The effects of the 1929 stock market crash and subsequent depression reached Menlo in 1931, and the institution faced the possibility of having to close its doors.

That same year, the Town of Atherton voted to deed a strip of land to Menlo, allowing the institution to expand its campus.

The Board of Trustees chose William E. Kratt, former college dean and soon-to-be Navy veteran, as Howard's successor.

The former estate of the Leon F. Douglass family, which was adjacent to Menlo, housed a rehabilitation center for World War II veterans until 1946.

The Douglass family supported Menlo in acquiring the newly vacant property, and plans were made to move the school (grades 7 to 10, and later, 11 and 12) to that area.

Construction of a new student union, post office and dormitory was completed in 1958, and Menlo opened a new dining commons in 1962.

The "Campaign for Menlo" set a $5 million goal to cover the costs of new athletic facilities, expand the library's collection, acquire new instructional equipment and increase the school's endowment.

In 2007, Menlo College appointed G. Timothy Haight, former Dean of Business at California State University, Los Angeles, as its president.

Menlo College received its largest gift to date, a $21.3 million bequest from the Hope Bartnett Belloc Trust, in 2008.

Belloc named Menlo as one of three beneficiaries of the total trust amount—around $60 million—in response to the college's mentorship of her son, Martin, during the 1962–63 academic year when he was a student.

The other two recipients were United Cerebral Palsy North Bay in Petaluma, California and Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The Library also provides on- and off-campus access to a variety of reference resources and databases in business and the liberal arts.

In 1962, Bowman's parents provided the funding necessary to convert the Menlo College Dining Commons into the present-day library (Curtis 1984, p. 28).

The college is a member of NCAA Division II, primarily competing in the Pacific West Conference (PacWest) for most of its sports since the 2024-25 academic year; while its men's & women's wrestling and men's volleyball teams compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF).

[7] Originally a junior college program, the Menlo Oaks football team played at the four-year level from 1986 to 2014.

[8][9] On February 1, 2015, the Menlo Board of Trustees voted to end the college's football program and cited financial viability issues as a major reason.

[8] Three Menlo football players have played in the NFL: Burt Delavan, Nate Jackson, and Kaulana Park.