Prospective First-Year FAQ

How much Financial Aid might I receive at Skidmore?
We have a calculator for that! Click here to get an estimate of your eligibility for Skidmore Grant assistance.  

Who is eligible to apply for financial aid at Skidmore College?
If you are a United States citizen or permanent resident of the United States, you are eligible to apply for financial aid at Skidmore College. Skidmore is also able to offer a very limited number of financial aid awards to students who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States. 

Does Skidmore offer financial aid to international applicants?
Yes. For international students to be considered for financial need-based grants, please indicate on the admission application that you intend to apply for financial aid.  Once your application for admission is uploaded by Skidmore, you will have the ability to complete our online electronic financial aid application through our admission portal. The online financial aid application becomes available within two days of submitting your admission application. We offer a limited amount of aid for international students and therefore it is a highly competitive process. If an international applicant has been admitted and enrolls without aid, they cannot apply for financial aid in the future.

What type of financial aid is available?
A financial aid "package" usually includes grants, a campus job, and a loan. Student aid funds come from a variety of sources including Skidmore's own grants, as well as many federal financial aid programs such as Pell Grants, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), the Federal Work-Study Program and Federal Direct Loans. A Skidmore College financial aid package may also include a state scholarship or a grant from some other public or private organization.

How much does it cost to attend Skidmore College?
For basic annual costs of attendance please visit the Bursar's web page.

What is your need-based financial aid policy?
Skidmore commits to meeting the full demonstrated need of our admitted students. A financial aid "package," or combination of grants, federal student loans, and student employment, is mailed to admitted financial aid applicants with the letter of admission.

Does Skidmore offer any merit based aid?
The Filene Music Scholarship is awarded annually on the basis of a competition to at least four gifted incoming freshmen musicians who seek to further their musical studies in a liberal arts setting. Registration forms and brochures are included in the admissions packet. The Filene Music Scholarship meets demonstrated financial need with grant assistance for those students who are eligible for need-based Skidmore grant aid, thus eliminating the necessity of campus employment and student loans. It is also awarded to winners who do not demonstrate financial need in the amount of $15,000 per year. These scholarships are renewed annually for four years.

Skidmore's Porter/Wachenheim Presidential Scholarships are awarded without regard to financial need to incoming first-year students excelling in the sciences and/or mathematics. A $80,000 scholarship ($20,000 per year) is awarded to each of the 14 candidates who demonstrate exceptional promise for study in these areas.

How do I apply for financial aid?
Complete instructions along with links to online forms can be found at the Financial Aid website under Prospective First-Year Students.

How is my financial aid need determined?
Financial assistance at Skidmore College is awarded on the basis of demonstrated financial need. Your financial need is determined from data you provide on the College Scholarship Service PROFILE application. After analyzing the information on the PROFILE, the College Scholarship Service will provide a report to you, Skidmore College, and other colleges you list as recipients of the data. Financial need is determined by subtracting from Skidmore's cost how much you and your family can afford to pay toward your education. If the amount of your family contribution is lower than the total cost of attending Skidmore, you are considered to have financial need. While colleges expect you and your family to assume primary responsibility for your education costs, we will work closely with you to develop a package of aid and/or a financing plan. Whatever your income, factors such as family size, the number of dependent children attending college, family assets (including home equity), extraordinary medical expenses, and any unusual circumstances will be considered. (If your parents are divorced or separated, this process can be slightly more complex, as we generally require financial data from both natural parents).

Does everyone who is admitted and eligible for aid receive a package?
No, not everyone. To receive a financial aid package, you must be accepted for admission, have a complete financial aid application on file by the appropriate deadline, and have a demonstrated financial need. First-year students whose applications are incomplete after the deadline are eligible only for a job and loan assistance. Many applicants demonstrating a financial need of $7,400 or less receive packages comprising a $2,000 grant, a $3,500 loan, and/or a $2,000 campus job. Additional demonstrated financial need is met through federal, state, and/or Skidmore College grant aid.

What is the average financial aid package for a prospective first-year applicant?

• The average 2022-23 first-year financial aid package was $53,100.
• The range of the packages was $2,000 to $79,000.
• 52% of students received need-based grants.
• 60% received some form of financial aid.
• 60% were given the opportunity to work on campus.

What are Skidmore College's financial application codes?
Skidmore's PROFILE code is 2815, FAFSA code is 002814, and TAP code (NYS residents only) is 0855.

Is Skidmore College need-blind?
Skidmore encourages any student interested in applying for admission to do so regardless of his/her intention to seek financial aid. All candidates are evaluated on the strength of their academic and personal qualifications, without regard to their financial circumstances. The admissions committee makes every effort to meet the demonstrated need of as many admissible candidates as it can. Unfortunately, each year there are more qualified candidates in need of financial aid than the College's resources can support. When all institutional grant resources have been committed, the admissions committee will offer admission to some candidates but place them on a financial aid waiting list. In the final round of the selection process, the committee may also find it necessary to waitlist or deny a small number of candidates on the basis of unmet financial need.

Does Skidmore College allow graduate students or parents to be counted as family members in college?
No, parent contributions for graduate students and parent(s) in college are not considered.

Is consumer debt considered part of the calculation in determining the family contribution?
No, allowing for consumer debt would give families who owe money an unfair advantage over families who do not.

Will applying for financial aid hurt my chances for admission?
Skidmore College provides need-based financial aid to most admitted students who demonstrate need, but the admission process is not need-blind for a small percentage of applicants.

