Momentum can stall in a time of diminished resources. For colleges on the fast track, leaders have shifted money around and made some hard choices to keep growing. The author reached out to five up-and-coming institutions to find out how they manage their ambitions during tough times. As many colleges instituted hiring freezes to save money, Montclair State University continued its push to hire full-time professors. To compensate for the possibility that students might seek out cheaper options, the University of the Pacific doubled its admissions offers this year, to 6,000. Though some officials worried that too many students might accept, Pacific beat its enrollment target by just 20 students. For the University of Cincinnati, a major research university, concern about a possible slowing of its rapid growth has more to do with the loss of an ambitious president. When Nancy L. Zimpher became chancellor of the State University of New York, Cincinnati's Board of Trustees passed a series of resolutions, dubbed "Maintaining Momentum," which emphasized goals set out in the strategic plan, including the university's commitment to work with the broader community, a top priority of Ms. Zimpher's. At the University of Richmond, applications were down about 1 percent, yet its yield went up, due to generous financial-aid policies and to a campaign to spread the message that Richmond, despite its cost, is affordable for many families. The university has need-blind admissions and a guarantee to meet 100 percent of demonstrated need. Already recognized as a strong regional public university that enrolls a high number of transfer and minority students, the University of North Texas is looking to science and technology to help it become a research powerhouse. Recent strides on the campus include new buildings for chemistry and life sciences, increases in spending on research, and $25-million promised for collaborative research clusters designed to tackle high-profile issues like autism and plant signaling. North Texas is also going after federal stimulus money, and evaluating its programs and centers to see where it makes sense to combine them.