Questions regarding Skidmore?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Skidmore College
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<p>Travelrrr, thanks so much for answering all of these questions so diligently!</p>

<p>How are the gym/exercise facilities at Skidmore?</p>

<p>What is the orchestra/instrumental music groups? Can students get private music lessons?</p>

<p>Can you describe the science/pre-med curricula, students, classes, and general impression of life as a pre-med student? Do you see pre-med students studying obsessively, or do you think they can achieve a balanced academic and social life?</p>

<p>How is the career counseling? You say that you attended business school- does Skidmore have a good advising system for students looking into graduate (or professional) schools?</p>

<p>Are there any Japanese restaurants in Saratoga Springs? (lol!)</p>

<p>How well are the freshmen integrated into the rest of the student body?</p>

<p>Can freshmen get singles? </p>

<p>How do students most commonly socialize with one another? Can you describe the sense of community amongst the student body at Skidmore? </p>

<p>Can you elaborate on the “personal experience” you received from your professors? Is this type of attention common? </p>

<p>How’s the food? How are the bathrooms? </p>

<p>Are there intramural sports?</p>

<p>Do Skidmore students have the opportunity to study abroad (I mean opportunities beyond freshmen studying in London their first semester)?</p>

<p>Does Skidmore have a wireless campus? </p>

<p>Maybe you can already tell, but I’m entertaining the idea of matriculating into Skidmore- hence the many questions. Thanks, travelrrr!</p>

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<p>My son just got admitted to Skidmore and it is one of his two top choices. He is a very passionate math student and is extremely good at it, i.e he will undoubtedly start by taking junior and senior level courses as a freshman. In contrast, he is ADHD and struggles with writing. He is also somewhat awkward socially, although very sweet-tempered. This leads to several questions. What is the population of math centered kids like at Skidmore? Do recent alums or current students know of unusually advanced math students on the campus and, if so, how does the faculty handle the situation? How good are the supports for someone with his disability and how good is the writing skills support program?? He is also very interested in theater arts, for which of course, Skidmore is famous. However, since the program is high octane and competitive we wonder whether a student like him, with enthusiasm but no secondary school experience will be marginalized. Finally, we would appreciate commentary on the Jewish life at Skidmore.</p>

<p>We would be grateful for any feedback.</p>

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<p>Hi amosjacknife–</p>

<p>I majored in math at Skidmore. I was very pleased with the department. The faculty are strong, and the students are bright. There were several very mathematically gifted students in my class and in the classes above and below mine. Skidmore math majors frequently go on to top graduate schools in math and related disciplines (physics, finance, etc.); I can think of several alums who are working on doctorates. Regarding the coursework: has your son completed the entire multi-semester calculus sequence plus at least one introductory proofs class? He’ll probably have to get these out of the way before he can start taking the upper-level courses. I imagine it would be fine if you contacted the math department directly to talk about his situation. </p>

<p>I’m not sure how Skidmore works with ADHD students specifically, but the school is generally very supportive and seems to have good resources for tutoring, counseling, etc. I’d think this is another area where you would be welcome to call the school and ask questions.</p>

<p>Skidmore’s writing program as a whole is VERY strong. In fact, I consider my freshman comp class one of the most valuable courses I have ever taken. Freshman writing courses tend to average around a dozen people, so the professor will probably get to know your son well and will be able to devote a fair amount of time to him (this was my experience, at least). Skidmore also has a writing center that your son can access for free on a regular basis. It’s staffed primarily by junior and senior students who are majoring in writing-intensive disciplines. </p>

<p>I have no firsthand knowledge of the theater department, so I’m not able to give you any input on how it functions. I will say that none of my theater friends ever seemed to find it competitive in an unpleasant way. </p>

<p>Skidmore’s student population seems to be at least 20% Jewish (of varying degrees of observance). The Hillel chapter is pretty active and robust. I don’t think your son would have any trouble finding other Jewish students to spend time with.</p>

<p>Overall, Skidmore is a great place for students with diverse interests (e.g. math and theater). The academics are terrific, and I graduated highly prepared for grad school and work. Hope this is helpful, and good luck to your son!</p>

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<p>Thank you for your careful and detailed reply. After I posted our queries my wife, son and I drove up to Skidmore and his other top choice, Union, to help him make his final decision. He has made that decision and it turned on the way the Math faculties reacted to his situation. To answer your first question he has taken calculus all the way through multivariate reals and ordinary differential equations, a semester of linear algebra and a semester of complex analysis. He has self taught himself most of the first year of number theory (his passion) and a good bit of combinatorics. Thus all the professors in all of the SLACs he applied to agreed he would run out of formal courses in two years or less. The question is what to do about it. At Skidmore the key faculty member, who is a lovely person, felt this would be a very difficult problem to deal with because of the large amount of time faculty would have to spend giving him multiple instances of independent study. Another faculty member told us to make a late, out-of-season stab at a top-of-the-line SLAC with a consortium-Amherst was suggested. This was a very unrealistic suggestion for a number of reasons, but suffice it to say that this reinforced our growing impression that the Skidmore faculty regarded him as mostly a challenge as opposed to an opportunity. At Union, in contrast, while some concern was expressed about the difficulty of providing individualized resources, the department chair went out of his way to say that they recently graduated a student of similar circumstances who is doing extremely well in the graduate mathematics program at Yale. When we raised the possibility of cross registration in graduate math courses at SUNY Albany, a formal resource at both Skidmore and Union, but only really practical at Union, he insisted that it probably would not be necessary, that he could receive all the advanced training he might need at Union. This was a refreshingly positive attitude and he has enrolled at Union. We wish things had turned out differently because in so many ways Skidmore looked like his best choice. But where it was most important, there was really no contest.</p>

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<p>A few questions-</p>

<p>Where do most students spend there free time? Do they spend much time in downtown Saratoga Springs? And what did they like to do on the weekends (parties etc.)?</p>

<p>How is the creative writing program? I hear the writing is overall strong.</p>

<p>Is there a core requirement at Skidmore? I can’t remember?</p>

<p>What are the best (most interesting/useful/fun) classes in your opinion?</p>

<p>thanks, so much!!!</p>

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<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/988252-what-my-chances-getting-into-skidmore.html#post1065506968[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/988252-what-my-chances-getting-into-skidmore.html#post1065506968&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>That is my thread that no one has answered yet about my chances of getting into skidmore. I would love if you would take a look at it and tell me what you think. I defiantly don’t test as well as most and don’t have as much leadership roles but I would love LOVE to go to skidmore. If you could let me know that would be great, Thank you!</p>

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<p>I’m not sure if the link worked but here it is again, any one feel free to answer, thanks again!: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/988252-what-my-chances-getting-into-skidmore.html#post1065506968[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/988252-what-my-chances-getting-into-skidmore.html#post1065506968&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Sorry for all the comments but I was also wondering if you had anything to say about the study abroad at skidmore? How is the international travel there?</p>