American and Skidmore

Parents Forum
1

My daughter is deciding whether to ED to Skidmore and I was interested to get impressions from all of the wise parents here on Skidmore vs. American (her current second choice). She’s interested in sociology, maybe education, maybe international studies. She’s looking for a collaborative environment where students like to learn but aren’t consumed with competing for grades or super intellectual. She’s definitley liberal, but not overly political. She’s your average kid - not a nerd, not a hipster, not a prep. She wants some diversity of social class and race - something different from her white, upper middle class suburban HS. Likes the smaller classes at Skidmore and although Saratoga is a great location, is drawn to being near a city like American. She doesn’t make friends easily so a smaller school could go either way. If she finds her people, great, if she doesn’t you feel like an outsider. At a larger school near a city, she might be able to blend in/disappear more but she is shy and socially anxious and we worry that a freshman class the size of her entire high school and those giant freshman dorms at American could be overwhelming.

Appreciate any thoughts or comparisons.

2

Edited to add that numbers 3 and 4 are Clark and St. Olaf. (Clark - don’t like the area; St. Olaf - far from home and seems too “polished”. She really likes Skidmore - has had a few positivie visits. I don’t think she’ll look back and regret but she’s trying to really think this through so seeking any and all input from teacher, friends, neighbors (at from CC!)

3

My D is at Skidmore and really likes it there. I think the student body is largely made up of either artsy or nerdy students with a few athletes,hipster wanna-bes and super intellects mixed in. Ethnicity/race wise there is a good amount of diversity with more than 10% international students but financially the student body leans toward those who are full or nearly full pay. The school is definately liberal but other than the presidential race there hasn’t been any “in your face” politics.

So, my D is nerdy, conservative, and substance-free and has fit in quite nicely. She did have a difficult first semester finding friends and roommates that were like-minded but after the initial adjustment she’s been fine. She is a STEM student but also enjoys the theatre and arts programs and loves being so close to Saratoga Springs. Compared to where she grew up, its a city :slight_smile: Albany is just a 30 minute easy drive, my D goes to concerts there at least a few times each year. Now that’s a junior many of her friends spend time in Saratoga at the comedy club, music venues, etc.

Classes are small, there are tons of clubs and other ways to make friends, and the atmosphere is friendly and collaborative.

I can’t comment on American, although D’s good friend is a student there and really likes it but she is studying something in the political arena so the location was prime. D was accepted to Clark U and I have some very strong feelings about the school and would welcome a PM to address those. St. Olaf was never on our radar due to distance.

4

American is DS’s ED1 choice, so I can’t speak to the Freshman experience. One great option you have is the ED 1 & 2 dates allow you to apply to one and if not admitted apply to the other. I also saw that you have an option at Skidmore to apply RD and change the app to ED up to Feb 1. Apply ED 1 or 2 to American because the ED rates are 89/82 with ED and 35% for RD. I looked at your other threads and saw that you DD had a 28 ACT, which is the average at AU, so you could apply with your test there instead of test optional at Skidmore. One of AU’s top employers is the Peace Corps, so I think your DD would find her group at AU. If she decides on AU look at the Community Based Scholars program. This program’s participants pick a research a problem in the local community and then does a service project based on that research. So that might be of interest to your DD. Good Luck! I think they are both excellent choices.

5

They’re such different choices! Skidmore is a top choice of my DD18 and she didn’t like American at all. I went to college in DC and it was such a tremendous experience, I would have loved for one of mine to be in that area. No dice (so far.)

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@WWC4me , I also attended school in DC, but the city has changed a lot. I am pleased that DS is enjoying Skidmore.

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I think they are both good school - but very different. My younger son liked American a lot and applied there one of his best friends attended. They were both interested in IR. I think American has an edge there - especially since the location and the way they schedule classes makes term time internship easy to arrange. American seems to have a pretty wide range of political views. It, like Skidmore also has a strong art department.

Skidmore was not on his radar because it’s too small and the town is pretty small too.

8

We looked at Skidmore, Clark, and American. Son is applying to the first two but not American.

We liked American’s campus and my son even recommended it to two of his friends, who both are applying. The area is gorgeous and safe and DC is awesome. Basically, we had visited 21 colleges and wanted to eliminate some of them. If he had wanted to apply to more schools, American would have stayed on the list. American got cut just because it caught my son’s attention that the students with whom he spoke talked about their amazing-sounding internships, the job placement rates, their clubs and sports, fun on campus and in the city… but no one talked about enjoying a particular class, professor, or academic passion. (And the tour guide said, “I am not a math person, but some people have already taken a lot of math in high school and can go straight into pre-calculus.” !!!)

Clark and Skidmore had more of the nerdy intellectual vibe he wants.

