Hi all - it’s come down to a Skidmore/St. Olaf matchup in our house. Both have her major/minor prefences, both are cold (her stated weather preference), both claim 60+%+ students study abroad, both have equestrian (Skidmore clearly wins this one with a championship team and horseback riding available as PE), both have choirs/acapella (St. Olaf clearly wins this one), St. Olaf seems to have more school spirit (hometown rival in Carlton), Skidmore has first semester in London program option, both have accessible small towns (Saratoga Springs wins on this one, but Northfield is a sweet town), St. Olaf is easier to get to from SFO and only 45 minutes from MSP. Skidmore requires 2 flights, but is only 45 minutes from ALB. Biggest difference seems to be that St. Olaf student population is 70% midwest/central while Skidmore student population is 70% New England/Mid-Atlantic. St. Olaf may have less pot and alcohol use - that’s an assumption based on Fiske, Insider’s Guide, Niche, etc … as opposed to actual knowledge. Also, while both are cold, Skidmore seems to be closer to a variety of outdoor winter sports - a reference to the flat, flat, flat-ness of the Midwest. We are re-visiting both and we have searched and read the available CC posts on the subject, but curious for your perspectives, if you have any and care to indulge me. Thanks in advance and congrats to all as we get to the end of this part of the process.
@Turquoise52
I posted a Vibe report that was an ‘interview’ with my D (sophomore at St Olaf at the time).
https://www.collegeconfidential.com/vibe/st-olaf-college/4129201.html
My sense from Niche is that Skidmore and St Olaf are SO different that once your D visits, she’ll easily be able to make a decision. But here are some thoughts that come to mind.
Majors: Top 4 majors
Skidmore: Business, Psychology, English, Economics
St Olaf: Biology, Economics, Psychology, Mathematics ← St Olaf does not offer Business.
of STEM majors in top 10 majors on Niche
Skidmore: 154 (Bio, Math, Env Sci, Chem, CS, Physics, Geology, Neuro)
St Olaf: 281 (Bio, Math, Env Sci, Chem, CS, Physics) ← that’s getting close to 1/3 of the graduates each year
Their strengths are different. St Olaf is known for being very strong in STEM. A high fraction go on to become teachers, nurses, doctors, grad school. It’s one of the top producers of students who go on to get PhDs in math for example. Same # as much larger UMN (which is also strong in math).
Music is huge on St Olaf, especially choral music. This cannot be overstated. This is the ‘varsity’ sport. In D’s dorm, people were singing all the time for enjoyment. People break into song. D said it’s like living on the stage of a musical. However most of the musicians are majoring in something. Music is their passion but not their academic subject necessarily. D is not a musician and not in one of the audition choirs, but is in the non-audition choir. I had the chance to listen to the Ole Choir (top) in a concert hall. Amazing. Really top-notch.
Nerdy, overly earnest, musician is a St Olaf stereotype which has a lot of truth to it. I can totally imagine someone in the dining hall breaking out into some earnest song (like a modern Kumbaya My Lord) and 2/3s of the others joining in with great earnestness (and multi-part amazing harmonies). Carleton makes fun of St Olaf about this sort of earnestness for a reason…
On Niche, St Olaf gets a C+ on party scene. This is dry campus. Do students drink? Sure, off campus or at the sport houses. But there are a significant number whose idea of a good weekend is drinking tea and playing board games with your friends or better yet going to a friend’s recital or singing together or something like that. So it’s not C+ on school spirit, rather the dominant idea of expressing school spirit is rather different than at other schools. They call themselves ‘community on the hill’ for a reason.
Religion is at ‘thing’ at St Olaf. See the Vibe report. No, it’s not about converting anyone, but if you go there you will have many friends for whom faith is important. Keep in mind that St Olaf falls on the Progressive Christianity side, very liberal on issues of full-inclusion, social justice, etc. My D is an atheist and has many atheist, agnostic friends along with many very religious friends (including her closest friend). There are 2 ‘Bible’ courses required. So you will read the Bible and discuss it—with people from a variety of viewpoints and backgrounds. Discussions can become spirited. One of D’s fellow Great Conversations peers made it his mission to argue how God is the villain in the Old Testament. D said it got old after awhile, but made for very lively ‘discussions’. There was also a student who argued that there was only one ‘right’ way to interpret the Bible. That also got old very quickly… Note this was in Great Con, which is full of students who like to debate. D took her 2nd Bible class outside of Great Con and that was chill she said and the prof was focused more on history and sociology stuff which was very interesting.
