EdTech and Pancakes

In this episode of EdTech & Pancakes, host Razmik Sargsyan speaks with Lauri Elevant, Chief Technical Officer and Co-founder of DreamApply. As DreamApply marks its 15th anniversary, they discuss the platform’s evolution and how it currently supports educational institutions with different needs: increasing qualified applicants, managing high-volume admissions and dealing with other marketing and student recruitment pain points.Drawing on DreamApply's experience with 300+ educational institutions in over 40 countries, Lauri shares practical principles and advice on the technology of admissions that the higher ed community can apply in 2026. The CTO also explains DreamApply’s careful approach to AI and how it manifests in DreamApply's new feature, the AI Highlighter. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙩 1: 𝙈𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 00:00 Lauri Elevant and 15 years of building admissions tech 01:03 The origin and evolution of DreamApply 03:30 DreamApply's applicant-focused approach 05:43 Sense of mission in the DreamApply team 06:49 "We can't fail them": deadlines and last-day submissions 09:04 Equality and access to education as motivation for team DreamApply 10:17 DreamApply's software and what problems it solves in 2026 10:51 2 kinds of educational institutions and their priorities 11:47 What all universities and DreamApply clients have in common 13:24 DreamApply's priority with new clients: help save time first, then streamline more 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙩 2: 𝙄𝙣𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 16:41 3 layers to increasing qualified applicants 17:01 Layer 1: reduce the chance of losing high-value applicants 17:43 Layer 2: address the attention span of applicants 18:35 Remove friction for applicants and smoothen their ride 19:37 Layer 3: marketing tools and meaningful analytics 20:37 Cost and source per successful candidate, not clicks or vanity metrics 21:38 Integrating DreamApply with offline campaigns 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙩 3: 𝙃𝙞𝙜𝙝-𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 22:38 Saving time in high-volume and high-pressure contexts 23:17 Staying fair to applicants while automating workflows 24:14 The logic of objective ranking and scoring algorithms 25:44 The video interview solution 26:25 Keeping admissions teams in power and solving the quota problem 28:16 Hybrid approach: bulk vs. live admissions 29:17 Post-evaluation communication with different applicants 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙩 4: 𝘾𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙙𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 30:48 Personalized solutions for different educational institutions 32:57 How DreamApply features are made with and for universities 35:38 Navigating the technological limitations of old systems 38:17 The role of setup managers in ensuring adoption success 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙩 5: 𝘼𝙄 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝘿𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢𝘼𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙮'𝙨 𝘼𝙄 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧 40:32 What's most misunderstood about admissions by the higher ed community ? 41:40 Lauri's concerns about premature use of AI in admissions: signal vs. noise 43:42 The risk of fraud and impertinence of motivation letters 46:22 Positive possibilities of AI in admissions with proper guardrails 48:00 DreamApply's new tool: the AI Highlighter 48:30 How the name "highlighter" carries DreamApply's AI philosophy 50:17 Putting "handcuffs" on AI for objectiveness and legal reasons 50:56 Multiple ways to increase accuracy 57:51 How to use AI as a force multiplier for smart teams 1:01:13 What the AI Highlighter makes it possible for DreamApply users? 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 1:07:38 What is Lauri most excited about in terms of DreamApply's journey in 2026 1:12:55 CTO's advice: choose stability over revolution 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼 👉 https://www.dreamapply.com/?utm_source=Spotify&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast #EdTech #Admissions #HigherEducation #StudentRecruitment #AI #DreamApply #AdmissionsManagement