If my family cannot afford the CSS Profile filing fee, can we get a waiver?
Fee waivers for the first-time filers who are citizens or permanent residents will be granted automatically for those who qualify based on the parents' reported income, assets, and household size. The goal is to ensure that fee waivers are distributed equitably to students from families with the fewest financial resources and an inability to afford the fee. Orphans and wards of the court will be automatically eligible for fee waivers if they are freshman first-time filers. CSS grants up to 6 fee waivers per student who meet certain economic guidelines.

What should I do if my family has special circumstances that are not indicated on the FAFSA and PROFILE?
The Financial Aid Office recommends sending a letter to the office outlining the special circumstances that were not able to be indicated on the PROFILE. The letter of special circumstances can be sent to the Financial Aid Office, Skidmore College, 815 North Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866; emailed in PDF format to finaid@skidmore.edu.

What should I do if my parents are divorced, separated, and/or never married?
Skidmore College requires information from both natural parents, regardless of current marital status. In cases of nonsupport or unwillingness to pay Skidmore College still requires the information from the parent you do not live with. Students with extenuating circumstances can contact the Financial Aid Office.

What should I do if my "custodial" parent is remarried?
The FAFSA and PROFILE require dependent students to report parental information. If your "custodial" parent is remarried, the current spouse's information is also required to be reported on both the FAFSA and PROFILE applications.

My parents are separated/divorced/never married. Who should be filling out which forms?
If your biological (or adoptive) parents were never married to each other or are either separated or divorced, answer the questions (about parents) for the parent you lived with the most during the last 12 months. This person is referred to as the custodial parent.

• FAFSA – If your parents are divorced, separated, or never married, and don’t live together, the parent who provided more financial support during the last 12 months is the contributor and must provide their information. If both parents provided an exact equal amount of financial support, or if they don’t support you financially, the parent with the greater income or assets is the contributor and must provide their information.
• College Board’s CSS Profile – If your parents are not living together, each parent should file a separate CSS Profile financial aid application. It is highly recommended that the student and the “custodial” parent start the CSS Profile application before the “non-custodial” parent starts theirs. If either or both parent is remarried, that parent’s current spouse’s information would also be provided on the CSS Profile

My parents do not want to pay for college. Can I apply for financial aid as an independent student?
Skidmore does not offer financial assistance to students who declare themselves independent of their parents, nor are we able to offer assistance if parents decide that they no longer wish to support a student at Skidmore College.

I missed the deadline for applying for financial aid. What should I do? Will I still get aid?
If you enroll without Skidmore grant assistance, you are not eligible to receive financial aid from Skidmore College for your first two years; however, you may be eligible for federal aid.

When will I be notified of my financial aid for next year?
First-year applicants will receive notification of their financial aid with their admissions acceptance letter.

Will Skidmore College match my financial aid award from another institution(s)?
No, we do not change our award on the basis of what a family is offered from another college or university.

What happens if I do not initially receive financial aid from Skidmore College but later find out I need to apply?
Those students admitted without Skidmore College grant assistance are normally first eligible to receive such aid, if need is demonstrated, in their junior year.

Will my financial aid change from year to year?
If family circumstances remain relatively unchanged, you can expect a comparable aid package that meets your demonstrated need in your upperclass years assuming you meet our published priority deadline. The upperclass award will reflect yearly changes in costs, family circumstances, income, private scholarship, and number of children attending college. Work-study awards, student loan amounts, and student summer earnings will increase each year after the initial aid award. You must update your financial aid records by filing renewal applications every year. Your aid is not contingent upon maintaining a target grade-point average, other than to meet Skidmore College standards for minimum satisfactory academic progress.

If I receive outside scholarships, how do they affect my financial aid?
Skidmore allows a student to receive the full benefit of an outside scholarship and will reduce a student's loan and/or work-study and/or family contribution by the full amount of the outside scholarship. A student's total aid package cannot exceed a student's cost of attendance in a given year. When all grants and scholarships exceed the cost of attendance, the Skidmore grant will be reduced.

If I do not qualify for federal work-study, can I still get a job on campus?
Yes, there are many part-time jobs available on campus that are not limited to students on financial aid.

How do I apply for a Federal Direct PLUS Loan?
Complete instructions on how to apply, along with links to online forms, can be found at in our Loan Information section.

Why is the Federal Direct PLUS loan amount on my student bill less than the amount my parent's borrowed?
There is a small origination fee that is deducted by the lender from the amount that a parent receives in loan funds. Therefore, the total amount disbursed is less than the actual amount borrowed. See Loan Information for more detail.

How do I apply for a Federal Direct Student Loan?
Complete instructions on how to apply, along with links to online forms, can be found at our website under the link for Loan Information.

Why is the Federal Direct Loan amount on my student bill less than the amount on my financial aid award letter?
There is a small origination fee that is deducted by the lender from the amount that a student receives in loan funds. Therefore, the total amount disbursed is less than the actual amount borrowed. See Loan Information for more detail.

When is the tuition bill due?
The fall semester bill is due August 15 and the spring semester bill is due December 15.

What is the OP program?
As a NYS grant-funded program, Opportunity Program works with the New York State Regents and the New York State Education Department to foster full participation in a society for all New Yorkers through continuing efforts to admit and retain those individuals who, due to economic and educational disadvantage, would otherwise not enroll at an institution like Skidmore College. More information can be found by visiting Skidmore College's OP Office website.