Skidmore is one of my top choices right now, but I just read on their website that up to 8 or 10 kids could be sharing ONE suite-style bathroom (so one toilet and one shower). I’m wondering if any current students or parents of current students could talk about this? I can’t imagine that going very well. I shared a bathroom with 8 friends at the place we stayed after prom and it was atrocious. There was never a moment when only one person needed the bathroom. Is there some kind of public bathroom in these dorms as well, like even just one on the ground floor? I can’t find anyone discussing this anywhere but this seems like a big issue to me. I can’t imagine trying to work out a bathroom schedule with 8-10 other girls.
We went on a tour there in May. It’s not as bad as it sounds. As I remember, three bedrooms share the bathroom (so 9 people if all 3 rooms were tripled, but we heard 6-8). Each bathroom has a private toilet stall, a private shower, and then several sinks on the counter. So some patience and scheduling probably needs to happen, but I thought it would be manageable. For what it’s worth, Skidmore is D’s first choice too, and she thought the dorm rooms and bathroom set up were the best that she’s seen.
My D is a freshman there now. All of the freshmen are tripled and she has not complained at all about the bathroom set-up. We’ll be visiting this weekend, so we’ll get to see for ourselves how it’s working.
My D is also a freshman there, hi lauriejgs!, and is tripled as they all are. Each “pod” consists of three rooms, one is a double (forced triple in all cases apparently), and two single rooms, most often housing sophomores. So, that’s five girls sharing one toilet, one shower and two sinks. The toilet is separated by a door as is the shower so four people could be doing their own thing at the same time…of all the schools we looked at, with the exception of those with “houses” such as Smith, and the honors dorms at UMass Amherst, we liked Skidmore the best. Honestly, the forced triple thing really sucks but I’m told its just for one semester; when students go abroad in the spring alot of rooms open up and most everyone goes to a double. That’s what I’ve been told anyways. FWIW, those who are tripled, and that is everyone this first semester, received $200 credit into their spending accounts and just recently $300 credit was applied to the bursar’s account.
Does your D like Skidmore? My S just applied ED 2.
@frutsun ~ yes, my D does like Skidmore. She had some difficulty assimilating but that was due more to her own personality than anything the school did or did not do. Her first semesters grades were fantastic, she liked four of her five classes (and professors) and has now settled in. She was offered (and took) a single room this second semester. The department heads have worked closely with her in making sure she could get into the classes she wants and needs to fulfill her double major/minor course plan and she was personally invited to do a collaborative research program this summer with the chem dept. Skidmore has turned out to be a very good fit for her; she thrives in a smaller classroom and needs to be that “big fish in a small pond”. Feel free to message me if I can help more.
@NEPatsGirl Thanks for the feedback! I love hearing from parents who already have kids at Skidmore. It has always been my son’s first choice. As soon as finished the tour last year, he said “I love Skidmore. It’s my first choice!” And this was after touring several more “selective” schools (Amherst and Hamilton). Just goes to show that fit is everything.
Good luck to your son @frutsun. Don’t decisions come out today and tomorrow? FWIW, my daughter visited 25 schools and Skidmore remained one of her favorites although I had for all intents and purposes taken it off her list assuming it would not fall within budget. She also visited Amherst (I did not like it at all but she was okay with it). Vassar was one of her top choices and I think Skidmore has the same vibe, if not the same reputation.
Thank you! Yes, indeed we are expecting the official letter today. We are keeping our fingers crossed!