Skidmore up close: Summer Admissions open house

"I wanted to study everything, and Skidmore was a really good fit for that," student panelist and history major Dan Landau '14 told 227 prospective students and their families at Skidmore's July 16 Summer Open House. For fellow panelist Catherine King '15, an international affairs and German double major, it was the swim team and the strong study abroad program (she plans to go to Vienna, Austria, in her junior year) that convinced her to apply Early Decision to Skidmore. Visiting families came from 20 states, including Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, and several foreign countries, including Thailand, to see the campus, hear from students, and learn more about opportunities available at Skidmore.

The question-and-answer segment for the six panelists, facilitated by Dean of Students Rochelle Calhoun, was part of an informative (hot and humid, too!) program that included general campus tours and specific arts and science tours led by Skidmore student ambassadors, a welcome BBQ, an introduction from Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Mary Lou Bates, a primer on the First-Year Experience (FYE) program from Associate Professor of Classics Michael Arnush, and an admissions and financial aid session led by Bates and Director of Financial Aid Beth Post-Lundquist (Did you know that Skidmore annually offers some $38 million in financial aid?)

In her introductory remarks, Bates accentuated a few aspects of the Skidmore experience that she believes makes it unique: "We are broader and more creative, even than most liberal arts colleges. Just look at our pre-professional offerings in management and business, elementary education, social work, exercise science, studio arts, and more.? I challenge you to find another college where business and studio arts are among the most popular majors. Or where you can so readily find a pre-med student in the ceramics studio."

Arnush recounted his experience teaching his FYE Scribner Seminar, "Democracy Inaction," a title he admittedly borrowed from John Stuart Mill. The class tracked the arc of democracy from Athens to India, the world's largest democracy, to town meetings in nearby Vermont, all the way to Saratoga Springs and a charter reform ballot initiative. Ultimately, the first-year students chose to organize and host a community debate on the issue?"no one else wanted to do it"?in addition to registering in their new hometown and voting. Says Arnush, "I was thrilled that they acted upon what they were learning and made a real difference in the political process."

As Bates reminded the families in attendance, "Creative thought matters."

Click here to learn about Skidmore's entering first-year class, the Class of 2016.

For more on Skidmore Admissions, including visiting and applying, click here.