Campus tour guide Owen Short speaks to a group during a tour at Sonoma State university.
Credit: Emily Uhrich / EdSource
“First impressions are everything,” according to Sonoma State University tour guide Jennifer Garcia. “For a while, I didn’t really think about how important my first impression impacts tour guests.”
As a first line of engagement for colleges, a campus tour can be a game-changer for a student who is deciding between schools. Everything a tour guide says can impact the school, and ultimately it makes a difference for a university trying to maintain or increase its enrollment. An enthusiastic tour guide can sway students and families to that institution, while a good tour can confirm an already positive impression.
Garcia said she realized her first impression really mattered “when a family recognized me at Seawolf Decision Day a year after they toured the school with me. The family was…
