Getting To Know: Skidmore College (NY)-Again
Skidmore College was practically the only school that I visited outside of New Jersey during the 2020 pandemic. Having visited Skidmore twice, I have felt that it is an excellent liberal arts college in a very nice college town. I also have photos of the campus on Pinterest to share.
Founded in 1903 as the Young Women’s Industrial Club of Saratoga Springs, Skidmore College became an all-female liberal arts college in 1922.
The college’s original benefactor, Lucy Skidmore Scribner was the daughter of a wealthy coal merchant and the widow of an exceptionally successful publishing executive. In 1911 the Club obtained a charter from the Regents of the State of New York and was renamed the Skidmore School of Arts.
In 1960 trustee Erik Jonsson, co-founder of Texas Instruments,later Mayor of Dallas, Texas, offered the college a donation of 1,000 acres of land located two miles north of the existing campus. Construction of the current campus began in 1963. The campus became fully functional for academics and residence life in 1968. In 1971 Skidmore became co-ed.
Skidmore has an exceptionally large and modern wooded campus, unusual for a selective liberal arts school.
.While well-forested, Skidmore resembles a high-end corporate headquarters more than a traditional college campus. Most buildings have a red brick and glass look that actually make the campus look younger than it really is.. Only the admissions and alumni relations buildings (photo up top) date before 1963, and these are outside the main campus entrance. I dropped a few campus photos below.
There’s little need for a car to get around campus,
Skidmore is designed with curved roads to be easily patrolled and keep speeds low. Nor is there a need for a car to get around the surrounding area. There’s also the 250-acre North Woods for academic (biological and environmental sciences) and recreational pursuits. Arts facilities are quite impressive for a school of this size though spectator sports facilities are less developed than those at nearby Union College.
Skidmore is very much a campus-oriented community.
All of the freshman live on campus; as does 86 percent of the full student body. The college has neither fraternities nor sororities and the campus is bordered by an exceptionally well-to-do residential area slightly more than a mile from downtown Saratoga Springs. There’s really no reason to live off campus at Skidmore, as opposed to other schools, unless you’re doing study away from Saratoga Springs or commute from home.
Skidmore does not appear to be a “sports school” nor a campus bound through school spirit.
Also, given that residence life does not focus around a house system (like Union or Franklin and Marshall) or residential colleges (like Yale) that offer events or Greek life, students need to rely more on classes, their freshman living assignments, and extra-curricular activities to find their path as well as their circle of friends. While the performing arts (Zankel Center) and the fine arts (Tang) are well covered on campus, the greater strength of Skidmore is its surroundings and the college’s connections to them.
Skidmore’s campus is also within easy walking distance of one of the nicer towns around a small college, Saratoga Springs.
The town grew as a resort community through the popularity of mineral springs and horse racing. A community with approximately 30,000 residents, Saratoga Springs has a mix of retail, eating and drinking establishments that are quite appealing to college students. The entrepreneurially focused coffee shops, sports bar, dessert shoppes and more that you find in a larger college town such as Burlington (VT), Chapel Hill (NC) or Madison (WI) will be found here. Saratoga Springs is also well connected to Albany and New York City by bus, highways and Amtrak trains. The Adirondack region of New York is accessible and well known for skiing and hiking. Boston and New York are within three hours by car.
Skidmore is more arts-oriented than similar liberal arts schools.
It is also one of the few selective liberal arts schools that offers a broad selection of degree programs in business, education and exercise science. The college has over 40 majors and more than 50 minors. This is also one of the few liberal arts schools that grants a BS as well as a BA. The Dance degree is a BS, not a BA or BFA. It’s relatively easy to double major or carry more than one minor. Business is the most popular major. But the college also appears to be strong in the sciences, environmental studies, and the visual and performing arts.
Students are not likely to find large classes here. The student-faculty ratio is 8 to 1. Only eight of the more than 700 classes taught during the 2023-24 academic year had 30 or more students, according to the college’s most recent Common Data Set.
Skidmore has become more selective.
Acceptance rates have been below 25 percent for the past three cycles. In part this is because it is cross-shopped against more selective liberal arts colleges. Connecticut College, located near Long Island Sound, is probably the most similar school in terms of history, student body size and academic options. Skidmore is also shopped again more specialized schools in the visual and performing arts. Ithaca College (NY), which has more than twice as many undergraduates, has similar opportunities.
