U.S. News & World Report announced a major strategic acquisition for the world-renowned educational rankings and consumer guidance institution: a majority stake in Sups AI, a fast-growing AI-powered college admissions guidance platform.
The acquisition, which brings Sups into U.S. News’s CollegeAdvisor.com division, propels U.S. News toward democratized and supercharged college admissions guidance powered by artificial intelligence.
Founded by college students Samir Walji, Rehan Rupawalla, and Daniel Rupawalla in November 2023, Sups AI has already reached tens of thousands of students across 180 countries. The heart of the platform is a system for giving students feedback on their college applications, especially their college essays.
The key, however, lies in the distinction: Sups AI does not generate essays but rather provides intelligence guidance; it can help brainstorm, research colleges’ individual offerings, and leave thoughtful comments in a custom-built document editor.
The way the technology empowers real-world students is clear, as it has helped students receive acceptances to every single Ivy League school and all top 50 universities in the United States. Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of U.S. News Neil Maheshwari said the acquisition was a “natural evolution of growth” as U.S. News creates more and more “marketplaces” for its consumers.
He said he is thrilled to integrate Sups AI technology into their college advising portfolio. For Samir Walji, co-founder of Sups AI, this integration will help “level the playing field in college admissions” by expanding the power of Sups’ personalized, 24/7 advising to students who cannot afford college counseling services.
It remains to be seen how much the U.S. News reach and data can enhance Sups’ capabilities and influence, as over 100 million students and their families visit U.S. News’s website annually to check tuition, financial aid, academic life, and other important statistics for over 1,800 colleges and universities.
The collaboration is expected to bring the Sups AI platform into the fold of U.S. News’s suite of student offerings, which includes College Advisor, TeenLife, MyFit Custom Rankings, and Scholarship Finder. The acquisition of Sups marks a turning point for the role of artificial intelligence in higher education, where it hopes to help more students more accessible, informed choices about where they go to college.
It is unclear how artificial intelligence acquisition will affect the methodology of U.S. News’s college rankings in the short run; although, U.S. News recently added new metrics focusing on social mobility. Still, this news suggests the publication is positioning itself at the forefront of technological change in the admissions process.
