Hi,
My son was accepted Regular Decision at Skidmore College. He went to accepted students day and loved the campus, the first year London experience, and the academics are just what he is looking for. The only problem is that he is not very artsy or nerdy. My son is looking for a college where there is a good balance of the artsy type, the nerdy type, the preppy type, and the low-key chill type. Does Skidmore have a good balance of kids that attend?
Yes, there are all types of students there (but all are smart!). He will find his niche. Great college!
I think so, my D is very happy with the range of interests and “types” of students. I think they check off all the boxes…artsy, nerdy, preppy and low-key. The imbalance would more likely be gender and income, more females and more full pay than not.
My son is a junior at Skidmore and absolutely loves his school. It is small, but my own college was even smaller (1400 compared to Skidmore’s 2600), and that extra 1200 makes a real difference. As small as it is, even my very involved social son is still meeting new people. The vibe is one of openness and acceptance, and there are quite a few international students, which also adds to the diversity of the community. It’s small, but varied! And yes, many students pay full tuition, but many (my son included) are on financial aid and work study.
My D is a freshman at Skidmore and has loved it. While she is majoring in theater, and therefore is “artsy” AND her favorite class is a very challenging 300-level Latin class, so she may also be considered “nerdy.” However, she is set on not taking a single math or science class ever again if she can help it, so she is also not THAT sort of nerdy. She loved her English class last semester, and although she was always a strong writer, she said she learned a lot.
She also used to ride horses in middle school and had to stop due to theater and field hockey commitments during high school. She is able to satisfy her PE requirement and earn a credit hour by taking riding lessons at Skidmore. The barn is a short drive from the main campus, so having a car is very helpful if a student wants to ride. There is also no pressure to join the Equestrian team, which was important to my daughter who did not want to have to compete in order to enjoy riding for fun and exercise.
A friend’s older son was a lacrosse-playing sophomore who applied to transfer next year. His mom said he was of the opinion that the athletes were a group to themselves and he thought the theater people shunned the athletes. My daughter said that wasn’t at all her experience, but she is only a 1st year. Anyway, the friend’s son also had a serious girlfriend he drove to Boston to see every single weekend, so that likley had an impact on his Skidmore experience. Anyway, that is my single, third-hand anecdote regarding a possibly issue among “groups” at Skidmore.
Assuming your son was accepted to other schools as well, I’d suggest making a Pros/Cons list for each including things like cost, college town (Saratoga Springs is pretty awesome and an easy walk from the school), campus size, climate (it was a COLD winter), difficulty in commuting to and from home. He also should take a hard look at the professors who teach the classes he’s most interested in.