Monahan is one of seven Saint Anselm admission representatives who take to the road every spring and fall to recruit students. Each has his or her own territory, spending up to nine weeks a year living out of a suitcase, sleeping in motels, breakfasting at Dunkin’ Donuts. Each will typically go to a dozen or more college fairs, visit about 90 high schools, and attend a number of small receptions for students and their parents, usually hosted by Saint Anselm alumni.

You can’t do that much traveling without having a few tales to tell. They’ve weathered snow storms and flat tires on Route 128; they’ve taken phone calls from parents asking to "sit in" on their student’s interview. While visiting someone in the hospital, a nurse referred to Monahan as the "celebrity" from Saint Anselm. She wondered if he could put in a good word for her niece who had applied to the Nursing Program.

Alice Dunfey thought she had stumbled into a scene from Cops during one of her high school visits. The associate director of admission was in the middle of a session with a group of students when a school official came in and said, "Leave your bags, get up, and come with me." It turned out to be a random drug search involving eight dogs and several police officers. "The school was locked down, and we spent a good 90 minutes in the gym while they conducted their search," she recalls.

Outreach Pays Off
Saint Anselm has stepped up its efforts to recruit students over the last five years, building on a process that was largely "relationship-based," says Nancy Davis Griffin, director of admission. "Most people came to Saint Anselm because it was recommended by someone they knew—a relative, a neighbor or a teacher. Those kinds of relationships are still important, but now we’re also doing much more to reach students who fit the profile we’re looking for, but who probably wouldn’t consider Saint Anselm if we weren’t reaching out to them."

Who are the students the college is seeking? "We want students who are going to be very successful academically, because we have such a rigorous program," Griffin explains. "At the same time, we want a population that is more diverse—geographically, ethnically, socially, economically—because that leads to a better experience for all students."

The college’s outreach is paying off, thanks in part to alumni who serve as ambassadors across the country.

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