Dear College President,

In the Washington Post there is an interesting story called “Pearls Before Breakfast” by Gene Weingarten. Joshua Bell is a world-class violinist who has filled concert halls and is the violin behind the soundtrack of the movie “Red Violin.” The Washington Post recruited him to play as a street musician to see how many people would stop to listen and how many would donate money. He played for 45 minutes at a Washington, D.C. metro station, on a busy Friday morning while approximately one thousand commuters passed by.

The acoustics were surprisingly good, and he opened with Bach’s “Chaconne,” an extremely difficult piece. The result: he went unrecognized and unrewarded, earning a total of $32 in donations.

What does this mean? Appearances count. People make judgments about quality based on context. There are other stories about master musicians playing cheap instruments in world-class venues, without the audience ever knowing the difference. Again, context matters.

What does this have to do with your Office of Admissions?

I have had occasion to visit (and work in) a number of admissions offices. What is the first impression given by many of them? A room full of messy cubicles, papers strewn about, boxes of publications to be mailed, general disorder. What impression does this give to students? To parents?

For many colleges and universities, admissions office space seems almost an afterthought. Too often, the office entrances are difficult to find and once found, the admissions area is hardly one of the highlights of the college tour. I’ve seen admissions officers attempt to prevent parents and students from seeing their offices by arranging meetings in open spaces on campus, or at a library or student center.

Does it matter? As Angela, parent of a college freshman in Boston, told me last year,

“After seeing the Northeastern University admissions office, we looked at a lot of other schools. But I couldn’t get the NEU office out of my mind. I kept thinking that if they put that kind of money and attention into admissions, of all things, I wanted to see what they did with the rest of the university.”

Your admissions area is your first impression, and as the old saying goes, you only have one opportunity to make a good first impression. What does it take to make an attractive admissions area? Not much, really. Better signs and directions to guide visitors. Some friendly faces (reception), a lack of clutter, organized materials to browse and pick up, warming colors, art, flowers, and a good flow of movement across the room. Basic office design concepts. Combine a clean, friendly, attractive space with a customer service approach in admissions and you have a winning combination. As Joshua Bell found, appearance and location can have a profound impact on perception. It’s the little things that count.

Take a walk through your Admissions Office and try to see it as a visiting student or parent might see it. After all, all the slick marketing in the world can’t turn a prospect into a student if their first impression doesn’t match the promises of your publications.

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