Admit AI
Lead Product Design Intern | Nile Studio
Product Overview
Admit AI is a college readiness platform that uses AI to help high school students track academic goals and deadlines, while equipping administrators with real-time tools to monitor progress and deliver targeted support.
Role:
Lead Product Design Intern
Duration:
June – August 2025 (3 Months)
Team:
3 Developers, 1 Product Manager
Design Process
Understand
Problem Statement, Objectives, Goals
Problem Statement
Applying to college can be overwhelming—students juggle deadlines, resources, and tools, while counselors manage hundreds of cases with limited support.
Objectives & Goals
Help Students Stay on Track
Provide a structured mobile experience for students to set goals, manage deadlines, and receive AI-powered coaching.
Support Administrators
Develop a responsive web dashboard for educators to monitor student progress and visualize support needs efficiently.
Bridge Communication Gap
Enable seamless collaboration between students and administrators with real-time updates and data-driven tools.
Target Audience
Students (high school + college) - need support managing deadlines, goals, and application steps.
Administrators - need tools to monitor, support, and guide students more effectively.
Define
User Research, Key Insights, Personas
Personal Challenge
Unlike my previous projects, in a startup environment, resources were limited, which meant I had to create a design system from scratch, balancing speed and quality in a resource-constrained startup environment.
User Research
To validate and refine the client’s initial concept, I conducted mixed-methods research to uncover pain points and workflow gaps for both high school students and administrators.
Survey Participants
User Interviews
50+ high school students and administrators
20 in-depth interviews (low-income students & nonprofit orgs like Robin Hood Foundation)
Main Research Questions
Why is the current counseling approach not working?
Where do the biggest gaps exist for students and administrators?
Key Insights
Based on the research conducted through surveys and interviews, I identified clear patterns in user needs. Below is a snapshot of the most impactful insights, broken down by user group and percentage of users affected.
70%
Emphasized the importance of visualizing academic progress with timely reminders
60%
Valued personalized responses but wanted more guided AI-based support
55%
Wanted faster navigation between features from the original mockup.
Administrators
90%
Needed a dashboard to track multiple student goals and generate reports
70%
Requested better integration with calendars & existing tools
65%
Identified the need for bulk actions like document uploads
Students
User Personas
Based on user research, I developed two core personas to represent our primary users and anchor design decisions.
Andrew
Admin tracking 150+ students, needing timely insights.
Alexis
High school junior balancing deadlines and college prep.
Ideate
Sketches, Lofi Wireframing
Core Features Prioritized
Goal Tracking
For students to set and monitor academic goals
AI Chatbot
“Coach Admit” for guided goal-setting & resources
Resources Hub
Scholarships, internships, & deadlines
Dashboard
One-screen visibility into student data
Visual Insights
Easily spot students or cohorts needing intervention
Batch Uploads
Simplify mass data entry for admins
Lofi Sketches
I sketched multiple quick versions for both student and admin flows to test layout, content clarity, and logic under time constraints.
Wireframing
To bring core ideas to life quickly, I created a mix of lo-fi and hi-fi wireframes for both the student mobile app and admin dashboard. Each user flow, such as goal tracking, was iterated rapidly based on early feedback during scrums or/and usability tests.
These wireframes were created and tested weekly under tight deadlines. Feedback loops with the team and real users helped guide refinements. I focused not just on “what to fix” but on why, asking questions like:
Is the flow intuitive?
Are we supporting student independence?
Can admins take action at a glance?
Test
Refinement & Usability Testing
Refinement
During weekly design reviews and usability tests, I prioritized thinking critically about feedback, asking “why?” before implementing changes. Here are a few key improvements driven by direct user input.
Goal Tracking Feature
✅ Navigation: 85% of users found the flow intuitive
❌ Organization: 50% of users found that it was difficult to track goals over time
Admin Dashboard
✅ Dashboard Layout: 90% found it easy to navigate
🛠️ 65% wanted bulk document uploads and better integration with calendar tools like Google Calendar
🛠️ 68% of admins wanted to view student goal details, track progress, and manage tasks efficiently.
🛠️ 55% desired more personalized AI suggestions, particularly in tracking student goals and financial aid.
Design
Branding, Hifi Prototypes
Branding & Typography
The branding for this project was designed to balance warmth and professionalism, inspired by the friendly tone of Duolingo and the structured clarity of Slack.
Color Palette
Green: Represents growth and opportunity, evoking a sense of progress for students.
Blue: Signifies trust and clarity, aligning with administrators’ data-driven needs.
Typography
Azeret & Azert Bold was chosen for its rounded, approachable aesthetic while maintaining a professional tone. Bold weights emphasized key actions (e.g., “Next” or “Add Goal”).
Components
Component choices were driven by user needs, balancing clarity, functionality, and approachability:
Action Elements:
Rounded buttons were used for a welcoming and intuitive experience, making critical actions (e.g., “Sign Up”) visually prominent and easy to locate.
