC, there was a distinguished school known as Wisdom Academy. This institution was celebrated for its vibrant educational programs. However, Wisdom Academy faced a challenge: its student body lacked diversity, predominantly consisting of either affluent families paying full tuition or those completely dependent on financial aid.

Mr. Hanscom, the school’s financial aid director, knew that Wisdom Academy needed to do more to reach partial-pay families. He saw the efforts of his peers to map neighborhood reach and visualize income data. But Mr. Hanscom didn’t have the time to learn all of these new tools. He needed a plan yesterday! What could he do to get these data quickly?

In our previous blogs in this series, we explored various methods to gather data about your community to help you plan your strategic financial aid. Previous entries have focused on traditional techniques, such as leveraging the US Census Bureau’s online tools or using online mapping tools to analyze commute times in your local area. While these methods are effective, a new kid is on the block! Artificial intelligence tools are progressing quickly in the area of data analytics. Let’s take a look at how ChatGPT offers a modern, fast alternative to obtain and analyze this critical data, allowing financial aid directors to make informed decisions more efficiently.

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AI Tools

ChatGPT offers a user-friendly way to generate and analyze data across different zip codes. Using this tool can provide valuable insights into the distribution of family incomes in your area and drive times, helping to inform your enrollment strategy.

1. Log in to ChatGPT: For this kind of analysis, you will need access to GPT-4o, which is the generally available version as of the publication of this blog (June 2024). You can create an account for free if you do not have one. Please check with your school’s technology department to ensure you follow all AI policies, especially regarding any school-specific data.
2. Enter your data prompt: Unlike search engines, where you ask a single question, ChatGPT allows you to start a dialogue that includes follow-up questions. Be specific with what you’d like to see, and always remember that AI data is not always accurate. Make sure to vet it for viability.

Here is an example of a prompt that could help Mr. Hanscom:‍

“Create a table of zip codes in the DC area making between 150-200k annually and their drive time from the White House during rush hour. Put the number of families making this amount of money and sort the table from most to least families in this range”

And, here is an actual response from ChatGPT:

3. Adjust as needed: Feel free to alter the prompt or suggest new ones as needed. You can sort the data in different ways, pull in additional publicly available data into the table, or have the system make recommendations for where to target based on these criteria.

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Conclusion

Leveraging artificial intelligence can improve your approach to understanding family income levels in your catchment area or scouting new neighborhoods for outreach. This AI-driven tool equips you with vital data in an easy-to-use platform, enabling you to refine your school's outreach strategy with precision. 

By harnessing ChatGPT, you can tailor your marketing efforts, adjust financial aid policies, and enhance community engagement initiatives. This ensures that your educational offerings reach and support the families who will benefit the most. And, watch this space! We’re sure to be seeing new and exciting data analysis capabilities in the future of ChatGPT and other AI tools.