<p>I want to correct a bit of a inaccuracy that I see repeatedly on these CC boards:</p>
<p>Don't be so quick to stereotype Skidmore as artsy, fringe and apathetic. The College attracts a vastly different, more well-rounded student body than it did 10 years ago (when that may have been a more apropos description.)</p>
<p>Sports at Skidmore are thriving (men's and women's lacrosse and men's baseball had their best season's in the College's history and golf, tennis and equastrian are consistent champions) and student-driven clubs (debate, cycling, and European Union) won competitions against many of the Ivy's in the past years. </p>
<p>What DOES differentiate Skidmore from a Colgate, Hamilton or Colby, however, is the infusion of "creative thought" in all the College's affairs.</p>
<p>"What DOES differentiate Skidmore from a Colgate, Hamilton or Colby, however, is the infusion of "creative thought" in all the College's affairs."</p>
<p>Well I wish they would apply some of that creative thought to increasing their abilty to provide merit awards. It is my guess that the school loses many accepted applicants that are in the middle and slighty upper economic class that truly cannot justify or afford tuition of $45,000 a year. The top tier LAC's do provide some merit awards and so do the third tier LAC's- yet Skidmore which I consider to be in the second tier of LAC's can truly only accept students with the abilty to pay,or students that will borrow heavily or students that qualify for federal grants and aid. They need to "creatively" figure out how they can establish a separtate endowment or funding for this purpose.</p>
<p>A very interesting thought, but you fail to state why they must provide more merit aid. (Actually Skidmore says they do not give merit aid outside of 2 scholarship programs totaling 10 people x $10K/yr).</p>
<p>If they are missing some top applicants because of aid they seem to be OK with that loss. They are not trying to be a "same as an Ivy" like Amherst. Skidmore is one of the prox. 125 schools in the country that have a below 50% admission rate. They have a waiting list that doesn't get exhausted. They graduate liberal arts students that don't make multi-million dollar endowments to fund more financial aid.</p>
<p>So the only source of more money for the middle class student would be higher tuition for the higher income student and Skidmore knows just how far that group can be pushed.</p>
<p>Welcome to America as represented by Saratoga Springs.</p>
<p>Another take is that Skidmore is playing catch up on the endowment front, having been an all female college where the women married men from Williams, Amherst, etc...to where most funds flowed. </p>
<p>They have done a considerable job of increasing the Colleges endowment in the past five years. As that grows, I would surmise that merit aid would follow.</p>