I think Conn College and Amherst is part of the highly regarded "NESCAQ" schools also referred to as little ivies. Don't know much about either but that they are small and academically rigorous.
Have you visited? Does your D want a small school in the northeast? Sounds like a road trip is due.

Anyone with more info on Skidmore? Looks like an attractive option for my arty DC but I'm not as familiar with it. Whats the campus vibe? Are the students happy? (One thing I've learned from speaking with parents of kids in college is that if students aren't happy it doesn't matter how good the academics are, it just becomes a sink hole.)

Anonymous wrote:Agree - surprised she transferred from Amherst to Conn College. But good for her.

I'm not the PP with the niece who transferred, but I have a nephew at Amherst, so I know a little about the current vibe there. Though it's been coed since the '70s, the culture is still male-dominated to a surprising extent, and there's a lot of drinking. For this reason, my nephew advised his female cousin against it. (She chose Middlebury instead and is very happy there, BTW.)

What is the social life like there? Is there anything to do besides drink on the weekends?

I guess I'd want to know about the general vibe, how happy the students are, whether there is a "hipster" element, etc....

Agree - surprised she transferred from Amherst to Conn College. But good for her.

I went to CC. What do you want to know?

Anonymous wrote:don't anything about Skidmore but my niece attends Connecticut college (transferred from Amherst) and plays a sport there. She is very happy it is small and very rigorous academically. I know it made the top 100 schools for Forbes top colleges which was very impressive.
My own son is 2 years away from looking at schools and I would encourage him to look there but he seems set on a big school/big city.
Nothing helps you like visiting a campus, remember well with my older daughter.

Amherst to CT College? Surprising, but glad she's happy.

That's really useful, and funny, too, as many of those colleges are on DD's list to check out. Thanks!

Anonymous wrote:Thanks so much! PPs, can you tell me some other schools you looked at that are comparable in feel to Skidmore? We are just beginning this process.

The Fiske Guide to Colleges has a helpful feature called "overlaps". For each college profiled, the guide lists the 8 other schools with which it shares the most common apps. For Skidmore, the 2014 guide lists: BU, Brown, Colgate, Connecticut College (no surprise), Dartmouth, NYU, Vassar and Wesleyan. For Connecticut College, the overlaps listed are: Bates, Brown, Skidmore, Vassar and Wesleyan. It's interesting to me that the Skidmore overlaps are so varied, whereas the Conn College list seems to be more consistent -- preppy with a slightly hipsterish twist, though varied in size and location.

don't anything about Skidmore but my niece attends Connecticut college (transferred from Amherst) and plays a sport there. She is very happy it is small and very rigorous academically. I know it made the top 100 schools for Forbes top colleges which was very impressive.
My own son is 2 years away from looking at schools and I would encourage him to look there but he seems set on a big school/big city.
Nothing helps you like visiting a campus, remember well with my older daughter.

Thanks so much! PPs, can you tell me some other schools you looked at that are comparable in feel to Skidmore? We are just beginning this process.

DD looked at Skidmore and loved it. It was her first choice. Accepted with no assistance. Ended up at elsewhere with significant aid.

My DD looked at Skidmore and liked the "vibe" of the school. It was artsy and intellectual - the student on the admission tour panel we went to were funny and engaging. However, my DD ultimately decided not to apply because she felt that it was too small and the location a bit too remote for her. Although Saratoga Springs is a lovely town, she was concerned that 4 years there would be too long.

We never looked at Connecticut College so I cannot give you any feedback about it. Both are good schools!

These are two colleges that the counselor has suggested DC look at. We don't really know much about them.