<p>Those of you in the Northeast know that this past President's Day week has been the coldest in a quite warm winter. It was still really cold in Saratoga Springs when we toured Skidmore. We didn't hear as much about the quirkiness of the school as I had anticipated. The college is cute, but very small. D thought she could enjoy herself at Skidmore, but wasn't terribly enthused. She preferred Brandeis' easy access to a city; Saratoga may get a lot of performances but it's still a small town, and Albany doesn't cut it for her either (she had spent a summer there). She felt that Skidmore wasn't much bigger than her summer camp - too small.</p>
<p>Academics seemed really good, and she liked the fact that anyone can take anything. The dance department was nice but again, small. It has an Honors Forum which consists of the top 10% of those who apply, and upperclassman can also join the Honors Forum. The Forum puts together programs for the campus, and there are Honors floors in the dorms. But the Honors Forum doesn't segregate people, which she also liked.</p>
<p>Skidmore is also not need-blind, but "need sensitive." </p>
<p>Skidmore will probably stay on the list, but not at the top.</p>
<p>Well, we had always been given the impression that the physical plant, being out in the country, would be larger. More acreage. We were mislead, and it felt a little weird.</p>
<p>Chedva,
Just out of curiousity, how did you find the conditions of the buidings? In the past, some have commented that they didn't feel the maintenance was quite up to expectations. I'd be curious to hear your impressions. Also, could you describe what the students seemed like - were they as "artsy" and "alternative" as Skidmore's rep? Thanks!</p>
<p>Chedva, I am also interested in your impressions regarding "artsy" & alternative". My D is a sophomore, but I am already on the lookout for her; Brandeis is another of our possibilities, because among other things we are looking for a place where she can ride horses, probably on a club team, as well as an LAC or small uni with a decent Jewish population. Was the latter one of your criteria as well (just guessing from your screen name & Brandeis reference)? If so,how did you find Skidmore in that department?</p>
<p>The buildings seemed fine - I think some major renovations had just been done to quite a number of them. We saw a sophomore's dorm room - a single - which was really large, with a desk that spanned one entire wall of the room. She said that the doubles were pretty much double the size, which my d really liked - she said her room at Cornell's summer program was about the size of the single, and hers was a double!</p>
<p>I was surprised that I didn't get as much of the "artsy" and "alternative" feeling as I thought I would. I did, however, get the impression that everyone could be an individual and still fit in - that there was little, if any, push for conformity. D liked that. (Of course, we were in a rather unique tour - D was the only prospective student, surrounded by seven parents, only 2 of which were hers!) </p>
<p>D also liked the fact that there is an on-site day care center, open to the community, in which ed students can work & learn.</p>
<p>i can understand what you mean be referring to skidmore feeling small. we looked at other schools of similar size that just felt bigger - vassar being one (and i think it even has fewer students). maybe its all the trees - you don't get a feel for much open space. also if i recall correctly, many of the academic buildings were actually connected so it didn't seem like separate buildings, just one long row.</p>
<p>Ah the joys of cross-posting! Yes, a decent sized Jewish population is definitely a criterion, although D considers herself right now more of a cultural Jew than anything else. Horseback riding is not an issue for her, but Skidmore does have its own farm & stables; their teams are called the Thoroughbreds. There is a varsity riding team as well as club men's & women's polo teams. Riding is, of course, big in Saratoga Springs, given the race track. Don't know anything about riding at Brandeis; sorry!</p>
<p>Skidmore does have a reasonable Jewish population, and there's a temple about 2 miles away down Broadway (Temple Sinai). We don't need kashrut, so I'm not sure about that. There is no Hillel, but there is a Jewish Student Union. The Jewish "chaplain" is also co-rabbi at Temple Sinai. She and the temple are Reform.</p>
<p>All in all, though, because she's more of a city girl, my D preferred Brandeis to Skidmore.</p>
<p>Yes, that's true; Skidmore's buildings are all attached and all close to each other. Vassar seemed much more spacious - D loved Vassar. Even without a dance major, it seemed more artsy than Skidmore, which really surprised me.</p>
<p>I'm not surprised how you described Skidmore. I did a walk through (not a campus tour) of the campus and was definitely not impressed. While I wouldn't consider Saratoga 'the country', it definitely is more rural...and yes, small. If you're not a fan of the Albany area, I wouldn't choose Skidmore. Many students from my high school wound up there, and spent most of their weekends partying or shopping in downtown Albany.</p>
<p>Skidmore seems to have a particularly good theater department and there is a yearly competition for three or four $10,000 music scholarships. My son was involved in that process last year and there were many fine musicians there for the final competition. This was not of interest to us, but some others have mentioned that they liked the combination of strengths in the arts and business.</p>
<p>I liked the Skidmore campus' land more than the buildings, there seemed to be lots and lots of green and it had a lovely hilltop spot with great light.</p>
<p>My D had an overnight at Skidmore and she really liked the kids she met. Her host group (athletes) was more preppy than quirky, but we did see the dancers arriving at a class and they looked very West Village to me. </p>
<p>All in all, Skidmore seemed to me to be an intimate, welcoming, fun place. I know my D would have been quite happy there. The arts are very well integrated into the whole school; our tour guide was a poli sci major doing a big weaving project.</p>
<p>However, we also liked Vassar better. Vassar had a more snappy energy level; the kids seemed more plugged-in.</p>
<p>Visited Skidmore last summer. Info session with about 15 kids-they seemed artsy-preppy rather than quirky. Campus seemed well cared for and attractive with some lovely views and large chipmunk population. D's interviewer (Skidmore alum on campus) seemed a bit "flaky"-- overly effusive and too many "Wows" . Only other criticism --the school seemed to be trying to be all things to all students rather than conveying a distinct personality. We met a very friendly ( foreign language) prof in the campus bookstore who seemed committed to her teaching and involved with students.</p>