@Turquoise52, what have you learned about the equestrian opportunities at Olaf? Olaf is one of my DD’s top two choices, but she was not able to find much of anything about equestrian activities there when she visited. Do you have any solid information about teams or such? DD rides hunt seat and competes for a local IEA team and was hoping to continue to riding in some capacity.
One of DD’s friends is a freshman who we visited with when we were on campus last month. @liska21’s description of the social scene and the musical nerdiness totally matched what DD’s friend has experienced this year, in a really good way.
@momtojnk, St. Olaf does not have a team, but they have an Equestrian Club. Big enough club to have its own FB page. It seems focused mainly on arranging trail rides and other casual riding opportunities, but D would be very excited to be part of that and it means there’s a barn relatively close. We are visiting again 4/26 - I will ask more questions and report back.
@liska21 , thank you so much for your thoughtful, lengthy response. Much appreciated! Will go look at the vibe you posted as well!!
@momtojnk
Equestrian Club
Category: Club Sports
The St. Olaf Equestrian Club is for any student interested in horses and riding. No experience or familiarity with any particular style of riding is necessary. Activities include riding lessons, volunteering, fundraising, speakers, horse shows, trail rides and more. Members can participate in weekly lessons at Wyndem Rose Stables (http://www.wyndemrosestables.com). The lessons are for riders of all levels, focus on English riding, and range from beginning training to high-level show jumping and eventing. There is also the opportunity to take western gaming lessons as well.
Website: http://www.stolafequestrianclub.com/
Contacts:
Social Media Coordinator: Atia Cole (cole11)
Lesson Coordinator: Jessica Mitchell (mitche2)
If your daughter thinks she even might want to experience an iconic mountain setting recreationally, then Skidmore’s proximity to the Adirondacks should not be under-regarded.
@mom2jnk
Equestrian Club
Category: Club Sports
The St. Olaf Equestrian Club is for any student interested in horses and riding. No experience or familiarity with any particular style of riding is necessary. Activities include riding lessons, volunteering, fundraising, speakers, horse shows, trail rides and more. Members can participate in weekly lessons at Wyndem Rose Stables (http://www.wyndemrosestables.com). The lessons are for riders of all levels, focus on English riding, and range from beginning training to high-level show jumping and eventing. There is also the opportunity to take western gaming lessons as well.
Website: http://www.stolafequestrianclub.com/
Contacts:
Social Media Coordinator: Atia Cole (cole11)
Lesson Coordinator: Jessica Mitchell (mitche2)
Sorry for repeats. Wish I could delete. I just realized I had your handle wrong on the first two posts.
Current students, families and alumni may be able to provide more details than a mere visitor to campus, but I am glad to share my impressions of Skidmore, for what they are worth. This is from my initial review in another thread:
Skidmore: This was the most unexpected “hit” of our college tours. We had a really bubbly tour guide who was extremely enthusiastic about her classes and experiences.
The surrounding town was charming, with a block of mansions right next to the campus, and a wonderful, active town in Saratoga Springs. The campus was very pretty with lawns and trees and the “North Woods” (a forest on campus). The buildings are modern, so not your classic college look, but they were attractive buildings with a nicer and more unified look than at another modern campus we had visited.
The dorm experience sometimes starts with a triple (although many get doubles), but then a single becomes increasingly common in future years, and the dorm rooms are nice-looking with window seats. Upperclassmen can live in on-campus apartments. The male-female ratio skews female.
Skidmore is great for studying the arts but strong across the board.
No discussion about Skidmore could be complete without mentioning the annual Beatlemore Skidmania, during which students perform their interpretations of Beatles songs.
When we visited Princeton later during the same trip, my kid remarked, “I guess I would go to Princeton if I were admitted, because then I could always say I went to Princeton. But I really liked Skidmore better.” That says it all! Even though my son ended up at another college, I always will have a soft spot for Skidmore.
You mentioned your child rides horses. Students even can bring their own horses to Skidmore; there are also horses that any students can ride. It is in Saratoga, so it is horse country.
We did not consider St.Olaf, since the search was limited to the east coast and there was a preference for colleges without a religious affiliation. St. Olaf gets good press here on CC though!
D has made her decision. After attending admitted student day Friday, she donned her Skidmore sweatshirt this morning and announced her decision, officially. She took the long way round to where we started (I wanted her to apply ED to Skidmore), but she did the process her way and now will not wonder if she would have preferred another school. On we go!