All of the admissions research says that prospective students and their parents want to know something about the mysterious people who do the professing. They want to ask questions in a public forum; they want to visit classes; they want private meetings with department chairs; and they want admissions people to call them on the phone to explain why they should come to our college instead of some other place. In this article, an English professor at Hope College reflects on the challenges of revealing uncomfortable truths to prospective parents versus just trying to make the sale. [Thomas H. Benton is the pen name of William Pannapacker.]