Colleges and universities are working harder than ever to attract top talent from around the world, but when it comes to assessing international students, admissions teams face a unique challenge. Traditional admissions methods often fall short of meeting the unique needs of international applicants. Logistical challenges, time zone differences, and limited opportunities for meaningful engagement can leave programs struggling to make a strong impression during the admissions process, ultimately losing top applicants.

Luckily, Kira Talent is here to help.

Kira’s solution for engaging international applicants

International applicants often encounter unique challenges compared to their domestic peers. From navigating cross-border regulations and understanding new cultural norms to battling time zone differences and language barriers, they require more thoughtful engagement. Kira's bespoke assessments enable schools to better connect with international applicants, helping top universities like the McCombs School of Business and UCD Smurfit successfully engage and assess top international students.  

“Having a way to effectively engage international applicants is a huge reason why Kira Talent was so attractive to us. It means that we’re able to get a picture of our international applicants beyond their paper application, while still offering them a convenient way to connect with us.”

- Rob Chabot, Senior Director of Admissions and Recruiting at Fisher College of Business

Kira combines Asynchronous Assessments with Live Interviewing technology to provide an adaptable, applicant-friendly admissions experience from anywhere in the world — allowing you to meet global applicants wherever they are.

Here are six key ways Kira helps schools effectively engage and connect with international applicants.

1. Eliminate barriers in admissions

International applicants often face significant hurdles in the admissions process, from time zone challenges to unreliable internet connections and costly travel requirements for in-person interviews.

Kira’s Asynchronous Assessment removes these barriers by allowing students to complete their admissions interviews on their own time, from anywhere in the world. This flexibility is especially beneficial for international applicants or those juggling multiple commitments, as it eliminates the need to coordinate schedules across different time zones. 

Still want to connect with applicants in real-time? Then opt for Live Interviewing. Kira’s Live Interviewing platform offers a sophisticated solution tailored to the unique challenges of international admissions. Unlike traditional video conferencing platforms, Kira integrates structured evaluations directly into the interview process. Kira automatically places applicants and reviewers in their assigned rooms at the right time, according to your set schedule, allowing international candidates to participate without unnecessary stress or confusion. Additionally, its fully compliant accessibility features, like closed captioning and assistive technology, ensure every applicant has an equal opportunity to shine.

Unlike traditional virtual interview platforms such as Zoom, Kira is specifically designed to provide a fair and consistent experience for all applicants. By standardizing the interview process, Kira ensures that no candidate is at a disadvantage due to time zone differences, technical limitations, or scheduling conflicts.

How Kira helps:

Asynchronous Assessments: Say goodbye to scheduling conflicts with Kira’s on-demand assessments. No need to coordinate live sessions across time zones—experience a streamlined, flexible solution designed to fit everyone’s schedule.

Live Interviews: Connect with applicants from around the globe in a simple, face-to-face format. Cut down on bias and save time with easy, built-in evaluations right on the platform.

2. Create a lasting impression from anywhere

First impressions are everything. With Kira’s integrated welcome video feature, schools can create a lasting connection with international applicants by highlighting campus culture, introducing faculty, and setting an inviting tone for the admissions journey.

Langara College leverages welcome videos to introduce key faculty members, creating a sense of personal connection for applicants, no matter how far away they are. Similarly, the University of St. Gallen uses its welcome video to highlight the program’s core values and culture. These thoughtful approaches build trust and generate excitement among prospective students.

Key benefits:

A fully customized experience: Kira provides the canvas for your custom questions, competencies, rubrics, and platform experience, elevating your brand in the minds of applicants.

Integrated marketing videos: Use personal video messages integrated into the Kira experience to bridge the distance, making prospective students feel welcomed and engaged from the start. Highlight your campus, introduce faculty and staff, or feature current students—there are countless ways to help international students feel a genuine connection.

3. Maintain consistent communication and support

Engaging top international talent early in the admissions process is crucial to preventing yield loss. Many top-tier students apply to multiple institutions, and delays in communication or interview scheduling can result in lost enrollments.

With Kira, universities can automate invitations and reminders, keeping applicants engaged and moving efficiently through the admissions pipeline. At the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy, Kira streamlined the decision-making process, enabling faster connections with top applicants and driving a 25% increase in enrollment.

This early engagement gives international students confidence in their application, increasing the likelihood that they will choose the institution that offers them a smooth, welcoming experience.

How Kira helps:

Automated email reminders: Kira makes it easy to stay in touch with applicants, fostering a sense of connection and support throughout their journey with your program.

24/7 applicant support: Kira's round-the-clock applicant support guarantees that help is always available, no matter the time or time zone. Applicants can access the answers they need, whenever they need them. 

4. Assess international applicants’ skills with confidence 

Traditional admissions criteria like GPA, test scores, or essays often fail to capture the full potential of international applicants. Language barriers, varying education systems, and cultural differences can make it difficult for admissions teams to effectively assess candidates. 

For institutions with English-language programs, evaluating an international applicant’s communication skills is an especially critical component of admissions. Standardized tests like TOEFL and IELTS provide one measure of proficiency, but they don’t offer insight into an applicant’s ability to communicate in a real-world academic setting. 

Kira Talent solves this by integrating structured video and written assessments that evaluate an applicant’s soft skills, communication ability, and cultural fit alongside their academic achievements.

The Yale School of Management introduced a Kira assessment in place of the traditional standardized English proficiency tests for MBA applicants, helping them identify candidates better equipped to excel both academically and professionally.

At UCD Smurfit, Kira enabled the admissions team to go beyond paper applications and better understand an applicant’s motivations and employability. As a result, Smurfit saw a 6.5% increase in admission offers and an 8.2% increase in acceptances, proving that the right tools can help institutions identify the best-fit candidates, not just the best resumes.

How Kira helps:

Competency-based questions: Assess critical soft skills, such as critical thinking, leadership, and motivation, with custom competency based questions. 

Real-time language evaluation: Gain authentic insights into applicants’ language skills by evaluating their ability to think and communicate on their feet through unscripted, unrehearsed responses.

Holistic Assessment: Gain a richer understanding of applicants by exploring their unique personal experiences and diverse global perspectives.

5. Reduce bias in admissions

International applicants often face unintended bias in admissions interviews, whether due to differences in language proficiency, cultural norms, or interviewer subjectivity.

Kira Talent helps mitigate these biases through structured and consistent interview experiences. In a traditional interview process, an applicant’s experience depends heavily on their interviewer’s approach. Kira ensures every applicant is asked the same questions, evaluated on the same criteria, and assessed by multiple reviewers.

McCombs School of Business found that inconsistencies in their old interview process created unfair advantages for some applicants. With Kira, they now deliver a consistent, bias-mitigated evaluation that levels the playing field for international students.

How Kira helps:

Structured Interviews: With Kira’s Asynchronous Assessment you create structured interviews, with predetermined questions and criteria for evaluation. This ensures a fair and objective assessment of all candidates, without any variation in the interview process.

Defined rubrics: Kira’s defined rubrics ensure that all applicants are evaluated using the same criteria. This eliminates the potential for language proficiency or cultural norms to impact an applicant's chances.

Multiple Reviewers: To further mitigate bias and ensure equal opportunities for all applicants, Kira allows multiple reviewers to evaluate each candidate's responses. This provides different perspectives and reduces the risk of personal biases influencing the decision-making process.

The next generation solution for global admissions 

Connecting schools with applicants across more than 140 countries, Kira’s all-in-one platform makes the admissions process more efficient and user-friendly for both institutions and applicants.

If your school is ready to engage more international applicants and increase enrollment at scale, connect with us.