Skidmore: The Big Picture
One of the best things about Skidmore is that the administration really makes the students their number one priority. Also - the location is great: 3 hours from Montreal, NYC, and Boston ( so a lot of road trips are easy to take). Having only 2400 students, I think Skidmore is a good size because I really feel like I have an identity on campus but at the same time, of course, there are people that I do not know. However, sometimes I do feel as if I am in a high school environment in that because there are so few kids, it feels like everyone knows everyone elses business.
Most of the time students are found hanging out in the dorms with friends. That is, of course, if they are not in the newly renovated dining hall, the Case student center, or relaxing on the green. I find that because there are not too many residence halls, they are all very social.
My favorite memory thus far about Skidmore was a pre-orientation program called SCOOP. We spent a few days at the Sagamore up in the mountains with some upper classmen and many other new students, none of whom knew eachother. It was a great way to meet people and learn about the philosophy of Skidmore and its student body.
Skidmore Academic Life
The education at Skidmore is absolutely geared toward learning for its own sake. While everyone must declare a major, the essence of the liberal arts program is to give students the opportunity to explore a variety of different topics so they acquire vast amounts of knowledge, regardless of whether they pursue all of the fields they study.
Most classes at Skidmore are about 17 students... so yes, professors know your name and class participation is required. I find that students study when necessary but it is not the sort of campus that has people in the library 24/7 .. or even more than they need to be there. The kids are not competitive and even if they are, their motivation is geared toward personal sucess - not cheating someone else in order to get in the lead.
There are a lot of requirements at Skidmore, but that is really what a liberal arts education is all about. Once again, Skidmore is trying to stress the importance of global knowledge - not career based.
Skidmore's Student Body
Skidmore is not very diverse. Although there is a push toward diversity and various clubs and programs promoting multiple cultures, you will find that most kids are white. Furthermore, many come from upper middle class suburbs or New York City. That is not to say that there is segregation among the student body. All students interact; however, the campus is predominently upper middle class whites.
Most students are either really artsy, really fashionable in a hippe kind of way, or don't care too much about what they are wearing. You won't see too many preps or jocks around campus and if you do, they stick together.
If I had to give an example of four sterotypical groups sitting in the dining hall I would say: #1 Theater Kids. Usually have big egos and everyone knows them because the theater department is popular and usually the same kids get the big parts. #2 "Jocks." There are not too many, because sports are not very popular at Skidmore, but everyone knows who these "jocks" are and in opposition to most other places... the jocks at Skidmore are not really the "cool" kids. #3 The Well-Dressed Girls. Skidmore is has a 60-40 female to male ratio so you will see a lot of girls hanging out together. One stereotype are the girls who put fashion before anything else and are wearing their best at any moment, including while eating a meal. #4 Anyone. There are a lot of just normal people who can't be categorized .. which is great. They definitely make up the last fourth of the Skidmore stereotype.
Skidmore Student Activities + Social Life
Since there is no greek life at Skidmore - most social events take place in the dorms or in the on-campus appartments. So, no one really locks their doors and you can always find either people roaming around, hanging out , or partying in a dorm.
The dating scene is not too good. Since there are so many more girls than boys - its a lot harder for a girl to find a boyfriend. Random hookups are pretty easy ... but since the boys have so many to choose from, and from all of the people I know, it seems like the boys like to leave their options open and explore.
People party a lot. Even if they are not partying .. they are not doing work. People are always watching movies, playing music, or hanging out. Typical weekends include partying in someone's dorm room and going to a dance or a concert or a show. Or sometimes people get off campus and go see a movie or take a road trip .. although people stay on campus for the most part.
