Josh Jacobs, a high school senior from Jacksonville, Fla., is a dream student. His grade-point average is 4.2. He speaks four languages, scored 1520 on the SAT, is his school’s valedictorian, plays football and soccer, and is student body president. He’s interested in majoring in political science.

Harvard and Yale are recruiting him, but he wants to stay closer to home. Duke, Wake Forest, Davidson and Furman have all come courting. On this day, he’s visiting Furman.

Once on campus, the Jacobs family follows the signs to the Welcome Center, located beside the Alester G. Furman, Jr., Administration Building. Parking just feet from the building, Josh and his family admire the garden at the entrance to the center, which honors Mr. Furman, a longtime trustee and board chair who was instrumental in the university’s move to the new campus.

In the building’s beautiful reception area, they check in with the guest coordinator and are directed to a waiting room. A sign reads, "Welcome Jacobs Family."

Suddenly, a projection screen in the room comes to life and begins displaying the names of students from Josh’s high school who are now attending Furman. The presentation dissolves into campus scenes, then moves on to show students involved in the Washington Experience, a popular political science internship program. The short presentation closes with images of Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley ’54 and Congressman Mark Sanford ’83.

An admissions counselor emerges and escorts the Jacobses down the hall to a 40-seat theatre. The lights dim, and the family views the Furman admissions video. After this presentation, Josh tells the counselor that he is also interested in the music program.

"We can take care of that," says the counselor. She touches the screen of a nearby computer and a video of the Furman Singers’ 1996 July 4 Performance with the Boston Pops appears. She touches the screen again and there is Keith Lockhart ’81, conductor of the Pops, talking about his days at Furman.

Josh is amazed. And impressed. He commits to Furman on the spot.

You’ve just had a glimpse of college recruiting in the new millennium — highly technical, full of bells and whistles and custom-designed with individual students in mind. It arrives at Furman this fall when the Welcome Center opens.

"The first impression a prospective student gets is key," says Benny Walker, vice president for enrollment. "A lot of colleges are moving in this direction. Davidson just completed a new admissions house. So did Vanderbilt. We are kind of catching up. But we are attempting to take it to a new level."

In the Welcome Center, Admissions counselors will be able to tailor power-point presentations for individual students. Admissions is also compiling a large database of university photographs, videos and other material, all of which will be accessible with the mere touch of a screen.

Besides student recruiting, the 2,600-square-foot Welcome Center will serve another important purpose: as the gateway to the campus. Visitors will stop there to get directions, pick up information on Furman and learn about campus events. Walker predicts that the center will assist between 20 and 30 unscheduled walk-ins a day, aside from visits by prospective students and their families.