Saratoga Springs, NY
Skidmore College

A person who is not open-minded and willing to try new and different activites should not attend this school. They will not get all the benefits that Skidmore has to offer.

It is an important decision, but in the end let the child decide. He/she will make the right decision. And in the worst case, the child can always transfer if he/she does not like the school they are in.

The lack of diversity as students can't really grasp the true opposing views the world has with a liberal thinker. This will introduce may students, including myself, after college, to a new group of people that we are not used to dealing with.

Chill.

Walk around and talk to people. Check out the feel of the college itself.

How chill it is

My classmates, are very academically driven, and unique individuals.

My advice for parents and students in finding the right college and making the most of their experience would be to make sure the students visit the school a couple of times, in order to be certain they think the school is a good fit. Once the students are accepted and attending the school, they should make sure they do not enter school with "one foot out the door," otherwise this sort of mentality will taint their experience. In the long run, the attitude with which you approach your school makes a difference in your experience. I would say, get involved in something right in the beginning, make sure you stay busy. Spend time with friends, stay on top of work, and enjoy! If you do all of the above, you can have fun at any school you attend. Fully emerge yourself in the "culture" of the school. Don't hesitate to be yourself, be open to new experiences, ask questions, don't be afraid to let your guard down. Embrace new challenges, and always maintain a healthy balance of work and fun.

The awesome community of Skidmore.

If you do not have an open mind, do not attend Skidmore College. If you do not want professors who will invite you over to their homes in the beautiful town of Saratoga Springs, do not attend Skidmore College. If you do not want to make friends who are up to date on the world around them, find joy in a healthy debate with their peers, or simply want to take a walk in the North Woods with you, do not attend Skidmore College.

Deciding where to spend the first four years of your life as an individual is, obivously, an important decision. Yet, you also have to remember that getting into your first choice school should not mean life or death to you. Making yourself unhappy, because you do not think you can get into the school you want most, is the worst thing you can do to yourself. I did not consider my current college as my first choice, by any means. But, I approached the experience with an open mind, and a hopeful heart. I realize now, that my idea of the perfect college was based more of the reputation I would recieve by attending there, more than the education. My advice would be to, please, do yourself a favor, and find the reasoning behind your instinctual choices before you decide some place is the perfect school for you. It's more about what you can take out of a situation, good or bad, than if a school sounds perfect to you on paper.

At Skidmore, everything is inclusive. Its small size let's you find friends from all different walks of life. The professors are happy to teach students that are excited about their future and want to base their careers on the foundations of a strong education. None of the students are competitive with each other; we are all excited to tell each other what we learned in class that day. Saratoga Springs is the perfect location for a college. You can walk or ride your bike anywhere, and be guranteed to find a good conversation at the end of your travels.

a drive through Saratoga Springs

the popular DJ performs

a cappella performance

A documentary film that follows seven Skidmore College education majors as they travel to the island of Antigua

My classmates are ambitious, hard working, smart, attentive and always looking for a creative solution.

The student must know what he wants and then start your search. After compiling a general list of schools, meet with reps from the schools, talk to current students and then after the prospective student gets a feel for all the schools, let the child, and not the parents make the decision.

Someone who can not think outside the box and is unable to be exposed to new, different and exciting types of people.

It's a great size for me. If I could change one thing, I'd introduce a creative writing major and more poetry classes. There are very few people who go to Skidmore and don't love it. Saratoga is a great college town, with unique shopping and excellent restaurant choices.

there's a mix between hipsters and hippies and people who don't fall into a category. it's a good mix. there's probably the same amount of drug use and alcohol use as at any other college, but 4/20 is a big deal. Definitely an intelligent, creative crowd.

hippies, pot-smoking, rich, smart, creative

too small... when i tell ppl i go to skidmore they ask me where thats at.

not diverse. very clique. highschoolesque. most are from the northeast, white, uppermiddle class. either they're obsessed with something, or apathetic about everything. very liberal.

lots of pretty ppl

heh..pretty much yeh.

professors know me, classes are easy, most students tend to avoid intelligent conversations outside of class.

most ppl are friends with the ppl who lived near them freshmen year. pretty safe and open environment. most ppl drink, heavily. and usually smoke too. thurs night thru sun ppl are getting trashed/recovering from getting trashed. random hookups galore.

eh...stoners

Great Experience. A little small in size, you know a lot of people. Great College town sports need to be encouraged more/ draw more student support

Four tables... Jocks, arts, hippies, international students. Sad, but true. It can be very obvious which students come from money.

some times. Fair amount of students which dont fall under these categories either.

Professors know all our names. Have to participate. Great I feel like I make a difference in class, not just one of many. Professors are very personable. Challenging, encourages you to work hard.

The sports teams are quite popular. Instant group of friends. Sports team members also have many other friends too. In the dorms, many leave their doors open. Suite style living is also very helpful for that type of an environment. Meet closest friends through sports and living arrangements. Party thurs-sat typically. Sometimes people go out on other nights, not as common. 2 am on a tuesday.. could be studying, writing a paper, watching a movie, or talking with friends. no frats or sororities, though it seemslike the sports teams kind of take on that role here. I enjoy not having frats or sororities at school. Sat night no drinking - events held in our student center. Can also hang out with friends, watch movies, go into town, shop, etc. Off campus, shop, go to restaurant, visit friends. go to parks.

Hippies. Artsy.

Overall, Skidmore is great! I love the small class sizes, because it gives me a more personalized education. I learned a lot my first year, both in academics and in the greater social scheme of life. Although the professors and the overall education is great, the students and the overall attitude and mentality of people is a little cold and sheltered for my taste. Although I have made a lot of really fun and great friends, my general impression of my peers is that they are clones of one another and only care about the material things in life, and only want a good education, to make more money than the next guy.

Because Skidmore is so small, it seems that everyone knows everyone else on campus. If you are not from a small high school this may take some getting used to. It is a very strange feeling to know that people already know a lot about you and you of them if you have never even spoken to the person. It also seems that the student body is very clicky--in the dining hall, everyone sits in seemingly segregated areas. One side is for the jocks, and they divide into their sports teams; then their are the theater kids, the art kids, and the orchestra kids and it is up to everyone else to carve out their own niche.

These pretty much sum up a majority of the Skidmore population. At the very least, rich and liberal are pretty much dead on! Being the opposite of these characteristics, I really notice it.

The academics are great! The business program is really something else, in terms of real life preparation. I also took classes in art, history and English. I loved my art class, and my history class was my favorite so far, but I was a little disappointed by my English classes. I was not so fond of my professors and the way that they taught and therefore I was less eager to learn and absorb what they "taught" in their classes.

Skidmore always has a lot going on. The weekends start on Thursdays with performances, bands, dances, and of course parties. The social scene at Skidmore is as lively as any big university with the added perk of being sheltered away from town, and with a feeling of security when you know everyone that you see at any given party.

Preppy, rich, Jewish, Liberal, self-involved.