Admin Dashboard:
Focused on actionable data visualizations, enabling admins to manage student performance and tasks effortlessly while maintaining a clean and navigable interface.
Consistency:
Unified design across student and admin interfaces ensured seamless user experiences, reflecting the platform’s professional yet approachable identity.
These components enhanced usability while reflecting the platform’s identity.
Mockups & Hifi Prototypes
The polished design includes:
Mobile App: Goal tracking, AI-driven chatbot, and an Explore Feed fostering student engagement.
Admin Dashboard: Personalized student profiles, posting features, and calendar integration to manage tasks seamlessly.
Student Mobile App
Goal Tracking
Simplifies the process for students to define and pursue their objectives, combining clarity and motivation through AI-powered suggestions.
This addresses the need for a structured and personalized approach to goal-setting.
AI-Driven Chatbot
Designed to reduce barriers to information, the chatbot empowers students by providing instant access to critical resources, relieving the stress of navigating complex academic and career processes alone.
Explore Feature
Fosters a sense of community by connecting students with universities, nonprofits, and peers.
This directly responds to the need for increased accessibility to opportunities and resources in a shared space.
Dashboard Overview
Provides administrators with a centralized hub to oversee student progress, goal completions, and engagement metrics.
This tackles the challenge of keeping track of various student profiles, allowing for data-based actions.
Administrator Dashboard
Thread Posting
Enables open, interactive communication between administrators and students, ensuring updates, resources, and guidance are shared in an accessible and engaging format.
Student Profile Management
Gives administrators an efficient way to track progress and provide personalized support, addressing the challenge of managing diverse student needs in a streamlined, effective manner
Calendar Integration
Admins can schedule and manage events, deadlines, and meetings in one place.
This simplifies planning and ensures students stay on track without missing important dates.
Outcomes
Quick Nav:
Understand
Understand
The Admit project delivered targeted solutions for students and administrators, improving their workflows and addressing key challenges. Here’s how:
1. Empowering Students
Goal Tracking: Students could set and monitor goals using an intuitive progress dashboard, helping them break down large academic tasks into manageable steps.
AI Recommendations: Personalized suggestions (e.g., deadlines, scholarships) reduced the overwhelming nature of college preparation.
Results: Students like Alexis reported feeling less stressed and more in control of their academic goals.
2. Simplifying Administrative Workflows
Dashboard Insights: Admins accessed clear, visual data on student performance and needs, reducing time spent on manual tracking.
Task Prioritization: Tools like automated reports highlighted students requiring urgent support, improving decision-making efficiency.
Impact: Workflow efficiency improved by 90%, enabling administrators like Andrew to allocate more time for personalized student support
3. Laying the Foundation for Scalability
Iterative Design: Feedback from testing ensured the solution was adaptable to future needs.
Broader Impact: By combining user insights and design processes, Admit not only solved immediate challenges but set the stage for scalable implementation across institutions.
Potential Future Development
Building on insights from usability testing and stakeholder feedback, future iterations will focus on:
1. University Posting & Promotion Management
Enhance engagement by enabling universities to share scholarships and events.
2. Enhanced Reporting & Analytics
Provide administrators with deeper insights into student performance and outreach metrics.
3. Advanced Communication Tools
Implement direct messaging between students and administrators, with personalized notifications for deadlines and university updates.
4. Customization Options for Dashboards
Allow administrators to customize dashboards, track key student metrics, and save configurations for different student groups.
5. Content Contribution to Explore Feed
Universities can contribute and promote content to the Explore Feed, with curated posts driving student engagement through trending topics.
Key Takeaways: Lessons from the Journey
Personal Impact
This project was more than just a design exercise—it was a transformative experience that tested my ability to adapt, problem-solve, and lead in a dynamic environment. Unlike my prior experiences in structured corporate settings, this startup project demanded a hands-on, iterative approach to tackling user challenges. It became a personal exploration of how thoughtful design can bridge gaps and create impact.
Growth Through Challenges
Designing for Startups
Transitioning from established systems to crafting solutions from a blank slate underscored the importance of balancing creativity with practicality. This challenge helped me develop an adaptable mindset for unstructured environments.
Adaptability in Problem-Solving
My technical background enabled effective collaboration with developers to design with technical constraints in mind, streamlining the process without compromising user needs.
Confidence in Feedback
Leaning into constructive criticism sharpened my instincts, allowing me to make design decisions with clarity while fostering open collaboration within a resource-constrained team.
Communication as a Tool
Clear, consistent dialogue with my team and manager ensured alignment, even when direction was limited. This skill became critical in bridging gaps across cross-functional teams.
Reflection
The journey was as much about personal growth as it was about creating impactful solutions. It taught me the value of resilience and creativity under pressure while reinforcing my belief in the power of design to drive meaningful change.
*All designs in this project were created via Figma
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