High school seniors can opt in when applying for college through ApplyTexas. Just create an ApplyTexas profile and check “yes” to receive messages from ApplyTexas and its partners on the College History page. Once you start working on a freshman application, you’ll receive a text from ADVi within a week.

Counselors, families, and other students 13 years or older can also chat with ADVi by texting COLLEGE to 512-829-3687. Note: You will not receive proactive campaigns from ADVi with this opt-in method.

You can ask ADVi any question related to attending a public college or university in the state of Texas, including things like how financial aid works, what tests you need to take, how to transfer credits, and how to access campus resources. ADVi mostly shares general information but can connect you with a virtual advisor to ask more specific questions.

ADVi is a chatbot, powered by artificial intelligence, who is available 24/7. While ADVi doesn’t know everything, it does have a lot of information about applying to college, completing the FAFSA or TASFA, preparing for college, and more!

ADVi works best when you ask a single question per message. Keep it simple! If you don’t get the right answer, try asking your question in a different way.

Here are a few examples of simple questions that ADVi can answer:

• How can I pay for college?
• What is campus life like?
• What is the Texas Success Initiative?
• What is FAFSA verification?
• How do I transfer credits from another college?
• What does EFC mean on the FAFSA?
• How do I enlist in the military?

Don’t worry, we’ve got your back! If ADVi does not know the answer to your question, a virtual advisor will step in to help within 48 hours. Also, you can always text #followup at any time to have a message escalated to an advisor.

No, you can communicate with ADVi on any device (phone, computer, tablet, etc.) that has text messaging capabilities.

Currently, ADVi only sends outgoing text messages in English. However, you can ask ADVi to respond to your questions in a different language by texting #language. If you are looking to chat in Spanish, you can also text #followup and ask ADVi to connect you to a Spanish-speaking advisor.

ADVi has general information about public colleges and universities in Texas. Right now, ADVi can only answer some school-specific questions. When ADVi doesn’t have an answer, a team of human advisors will reply.

ADVi is free to use. If you text with ADVi, your carrier may charge data or message fees.

ADVi was created by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, in partnership with Mainstay. To learn more, visit our About page.

Your privacy and security are important to us. This project adheres to FERPA regulations regarding privacy and student information. Visit our Privacy Policy to learn more.

While the 512 number is used for student supporters to opt in, ADVi has many numbers that are used to send outgoing messages. This helps ADVi text out the information you need as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, these numbers aren’t always local to the Austin area (where ADVi is based) or to the area where a user lives. But if the information is being identified as coming from ADVi, it is. If you’re ever unsure, contact us (for contact reason select Technical Website Questions).

We do encourage you to take caution if you ever receive messages from an unknown number asking for personal information such as your SSN, date of birth, etc. ADVi will never ask you for that information.

Email Nicole Davis, Virtual Advising Project Manager, College and Career Advising Division, at [email protected].