Clark was super friendly and warm. And they offer nice merit scholarships. Some posters here don’t like the neighborhood, but we enjoyed eating at a central American food restaurant where everyone was speaking Spanish, and Clarkies use the neighborhood to add to the kids’ education with all sorts of volunteering and projects. The school has a definite vision of connecting learning to making a difference in the world, with a well-designed program to bridge the classroom to the “real” world. “Challenge convention, change our world.”

Skidmore was a big hit. Saratoga Springs is a perfect college town- lovely, safe, a “happening” sort of place with restaurants and amenities, and very close to nature in the gorgeous Adirondacks and Lake George. The college campus had modern architecture, which I know some posters here do not like, but we thought the architecture was attractive enough (the library was great), and the grounds were beautiful with trees and lawns and the “north woods” nature area. The students and staff at the college were friendly, quirky, enthusiastic about ideas and learning, enthusiastic about everything about the school. And it has Beatlemore Skidmania- how fun is that!

9

Thanks all for taking the time to respond - appreciate all of the perspectives. I know they are both great schools for different reasons. @TheGreyKing, I’ve read some of your posts - your child sounds similar to mine so helpful to hear additional information. One fear my D has about American in addition to the size is also the focus on interships, work experience, etc. Nothing wrong with that, just not where she is right now. She’s looking for more of a collaborative learning community and a chance to explore different interests without having to focus on the “next step”. She wants to kick back and spend some time learning and exploring - high school for her was a rat race. Everyone focused on taking the most AP classes, doing the most ECs and getting into the “best” college from Day 1. She liked Clark a lot and applied EA, but she didn’t love the neighborhood - that was the one downside for her there. Otherwise she loved the focus of the school and the kids she met on the visit. She rattled through all the others on her list today (St. Olaf, Bates, Denison, Vassar) but felt that Skidmore had more plusses than minuses. All good schools for one reason or another but she thought more negatives for her: St. Olaf - religion, Bates - smaller/sporty; Denison - greek life; Vassar - where mom went so fell down on the list! Of course these are sweeping generalizations about other schools but at some point she has to narrow things down. Thank you all again for making this place a great resource for us during the search.

10

We visited Skidmore, Vassar and Clark (among others, but these are the “Big 3”). I have an athletic science nerd - haha. So, competing on his sports team and science is important to him whereever he goes. Originally started looking at larger schools, but found he’s really a LAC kid at heart.

I couldn’t get him out of the car to look at Clark when we did a literal drive thru (hence the not getting out of the car) last year. His words when we were on our way there this spring? “How do I tell the coach I don’t like the school?” Me:
“Just go on the tour”. Yeah…his eyes lit up. He didn’t want to leave the tour to go meet the coach. Loved the vibe, nicest people in the admissions office, great kids…but, yes…neighborhood is lacking. He thought the sciences were great there. 2nd visit was the charm - not judging the book by its cover. Every kid I know who went there is a proud Clarkie.

Vassar he absolutely fell in love with - if his eyes lit up at Clark, they sparkled at Vassar. Very similar to Clark in many ways curriculum wise, he just loves the open space - and the science building is beautiful…and the library? WOW. The kids he’s met at Vassar have been awesome, as well. We’ve done 3 separate visits there, and are really impressed every time. @Dancer41 - what you describe about collaborative is exactly what they said at Vassar (and Clark, as well). But, I get it - my DS scoffed at attending my alma mater, too :).

Enter Skidmore - which I personally feel is like the best of both, really. Went to an open house there over the summer and really enjoyed it - we thought the kids were great at the open house. I loved the fact that there was a girl who was a neuroscience major with a minor in dance…and before you laugh, it was because she plans on doing research on how dance can help people afflicted with Parkinson’s. Brilliant! Loved that about Skidmore where you could really tailor your own major - and dabble in many things (similar to Vassar).

There were a couple of downsides for him, but the big one was that while they’re laying out the plans for a new science facility, it won’t be ready until probably his junior year. Nevertheless, it will be a beautiful addition, and hopefully they break ground soon :slight_smile: Just came back from there after a 2nd visit a couple of weeks ago and he’s weighing all the pros and cons for all 3 schools now…

However, if I could pick a school for him based on just the surrounding area alone, things for me and my husband to do, and food choices, Skidmore/Saratoga wins hands down ;). Best night out to dinner in a long time was at Chianti downtown. It’s all about us, after all…haha.

Going to be a tough choice for him because all 3 are great. I know where his heart lies - just waiting for him to say it :slight_smile:
Sidebar - DS just got his acceptance to Clark last Friday (EA). Nice merit package :). Sounds like we’re all lucky to have kids looking at such wonderful options!!!