Skidmore Warning

Colleges and Universities A-Z Skidmore College
1

I am a current senior, first semester. I’m hoping to go to nursing school for an Accelerated BSN program. I will preface this by saying that my experience is my own, and everyone will have had a different take. I won’t say anything on the more subjective things-- social life, aesthetics, etc. My majors were Health and Human Physiological Sciences (formerly Exercise Science) and Spanish, with a minor in Chinese.

The academic administration in this school is, in a word, abysmal. I have had four different advisors, none of which have been regulated by the school at all. The Health major was what I really wanted to do, but my parents strongly suggested I do a Spanish major. I’m a native Spanish speaker, and they just wanted me to have a safety net for graduation. In a way, I’m glad they did. I’ve been meeting with my current advisors (one for Spanish, one for Health) for two years, twice a semester, and every time, they’ve looked at my degree audit and said that I’m fine. I’m on track to graduate, I’ve got all the credits, I’m fine. I am NOT fine.

I just had to drop my Health major, which I have been working for 4 years to complete, and for which I’ve completed 90% of the classes, because of one senior seminar that I was told I could complete “whenever”. It’s only offered in the fall, and even though I declared my major and met with my Health advisor beforehand, he said NOTHING about this class. I know, it’s partially my fault for not registering, but Skidmore’s registrar is equally horrible. I’d say about 75% of the required classes are conflicted or restricted in one way or another with no workarounds. There’s nothing I can do, and there was no warning for any of it. I’m not sure if it was lack of communication, confusion, or sheer indifference, but either way, I’m not going to graduate with the degree that I worked so hard to get, if I even graduate at all.

My minor is another thing. I’m a Chinese minor, and the requirements are: 5 classes over 101, 18 credits, 3 classes taught on campus. My advisors said that I’d be on track, I had nothing else to do. Today was registration for my last semester, and as they said, I didn’t even think about Chinese. Whoops! Apparently, I’m 2 credits short (which I do not understand, mathematically) and I may not even complete the minor. Which means I may not graduate.

Listen, I don’t care about the social scene. This was my safety school, it was a rough admissions cycle. I haven’t been happy, but that’s life. I survived. The real issue is the blatant disregard for the academic progress of students. If you don’t get a degree, tough luck! That’s not their concern. I am beyond outraged to have been put in this situation, and the sad thing is, I’m not alone, not even in my apartment. One of my roommates is going through this situation.

Do not go to Skidmore. And if you do, line up EVERYTHING in writing. Have a plan and stick to it. Know what classes you’re going to take, when you’re going to take them, how many credits, etc. Don’t let them take advantage of you. Don’t listen to your advisors-- you’ll need to be your own advisor. Even if you do all this, there’s no guarantee it’ll work out. Enter at your own risk.

2

Sounds like sour grapes from someone who slept through the first three years of college, all the while feeling sorry for him/herself because they didn’t get into their first choice school. Upon finally waking up their senior year, they were shocked to learn that mommy and daddy hadn’t been there holding their hand the entire time.

Skidmore doesn’t care if a student graduates? Really? The fact is that Skidmore’s 4 year graduation rate is 87%. That’s astronomically higher than the National average.
The official four-year graduation rate for students attending public colleges and universities is 33.3%. The six-year rate is 57.6%. At private colleges and universities, the four-year graduation rate is 52.8%, and 65.4% earn a degree in six years.

My daughter attends Skidmore, and has had the exact opposite experience of the OP, as have every other student that my daughter knows. In fact, she ranks Skidmore’s personal attention as one of it’s many strengths.

The OP’s post has nothing to do with Skidmore, and everything to do with the student.

3

First of all, I am really sorry you are going through this. As a parent who has gone though the college doubts many many times, I sympathize with you. I believe that most colleges are horribly lacking in guidance. I can tell you such horror stories where a little guidance and help could have avoided.

You need to focus on the important thing right now which is graduating this year, with a major, any major. I know ever so many graduates who have gone on to other programs, including nursing, health related, and the majors don’t matter. Grades, test scores (at times) and prerequisite courses are. Whether you have that Health Sciences degree is not going to be as important as your grades and if you have the courses that your next step program requires.

If you are short a course of those prerequisites, you would need to take it , whether you have that Health Sciences major or not.

The focus for you is to graduate, and see which courses you need for your next step.

I see too many kids trying to collect majors and minors, when it often does not matter. You need certain prerequisite courses and grades and demonstrated competence in the area rather than a major. Even medical school, law school, does not require majors in any specific area.

Focus on what’s important. You’ll have a degree from a prestigious school when you graduate.

4

OP, you need to accept responsibility for the situation. You’re an adult and should have been carefully planning your coursework to complete your desired majors/minors/certificates. Everything you needed to do that was easily accessible. It’s not the school’s job to do that for you or make sure you’re on track.

5

Well, I went to Skidmore’s website to see if I could help you at all since your posting is more a cry for help than just a slap at Skidmore. I was surprised to NOT see Health as an option for a major. I do see a Health and Human Physiological Sciences Minor, but nothing that seems to relate to Health, other than Biology in the listing of undergraduate majors.

Were you perhaps working on a Self-Determined Major with a focus on Health? Or perhaps you were trying to follow the requirements of the Health Professions Advisory Committee. If that is it, the following link says no specific major is required, but that very specific classes have to be successfully completed to pursue this course of study with the goal of a career in the health professions. https://www.skidmore.edu/hpac/index.php (not sure that showed as a link, but you could search for HPAC on the Skidmore website.) Anyway, the FAQ section of the HPAC seems to indicate that very careful attention must be paid to the required classes and even suggests that students often do not graduate in 4 years. If you were assigned to an HPAC Advisor who did not help you adequately you might reach out to the HPAC Committee Chair, Denise Evert.

If it turns out you can’t practically complete the the requirements for one of the HPAC tracks of focus, I would suggest you make an appointment with someone in the academic advising dept. to see what your options for graduating in the spring might be. It is unfortunate for you to realize this at this very late date, but I saw this very clearly on the website page with a Checklist of Degree Requirements:

“Carefully consult the Catalog, work closely with your advisor, and refer to your degree audit often. Students are ultimately responsible for understanding and completing all degree requirements.”

I’m confident that is the policy at most colleges and especially much larger universities.

Good luck to you!