With nearly 2,000 students across four campuses in San Jose, The Harker School is the largest independent school of its kind on the West Coast. Each year, the admissions team receives more than 1,700 applications across early years admissions, middle school admissions, and high school admissions. Traditionally, families were asked to submit written parent statements, but these were increasingly inadequate.
“They could be labored over and outsourced to an educational consultant — or even ChatGPT now,” explained Jennifer Hargreaves, Upper School Admission Director. “We really wanted to hear the unfiltered parent perspective, their responses about their children and their family values.”
For Harker, where students themselves were not always interviewed, particularly in the early years admissions process, parent input carried even greater weight. “We often wished we could just interview every parent,” said Diann Chung, Lower School Admission Director.
"But with 1,700 families, it was impossible to schedule that many one-on-one conversations."
Scaling personal connections
Kira’s asynchronous video assessments offered a way to make those personal connections without overwhelming staff capacity.
“It really gave us such a valuable tool to see deeper into a family,” shared Danielle Holquin, Middle School Admission Director. “I loved being able to peek in and see the connection between parents and how they spoke about their child.
"Given our volume, it was amazing to get to know families on such a personal level."
The technology also proved seamless for applicants. “I was shocked that nobody asked us for help,” Holquin added. “It really was that user-friendly.”
Communicating values, not just academics
The shift to Kira also gave Harker a new way to highlight what matters most in K-12 admissions.
“Since we are a very high academic school, some people think all we care about is test scores and classroom achievement,” Hargreaves noted.
"Harker is about so much more than that. We truly care about each child’s wellbeing, finding balance, and expanding their interests and passions beyond the classroom."
By carefully designing questions around values such as balance, wellbeing, and integrity, Harker encouraged families to speak authentically about their children. “The questions were really eye-opening for parents,” Hargreaves explained. “They realized we weren’t asking about academics at all. They were happy to hear we cared about their child’s overall wellbeing, not just resume building for college.”
This clarity helped families self-assess fit as much as it helped Harker assess them. As Hargreaves put it,
"We want to raise great people, not just great college applicants."
Positive response from families and community
Despite initial nerves, parents quickly embraced the new format. “We were a little worried about how families would respond,” Chung admitted. “But the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Parents told us it was easy, it saved them time, and they appreciated being able to share authentically about their child.”
Some even found it reassuring. “One family came in thinking they had tanked their application because they knew they weren’t Tiger parents,” Hargreaves recalled. “In reality, their responses helped us see it was her initiative and you were not pushing, you were supporting.”
The platform’s built-in integrity checks also provided valuable insight. “Integrity is a really important value at Harker,” Hargreaves shared. “
"The integrity flags helped us identify when there wasn’t alignment. It became another way to see if the fit was right for both sides."
Word of the new process spread quickly within the community. “I got an email from a current parent who said people at a parent coffee were talking about how excited they were about the questions we were asking,” said Hargreaves. “Families want their children surrounded by peers whose families care about the same things.”
Looking ahead
After a successful first year, Harker plans to build on its use of Kira across early years, middle school, and high school admissions. “We’re looking to tear down barriers and broaden our community,” Holquin explained. “We want families to know Harker is more than just high achievement — it’s about diversity, wellbeing, and balance.”
The team is already refining its question bank and exploring expanded language support. “This year, we let families know they could respond in their native language or request extended time,” said Hargreaves. “Next year, we’re aiming to add full translations in Spanish, Vietnamese, and Mandarin.”
For Harker, Kira has become more than an admissions tool. It’s a way to scale authenticity, align values, and ensure that every family has an equal opportunity to share their story.
As Holquin summed it up: “Kira bridged the gap for us. It gave us authentic, insightful ways to connect with families, something we couldn’t have achieved otherwise.”
This article was written based on this webinar with The Harker School.
The University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy is home to the largest community-based pharmacy residency program in the nation. With a mission to prepare future leaders in pharmacy practice and a culture rooted in mentorship, the program partners with a diverse network of sites from independent pharmacies and ambulatory care clinics to public health departments and charitable pharmacies. This breadth allows residents to train in real-world settings that reflect the communities they will one day serve, while fostering innovation, collaboration, and patient-centered care.
“Residents get the chance to continue learning from established professionals who want to invest in their growth and development. It’s a win for us as a program because we’re training up future leaders in the profession.” shared Macary Marciniak, Clinical Associate Professor at UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
With its rapid growth, UNC sought out a platform that could support the duality of their PGY1 programs without relying on disjointed tools.
A custom fit platform for every site
Although all residency sites use the same evaluation criteria, Kira allows each site to adapt the interview experience to their unique context.
“One site does a forum presentation with breakout sessions, another uses a panel interview,” explained Marciniak. “We give sites the flexibility to structure interviews in the way that works best for them, while still maintaining consistency across the program.”
“What’s nice is that these sites get to learn from each other, one might try a new format this year because they saw it work well elsewhere.”
“It took a little bit of learning that first year, but now it’s effortless to adjust timeframes, breakout rooms, or formats whenever a site wants to do something different.” shared Marciniak.
This kind of adaptability gave UNC the confidence to expand its residency sites without worrying about added complexity. But the real difference came not just from the platform itself but from the people behind it, whose support made the transition seamless.
