Skidmore College - up and coming or already here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're welcome. Yes, Brandeis does attract a lot of Jewish people, but it was never an issue for my DD. She had friends of all religions. It's not as if the students separate based on religion, but I can understand on a visit that would be a concern. Actually, it was one of my concerns, which was unfounded. She actually liked that Brandeis has two spring breaks (one for Passover (?) and one for Easter). And she liked the Kosher food line because it had better food. I'm not trying to sell Brandeis, I'm just telling you what I know and that it was a good fit for my science major.

I’m glad to hear it wasn’t an issue. It may be worth a second glance.

[Anonymous]

FWIW I grew up around NYC and "everyone" knew of Skidmore, but I never even heard of Gettysburg til I was in my late 40s and living in DC.

[Anonymous]

OP, my Skidmore DD said there is a place for everyone at Skidmore. She agreed that there are a lot artsy kids at Skidmore and she said she has become more artsy since attending and perhaps your son will too. She said there are definitely a lot of non-artsy kids at Skidmore, especially those who are involved in sports and certain other activities.
I think the artsy vibe is great. It has broadened my DD's interests. Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FWIW I grew up around NYC and "everyone" knew of Skidmore, but I never even heard of Gettysburg til I was in my late 40s and living in DC.

t


I hadn't heard of Gettysburg (as a college) until this thread. I went to Vanderbilt and Yale (so South and New England) and had heard of Skidmore. I tend to think of it in the same vein as a lot of the LACs--maybe not as good as Middlebury and Bowdoin, but I'd never think "you went where?" about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, my Skidmore DD said there is a place for everyone at Skidmore. She agreed that there are a lot artsy kids at Skidmore and she said she has become more artsy since attending and perhaps your son will too. She said there are definitely a lot of non-artsy kids at Skidmore, especially those who are involved in sports and certain other activities.
I think the artsy vibe is great. It has broadened my DD's interests. Hope this helps.

Oh my goodness, someone on DCUM is being kind and helpful. I think you deserve a round of applause!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sense is that it is neither. It's a third tier LAC comparable to Gettysburg, Dickinson, etc.

Your "sense"? Facts would be better.

Gettysburg: "the majority of admitted students had high school grades of "A-" or better, combined SAT scores of 1200 or higher, and ACT composite scores of 26 or better. Your chances are best if you have SAT scores of 1300 or better and a solid "A" average"

https://www.thoughtco.com/gettysburg-college-gpa-sat-act-data-786485


Skidmore: "most successful applicants had high school averages of "B+" or better, combined SAT scores of about 1200 or higher (RW+M), and ACT composite scores of 26 or better"

https://www.thoughtco.com/skidmore-college-gpa-sat-and-act-data-786629

Virtually identical.

Eh, neither has a particularly good reputation.

Neither has a good reputation where? What do you do for a living? That's a real question, not snark, as I'm curious about the industry/hiring manager aspect. I'm in Aerospace/Defense and never really see LACs on resumes because I'm a VP of Eng, hiring mostly sr engineering mgrs at this point, not much entry level anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, my Skidmore DD said there is a place for everyone at Skidmore. She agreed that there are a lot artsy kids at Skidmore and she said she has become more artsy since attending and perhaps your son will too. She said there are definitely a lot of non-artsy kids at Skidmore, especially those who are involved in sports and certain other activities.
I think the artsy vibe is great. It has broadened my DD's interests. Hope this helps.

Oh my goodness, someone on DCUM is being kind and helpful. I think you deserve a round of applause!

+1

This OP. Thanks. This is also helpful for my DS, who isn't artsy in the least--he's kind of a preppy athlete. This was also his concern about Wesleyan, and was eventually allayed by spending some time there.

[Anonymous]

I was going to post this! I grew up on NY and Skidmore is highly regarded. There is a lot of regional opinions on the board! In fact I never even heard of VA state schools as good until moving here. I went to a private school with an excellent college guidance program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was going to post this! I grew up on NY and Skidmore is highly regarded. There is a lot of regional opinions on the board! In fact I never even heard of VA state schools as good until moving here. I went to a private school with an excellent college guidance program.

