Salesmenfor Universityof Richmond by THOMAS N. POLLARD JR., '53 Director of Admissions} Richmond College
More than 200 outstanding University of Richmond alumni in every village and town in Virginia have joined hands in a unique selling venture. They are telling the story of Richmond College to the finest crop of prospective freshmen that ever made an admissions Director drool. I know because my office processed the papers, and I sat with the admissions committee during the many hours spent in separating the academic wheat from the chaff. Unfortunately, the fact that a student applies for admission and is accepted for admission doesn't mean that he'll be enrolled in next fall's freshman class at Richmond College. The probability is that he has been accepted also by Virginia, or William and Mary, or Virginia Tech, or Hampden-Sydney or Princeton. The average high school senior seeking admission to college applies to at least three colleges. When all the replies are in, then the stu-
dent makes up his mind . That's the point at which the alumni committeemen-in virtually every county and city in Virginiahelp in guiding his decision. The very day that the applicant is notified that he is acceptable for admission to Richmond College, an automatic "go" signal is released to the alumni admissions committeeman in the student's home town. Armed with a bundle of pertinent information and a portfolio of the applicant's personal data, he pays a visit to the student in his home. Here he discusses, with some bias, all of the advantages of going to Richmond College. After his interview he files a report with the Admissions Office. A typical reaction to this hard sell campaign - the only one of its kind in Virginia -was the statement made by a parent in the dean's office the other day: "We had the nicest thing happen to us last week. An alumnus of your school had heard that our son had been accepted by your college. He
Super-Salesman Dr. Robert F. Caverlee, visits in the home of Randolph Skinner Jr. to tell him and his parents about the University. Soon ofter the visit, Ronny sent his room deposit and will be a member of the freshman class in September . Dr. Coverlee, pastor emeritus of the Fredericksburg Baptist Church, is a member of the University's board of trustees .
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Writing the Report. Charles R. Revere, '61, who used to do a good job for the Spiders on the mound, is equally as effective as a U of R representative in Middlesex County.
wanted to come by and tell us about Richmond." "We thought, " she continued, "that if this is the type of person that comes from the University of Richmond we certainly want our son there in September." The reactions , of course, are not all one way. An alumnus wrote : "The boy wants to come to Richmond, but his mother (who did all the talking) wants him to go to William and Mary ." Several days later we received his reply form .. . "going to William and Mary." The Alumni Office in setting up the committees in cooperation with the Admissions Office, sought to have a sufficient number of committeemen in each locality so that each man would be required to call on no more than six or eight candidates. There was surprise and gratification when one member wrote: "Send me more names ; it's fun to talk with such great boys about Richmond. " The biggest work load is on the back of the Northern Virginia committee. It seems that almost every eligible high school senior in Northern Virginia wants to enroll in Richmond College. Finally, Glenn Grimme!, 'SO, committee chairman, had to send an S.O.S. The response to his plea for reinforcements was almost instanteous . Within a period of three days, his committee had been increased from the original 12 to 23. The situation is now well in hand . Most of the committees were set up by
