Narrow 350 direct-admission nursing programs to a college list of 18 with Claude and ChatGPT

Posted

Aug 3, 2026 by Melissa Danielli, reported by Ira Porter (The Christian Science Monitor)

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Last checked

Oct 21, 2026

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Method:

How we verify

Evidence: Article or interviewA newsletter, journalist or interview account of what happened.

Outcome

Melissa Danielli's daughter wants to be a nurse and get direct admission to a nursing program. Danielli paid $85 to the organizer of a Facebook moms' group for a spreadsheet of 350 schools with their requirements, and the family cut it to 50 by region. Working on two computers, one with Claude and one with ChatGPT, they built spreadsheets, ruled out schools that didn't fit (including ones the AI judged a poor fit) and compiled a final list of 18 schools in a couple of hours one evening.

AI tools

Claude, ChatGPT

The source didn't share its exact prompt, so we wrote this from what it describes.

What the prompt labels mean

Let's work this out together. I'll tell you what I know, you suggest options and ask what you need, and we'll narrow it down step by step. Nothing gets booked, bought or sent until I say so.

Goal: Narrow a long list of colleges down to a shortlist that fits my child's goals and our must-haves.

What I'll share as we go:
- The starting list, with any requirements already gathered: [SPREADSHEET]
- The program or major and admission route: [PROGRAM]
- Must-haves and nice-to-haves (location, size, campus life, cost): [CRITERIA]

Rules:
- Add each school's key facts to the spreadsheet, linking to the school's own pages.
- Rule schools out only against criteria I've given, and say which criterion each one failed.
- Flag facts that change each year, such as deadlines, requirements and costs, to check on the school's site.
- Leave the final choice to us.
- Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify.

Output: A ranked shortlist in a spreadsheet, with reasons for each school kept and cut.

You'll know it worked when: we have a shortlist we're confident in and the facts behind it.

Let's work this out together. I'll tell you what I know, you suggest options and ask what you need, and we'll narrow it down step by step. Nothing gets booked, bought or sent until I say so.

Goal: Narrow a long list of colleges down to a shortlist that fits my child's goals and our must-haves.

What I'll share as we go:
- The starting list, with any requirements already gathered: [SPREADSHEET]
- The program or major and admission route: [PROGRAM]
- Must-haves and nice-to-haves (location, size, campus life, cost): [CRITERIA]

Rules:
- Add each school's key facts to the spreadsheet, linking to the school's own pages.
- Rule schools out only against criteria I've given, and say which criterion each one failed.
- Flag facts that change each year, such as deadlines, requirements and costs, to check on the school's site.
- Leave the final choice to us.
- Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify.

Output: A ranked shortlist in a spreadsheet, with reasons for each school kept and cut.

You'll know it worked when: we have a shortlist we're confident in and the facts behind it.

Let's work this out together. I'll tell you what I know, you suggest options and ask what you need, and we'll narrow it down step by step. Nothing gets booked, bought or sent until I say so.

Goal: Narrow a long list of colleges down to a shortlist that fits my child's goals and our must-haves.

What I'll share as we go:
- The starting list, with any requirements already gathered: [SPREADSHEET]
- The program or major and admission route: [PROGRAM]
- Must-haves and nice-to-haves (location, size, campus life, cost): [CRITERIA]

Rules:
- Add each school's key facts to the spreadsheet, linking to the school's own pages.
- Rule schools out only against criteria I've given, and say which criterion each one failed.
- Flag facts that change each year, such as deadlines, requirements and costs, to check on the school's site.
- Leave the final choice to us.
- Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify.
- For each shortlisted school, list the application deadline and anything extra the program requires.

Output: A ranked shortlist in a spreadsheet, with reasons for each school kept and cut.

You'll know it worked when: we have a shortlist we're confident in and the facts behind it.

Before you finish: re-read my goal and constraints, check your answer against each one, and list anything you assumed or couldn't confirm.

Source

https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2026/0803/artificial-intelligence-college-search