Hi NYer, thanks! Can you also tell me anything about Hobart and William Smith? They're also after DS. He seems popular at the moment with the smaller LACs.

The only NY school I know is St Bonaventure, but only because an ex boyfriend graduated from there in 80s, and an ex boss back in the 50s. Kind of funny.


It never ceases to amaze me how many people here $h!t all over any school that is not HPYS. Most would have a stroke if they knew what a crappy uni I went to, and where I ended up in my career anyway. But I do wonder if the times are changing or if I'm infected by DCUMitis now!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW I grew up around NYC and "everyone" knew of Skidmore, but I never even heard of Gettysburg til I was in my late 40s and living in DC.

t


I hadn't heard of Gettysburg (as a college) until this thread. I went to Vanderbilt and Yale (so South and New England) and had heard of Skidmore. I tend to think of it in the same vein as a lot of the LACs--maybe not as good as Middlebury and Bowdoin, but I'd never think "you went where?" about it.

I know, not as good as a lot of LACs. My DD was accepted into several higher ranked LACs but chose Skidmore because she thought it would be the best fit. One of the many things I admire about her. She didn't go on ranking, but on fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was going to post this! I grew up on NY and Skidmore is highly regarded. There is a lot of regional opinions on the board! In fact I never even heard of VA state schools as good until moving here. I went to a private school with an excellent college guidance program.

I grew up in DC and now live in NY and no offense, but nobody aspires to go to Skidmore. Your best hope as a graduate is that people will confuse it with Swarthmore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was going to post this! I grew up on NY and Skidmore is highly regarded. There is a lot of regional opinions on the board! In fact I never even heard of VA state schools as good until moving here. I went to a private school with an excellent college guidance program.

I grew up in DC and now live in NY and no offense, but nobody aspires to go to Skidmore. Your best hope as a graduate is that people will confuse it with Swarthmore.

That seems to contradict what PP says. If you grew up in DC, then you're likely not a good gauge of it anyway, judging by this board. Seriously, do you think saying something like that is mitigated by saying "no offense"? Hey, you're fat and ugly, but no offense since it's the truth. It doesn't really work that way.

[Anonymous]

Like many other LACs, I expect Skidmore will become more difficult to get into in the coming years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Like many other LACs, I expect Skidmore will become more difficult to get into in the coming years.

I grew up to in the Midwest I heard of Skidmore when I was in school and thought of it as good. Gettysburg might be great, too, but I'd never heard of it till now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sense is that it is neither. It's a third tier LAC comparable to Gettysburg, Dickinson, etc.

Your "sense"? Facts would be better.

Gettysburg: "the majority of admitted students had high school grades of "A-" or better, combined SAT scores of 1200 or higher, and ACT composite scores of 26 or better. Your chances are best if you have SAT scores of 1300 or better and a solid "A" average"

https://www.thoughtco.com/gettysburg-college-gpa-sat-act-data-786485


Skidmore: "most successful applicants had high school averages of "B+" or better, combined SAT scores of about 1200 or higher (RW+M), and ACT composite scores of 26 or better"

https://www.thoughtco.com/skidmore-college-gpa-sat-and-act-data-786629

Virtually identical.

Eh, neither has a particularly good reputation.

Neither has a good reputation where? What do you do for a living? That's a real question, not snark, as I'm curious about the industry/hiring manager aspect. I'm in Aerospace/Defense and never really see LACs on resumes because I'm a VP of Eng, hiring mostly sr engineering mgrs at this point, not much entry level anything.

Exactly. People on DCUM and IRL frequently ask about reputation, but rarely with enough specificity to make the answer valuable. What's relevant is the reputation of the school among employers and grad/professional schools in the student's area of academic and/or career interest. Who cares what the person who sees your car decal at Whole Foods thinks about where your kid goes to school.