Skidmore became test optional in 2017. For those who submitted scores since then, the average SAT was a 1350, the average ACT was a 31 Those who have excellent grades and write well, but do not test well, should not be afraid to apply test optional. The college reported that test scores were Not Considered on its most recent Common Data Set.
Skidmore College does an excellent job of retaining and graduating its freshmen.
The freshman retention rate has been over 90 percent each year since 2000 At least 80 percent of each class that has entered since 2005 graduated within four years. The college’s enrollment has held steady, typically around 2,500 students, though it more recently came close to exceeding 2,600. Two-thirds of the student body comes from states outside of New York.
Skidmore tries to aid needier students.
Skidmore is extremely expensive. Direct charges (tuition & fees, room & board) can exceed $90,000.
Skidmore reported on its most recent Common Data Set that it met full need for its students. In 2023-24 the college awarded need-based scholarships averaging nearly $55,000 to 61 percent of incoming freshmen. Sixteen percent of the freshmen were eligible for Federal Pell Grants. However, only 11 were awarded merit-based aid.
Given the college’s charges and need-based aid practices, it appears that needier students might be able to attend Skidmore for close to the full costs of attending their home state university. Over half of 2024 graduates did not need to borrow to cover educational costs. Among those who needed loans, the average indebtedness was over $29,000. The maximum that a student could have borrowed over four years from the Federal Student Loan Program was $27,000.
Skidmore competes in equestrian at the D-I level; other varsity sports are non-scholarship.
The college competes in the Liberty League which includes nine other New York State private schools including Bard, the University of Rochester, Union and Vassar. Skidmore has been the league’s dominant school in field hockey, men’s golf and men’s and women’s tennis. While some member schools (and associate members from outside New York State) play football, Skidmore does not participate in the sport.
Conclusions
Overall, I really like Skidmore. It helps students to have a mix of the liberal arts with pre-professional training in several fields. The school has managed to maintain its enrollment at a time when liberal arts colleges struggle to remain relevant among more career-oriented students and families. While Saratoga Springs is far from major cities, it has proven to be a very nice place to spend four years.
The Report Card: Skidmore College (NY)
- Four-Year/Six-Year Graduation Rates: A/A
- Freshman Retention:A
- Costs: B
- Comforts: A
- Community: A
- Curriculum: A
- Connections: A
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Need-based financial aid
Skidmore tries harder that most private liberal arts colleges to meet full need. In 2018-19 the average need-based grant or scholarship covered 83 percent of tuition and fees. The college commits to meeting the full need of its freshmen. However, Skidmore, like any other college, makes its own calculations of costs that don’t appear on your bill as well as need. Direct charges that appear on your bill–tuition and fees, room and board–are well in excess of $70,000.
Access to jobs and internships
In addition to its own career development services, Skidmore is a member of the Liberal Arts Career Network with 38 other schools. These schools share postings and best practices in career development.
Skidmore College’s major weakness is limited merit-based aid.
The only posted merit scholarships were in music and the sciences.
Aside from this Skidmore College is not a fit for someone who is looking for Greek life or football. Neither are on campus.
But Skidmore is more sports oriented than I thought during my visit. Women’s Field Hockey is probably the most successful sport. The field hockey Throughbreds have won five Liberty League titles since 2010. They appeared in the Division III Final Four in 2010 and 2013, as well as in the NCAA tournament 13 times. Men’s Golf and Women’s Tennis have also done well within the Liberty League. The community was also quite supportive of its Men’s Basketball team in 2018-19, when it won the Liberty League title. Skidmore also led the conference in home attendance by a considerable margin. They did last season as well, although the team’s record dropped to 7-18. Fans showed up whether the team was winning or losing, and the Liberty League has larger schools that could bring more fans to their venues.
Skidmore College might not be as selective as other liberal arts colleges that get to the top of published rankings. But it has strengths that I’ve come to learn that students and parents like to see in a smaller school.
It has a nice choice of majors, an attractive campus, a college town vibe nearby and access to three metro areas for entertainment. But it’s an expensive ride if you do not qualify for merit scholarships or need-based aid.
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