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Summary
Skidmore College is a private institution that was founded in 1903. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 2,734, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 890 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Skidmore College's ranking in the 2012 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, 49. Its tuition and fees are $42,380 (2011-12).
Freshmen are immediately integrated into school culture at Skidmore College. Through the First Year Experience Program, freshmen are paired up with peer mentors and placed in introductory Scribner Seminars. Freshmen must live on campus in dorms near other students in their seminar. About 40 adventurous freshman can spend the fall semester in London, part of the First Year Experience program that lets students kick off their college career across the Atlantic. Back at the school’s campus in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., there are close to 100 student clubs and organizations, but no Greek system. Students can eat in traditional dining halls or, if they’re especially ambitious, can cook their own meals in an on-campus kitchen. There are about 70 majors at Skidmore, and students can design their own academic programs, too. All students, regardless of major, will take science and mathematics courses. Outside the classroom, the school sports teams are known as the Thoroughbreds and compete in the NCAA Division III Liberty League. For fun off campus, downtown Saratoga Springs is a mile away. Students can check out horse races at the Saratoga Race Course or tour the historic Saratoga Battlefield. The nearby Adirondack Mountains offer opportunities to ski, snowboard, mountain bike, and white water raft, and, for a metropolitan experience, New York, Boston, and Montreal are each about a three-hour drive away.
Students are encouraged to pair up with faculty members for research projects. Science projects take place in the school’s unique laboratory in the North Woods. The Skidmore student body is almost 60 percent female, and all students, regardless of major, will take science courses. The curricula at Skidmore has produced notable alumni in the sciences, including Cynthia Carroll, CEO of mining powerhouse Anglo American; and Laura Taylor, president and CEO of information security company Relevant Technologies.
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Located in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Skidmore is an independent, coeducational liberal arts college known for its creative approaches to just about everything. Hence, the college's core belief that creative thought matters. With a diverse student body of 2,400 from 40 countries and 40 states and a faculty of 250 dedicated teacher-scholars (student-to-faculty ratio: 9 to 1) the college offers majors in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities, as well as in career-specific fields such as management and business, social work, education, and exercise science. Add to this the prominence of the performing and visual arts, which have long set Skidmore apart. Faculty have earned recognition from Guggenheim, Pulitzer, and Emmy awards to fellowships and grants from Fulbright, MacArthur, and the National Science Foundation, among others. Skidmore is known for its interdisciplinary approach to learning, collaborative student-faculty research, and off-campus study program (nearly 60% of students study abroad). The college's rigorous academic program begins with the First-Year Experience, which integrates the curricular, cocurricular, and residential aspects of a student's first year. Students select a Scribner Seminar from among 50 offerings. Seminar faculty take seriously their role as advisors and mentors, serving as each of their students' advisors until they have selected a major. Students in each seminar are housed in rough proximity to each other in residence halls to cultivate richer learning-living communities in which lasting friendships are often formed. The college's curriculum emphasizes foundations in the liberal arts and interdisciplinary study. Many students carry two majors or add a related minor to their major. Students can chose from 140 study-abroad programs, including Skidmore programs in Beijing, London, Paris, and Spain. They can also spend a semester at any of 200 colleges and universities in the U.S., including historically black- and Hispanic-serving institutions. Other academic features include Skidmore's Honors Forum which sponsors the annual Academic Festival, internships for credit, and service-learning courses. The college offers merit-based scholarships in science ($60,000 over four years) and music ($48,000 over four years). Skidmore's Opportunity Programs for talented students whose economic or academic circumstances might otherwise make it difficult for them to attend college are among the nation's best. The beautiful 890-acre campus, 300 acres of which consists of the recreation- and field- research-rich North Woods, has been recently upgraded with key renovations to science, athletics, dining, and residential facilities. Skidmore's newest building, opened in 2010, is the Zankel Music Center, a 54,000-square-foot facility with a spectacular 600-seat recital hall and state-of-the art recording studio. In addition, the Northwoods Apartments, opened in 2007 for upperclassmen, feature "green" apartments which use geothermal heating and cooling systems. And the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, opened in 2000, has earned a national reputation through exhibitions that feature contemporary art but also address disciplines such as the natural and social sciences. The college's 100 student clubs and organizations run the gamut, including a capella groups, SkidTV, WSPN Radio, Model European Union, snowboarding, and academic, cultural awareness, and religious groups. Skidmore's 19 intercollegiate teams compete at the NCAA Division III level. In the past decade, teams have earned six national championships and 35 Liberty League titles. As for location, who wouldn't want to go to college in Saratoga Springs? A downtown brimming with shops, galleries, coffeehouses, and great restaurants. Boston, New York City, and Montreal are a three-hour car ride from campus. And the Adirondacks, Berkshires, and Green Mountains provide opportunities for skiing, mountain biking, hiking, rock-climbing, and kayaking. |
General Information
| School type | private, coed college |
| Year founded | 1903 |
| Religious affiliation | N/A |
| Academic calendar | semester |
| Setting | suburban |
| 2010 Endowment | $272,995,000 |
Applying
When applying to Skidmore College, it's important to note the application deadline is January 15, and the early decision deadline is November 15. Scores for either the ACT or SAT test are due February 1. The application fee at Skidmore College is $60. It is more selective, with an acceptance rate of 46.8 percent.
For more information about the tests, essays, interviews, and admissions process, visit the Applying to College knowledge center.
| Selectivity | more selective |
| Fall 2010 acceptance rate | 47% |
| Application deadline | January 15 |
| SAT/ACT scores must be received by | February 1 |
Academic Life
The student-faculty ratio at Skidmore College is 9:1, and the school has 71.1 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors at Skidmore College include: Social Sciences; Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services; Visual and Performing Arts; Psychology; and English Language and Literature/Letters. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 94.0 percent.
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| Student-faculty ratio | 9:1 | ||||||||||
| 4-year graduation rate | 80% - High | ||||||||||
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Student Life
Skidmore College has a total undergraduate enrollment of 2,734, with a gender distribution of 38.3 percent male students and 61.7 percent female students. 83.0 percent of the students live in college-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing and 17.0 percent of students live off campus. Skidmore College is part of the NCAA III athletic conference.
See what students are saying about life at Skidmore College.
| Total enrollment | 2,783 |
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| Collegiate athletic association | NCAA III |
Campus Info & Services
Skidmore College offers a number of student services including nonremedial tutoring, health service, and health insurance. Skidmore College also offers campus safety and security services like 24-hour foot and vehicle patrols, late night transport/escort service, 24-hour emergency telephones, lighted pathways/sidewalks, and controlled dormitory access (key, security card, etc). Of the students at Skidmore College, 42 percent have cars on campus. Alcohol is permitted for students of legal age at Skidmore College.
| Students who have cars on campus | 42% - Low |
| Health insurance offered | Yes |
| Students required to own/lease a computer | No |
More About Campus Info & Services
Paying for School
At Skidmore College, 37.8 percent of full-time undergraduates receive some kind of need-based financial aid and the average need-based scholarship or grant award is $29,181.
Paying for college doesn't have to be difficult or devastating. Go to the Paying for College knowledge center to get advice on raising cash and reducing costs.
| Tuition and fees | $42,380 (2011-12) |
| Room and board | $11,304 (2011-12) - High |
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* Overview details based on 2010 data
