St. Martin's effort to grow yields record-size class

A new academic year at Saint Martin's University starts today with the biggest freshman class the school has had for the second year in a row.

This year, the school expects 251 freshman, said Sarah Clemons, director of campus life. That would be an increase of 38 students, or 18 percent, from 2006-07. The number becomes official on the 10th day of class, she said.

The school has made initiatives to grow with more money and aid to students, said Douglas Astolfi, university president.

"We have increased scholarship aid and broadened the base for scholarships with our local donors and our alumni base," he said Sunday. "We're also be looking for grants that will also support our students."

He added that the students have about $500,000 in scholarships from the Washington State Achievers program, which is a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation scholarship program for students from low-income families.

"That will continue to grow as we get bigger," Astolfi said.

The freshman class also appears to be one of its most diverse, Clemons said, with 40 percent of those reporting said they came from minority backgrounds. About 59 percent of the students at the school said they were Catholic, she said.

Construction began this summer on the 262-bed Parsons Hall, which is scheduled to open by fall of 2008. But for this school year, like last year, the school will book more hotel space, triple-bunk freshmen in Baran Hall, bunk two people in single bedrooms in Burton Hall and was expecting to look for apartments for student housing, school officials said earlier this year.

Despite the school's efforts to get bigger, some still consider it a small school, such as freshman Kristen Smith, 18, a recent Timberline High School graduate.

Last fall, Timberline had more than 1,400 students, and Saint Martin's had around 1,200.

"It'll be nice to be close to home, and I liked it because it was small and it had smaller class sizes, and because it had my major," said Smith, who wants to study pre-dentistry. "I also applied to Eastern (Washington University), but this was the school I wanted."

Her roommate, Aimee DeVaughn, 19, of Poulsbo, who was partly home-schooled before graduation, said the small size also appealed to her.

"I applied to here and a school in Florida, but this school was closer and was a lot smaller," she said. "I thought I wouldn't do well at a school like the University of Washington."

The university also is in the midst of a capital campaign to build recreational facilities and expand athletic facilities.

Venice Buhain covers education for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-754-5445 or vbuhain@theolympian.com.