A trusted partner in every rotation
“The Kira team felt like a safety net. Even if something went wrong, I knew someone was there to handle it — and that peace of mind is invaluable during interview season.” shared Marciniak.
“I’ve been so impressed with the responsiveness of the Kira team,” she shared. “It’s not just the platform, it’s the people behind it who help us troubleshoot, suggest improvements, and make the process stress-free.” shared Traci Shell, Program Associate at UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
“Having that support felt like a security blanket. I had zero stress implementing Kira because I knew their team was there if we needed them, and we ended up having very few issues,”
“Implementing new technology can be stressful, but with Kira I felt none of that. The training, support, and responsiveness made it smooth from day one.” shared Marciniak.
Charting what’s next
What started as a way to reduce scheduling chaos and modernize their admissions process has now become an integral part of UNC’s PGY1 residency programs.
“It’s been an amazing solution, and I only see more opportunities to use it in the future.” shared Marciniak.
“We’ve already added more sites since adopting Kira, and yet it feels like even less work because the system handles the complexity so well.” shared Marciniak.
“I see opportunities to use Kira even more across our school, whether in admissions or additional residency processes, because it’s proven to be so adaptable.” shared Marciniak.
As the first, and one of the largest, publicly funded nursing schools in Washington, the Washington State University (WSU) College of Nursing serves students across a statewide system of campuses in Spokane, Tri-Cities, Yakima, and Vancouver. Guided by its land-grant mission, WSU is committed to preparing nurses who reflect the communities they serve — from rural and agricultural regions to urban centers and multilingual populations.
“Traveling people to campuses was really tough.” explained Chris Sogge, Director of the Center for Student Excellence. “It was harder for our out-of-state applicants, harder for applicants who had jobs or children or other obligations. In-person interviews just weren’t feasible.”
To support this mission, the college needed an admissions process that was accessible, flexible, and capable of evaluating the whole applicant. With in-person interviews posing barriers for out-of-state candidates and those balancing work or family responsibilities, WSU turned to Kira for the tools to break free from geographic restraints.
Elevating accessibility in admissions
“With Kira, students can choose when and where they take the interview, and practice until they feel ready,” explained Chris Sogge. “That flexibility reduces nerves and gives them more confidence in the process.”
“Before Kira, we spent so much time on room scheduling and keeping everyone in the same place,” added Sogge. “Now we simply open the assessment for a week and let applicants pick what works for them.”
This shift in structure not only eased the logistical strain but also opened the door for WSU to advance a bigger goal — making admissions more holistic.
Putting the “mission” in admissions
“With Kira, we’ve been able to increase diversity in our cohorts.”
“We’ve seen gains in race and ethnicity, first-generation status, rural backgrounds, and applicants who speak more than one language. That was exactly the goal.” explained Sogge.
“Because we place more emphasis on healthcare experience in the interview, people have more to talk about,” Sogge continued. “That’s allowed us to reduce the weight of academic metrics like GPA and test scores. The averages have shifted from really unrealistic standards to more normal ranges, which opens the door to a broader range of applicants.” shared Sogge.
“We recently shifted to a horizontal review structure for our BSN program,” explained Sogge. “It’s been really helpful to reduce reviewer bias by having two reviewers per competency instead of one person seeing everything.” shared Sogge.
This move toward holistic review has been paired with strong feedback from faculty, staff, and students, who have found the process both easier to manage and more insightful.
Elevating the reviewer and applicant experience
“I just love Kira,” shared Dianne Selcho, Admissions Coordinator. “The new reviewer platform has been absolutely amazing. Reviewers tell me all the time how easy it is to see what they’ve already done, what’s left, and how clearly everything is laid out. They absolutely love it.”
“Our faculty and staff really enjoy seeing students before they get to work with them,” Selcho continued.
“Even though it’s not face-to-face, they still feel like they get to know who the student is better than they could from just reviewing their paper file.”
“Our Inspire report shows applicant ratings in the 4.5 to 4.9 range,” added Sogge. “Students really appreciate being able to complete their interview on their own time, in their own space, and to practice until they feel comfortable. That flexibility has been the biggest impact for them.” explained Selcho.
While reviewers and applicants alike have praised the experience, the WSU team also highlighted how Kira’s support and customization features have strengthened their process even further.
A team to support the overtime shifts
“The bulk assigning is one of the biggest things I love about Kira,” said Selcho. “We use at least two reviewers for every applicant, and being able to assign them in bulk has been amazing. If we had to do it by hand, it would take forever.” shared Selcho.
“The ability to edit our questions, upload our own videos, or make small changes ourselves has been really valuable,” added Sogge. “But if I ever need help, the Kira team is right there. It’s such a rare mix of easy to use and highly customizable.” shared Sogge.
“Everyone I’ve worked with from Kira has been absolutely amazing,” said Selcho. “The customer service is top tier — responsive, helpful, and kind. I even got to meet with the development team to share my experience and wishlist of improvements. That really showed me they value the user’s perspective.” shared Selcho.
For WSU, what began as a way to modernize interviews has grown into a tool that supports their mission of access, diversity, and holistic evaluation.