Residence Halls
Our eight traditional residence halls house primarily first-year and sophomore students in single, double and triple rooms. Each residence hall offers lounge areas, kitchenette facilities, study rooms, laundry, exercise equipment and vending services. Seven of our residence halls offer suite-style living where four to nine residents share a common bathroom. One residence hall is corridor-style where each wing of a floor shares bathrooms. All students living in the residence halls are required to be on the unlimited meal plan. Regardless of age, all residence halls are drug and alcohol-free facilities. Students can also choose to live in one of nine special-interest communities.
The residence halls are supervised by Area Coordinators (ACs). Each floor in our residence halls has a Resident Assistant (RA).
Residence halls at Skidmore College are divided into two quads.
North Quad
South Quad
On-Call Support
Every night between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., there is an RA on call in each residence hall, available to assist students.
- Howe Hall
- Jonsson Tower
- Kimball Hall
- McClellan Hall
- Penfield Hall
- Wait Hall
- Wiecking Hall
- Wilmarth Hall
Res Life and Housing Policies
The Residential Life Handbook document is a comprehensive guide outlining the policies set in place that we hold students accountable for as residents of our campus.
Packing List: What to Bring and What Not to Bring
Many national retailers offer "what to bring" lists for a college room/apartment. However, these lists often include prohibited and/or dangerous items. Please review the Residence Hall Packing List to see how you should prepare for living in a residence hall.
FAQs for Living in the Residence Halls
Residence hall rooms and apartments will be available for occupancy as specified by the Skidmore College Academic Calendar (published through the Office of the Registrar) each academic year. Students who arrive early without authorization or without being sponsored by a college official or office will be subject to a $250/day room and board charge and/or may be asked to leave the college until the semester opens.
Traditional residence halls (Howe-Rounds, Jonsson Tower, Kimball, McClellan, Penfield, Wait, and Wilmarth) have suite-style bathrooms. This means that approximately four to six rooms share one bathroom, which includes two sinks, a toilet and a shower with a door. Bathrooms are cleaned on a regular basis. Toilet paper and hand soap are stocked in these facilities.
Wiecking Hall has communal single-sex bathrooms. Each facility has sinks, toilets and showers with doors. Bathrooms are cleaned on a regular basis. Toilet paper and hand soap are stocked in these facilities. The gender-neutral area has private bathrooms that are not gender-specific.
Cooking is prohibited in student rooms. Each residence hall floor has a kitchen area with a refrigerator and microwave for preparing light snacks. Appliances may be used in kitchen areas only, not in student rooms. The residents of each floor are responsible for keeping kitchenette areas in order.
Each residence hall has a housekeeping staff. While housekeepers do not pick up after individual students, they do maintain all common areas (hallways, bathrooms, etc.). It is important to keep your floor lounge and bathroom free from clutter, especially the countertops and showers.
The housekeepers do not clean individual rooms; that is the student's responsibility.
For facility concerns, contact your RA to assist you in placing a work order for the problem. Depending on the severity/priority of your work request, please allow up to 10 business days for the completion of your request. It is important that you communicate back to your RA when the work request has been completed.
The Office of Residential Life publishes a Handbook annually with all of the polices and procedures that come with living as part of a community. Please see our Residential Life Handbook for information on policies and procedures.
There are designated trash rooms on each floor of the residence halls. Trash is removed from these rooms on weekdays and Sunday mornings. It is the responsibility of the students to remove trash from their individual bedrooms.
Students are permitted to invite guests to their spaces, but should always consult with roommates! For the most up to date information on guest policies, please follow College emails and updated expectations.
Wireless internet access is provided by Apogee. This new wireless network is the most current technology available. Wireless speeds will be guaranteed at 20Mb download, 5Mb upload per device. You can register as many as five devices per person. If you opt to pay for faster service (or more devices), all your devices are guaranteed the faster download speeds.
This wireless network will require registration for each device you’d like to connect. You can register before you even get on campus; just be sure to register all the devices you’ll be bringing. When you register, don’t use your Skidmore credentials. Be sure to choose “Resident” when signing up for an account. https://www.myresnet.com/signup.
If there are any problems or questions with the registration process, please call the Apogee tech support number (855-377-4170). Apogee will also have a technician on site at Skidmore as a full-time employee to help with any problems.
Washers and dryers are located in the basement of each residence hall (first floor of Howe-Rounds). There is no cost to the student for the use of the laundry machines.
For environmental purposes, all of our washes are set for a cold wash.
Do not leave your clothes in the laundry room. When your laundry is done, pick it up.
E&R Laundry Service: Those who would like some help with their laundry may want to use E&R Laundry Service to wash or dry clean clothes and linens. E&R's toll-free number is 800-243-7789. Visit their website for more information.
When students first arrive on campus, check-in locations will be set up in all residence halls. Students will have their Skidmore ID Card activated for their room.
If a student loses their ID Card, they should go to the Skidmore Card Office to obtain a new card. These cards can then be encoded for their room by visiting the Office of Residential Life. Click Here to login to the Card Office website and deactivate your card if lost/stolen.
In order to insure the safety of possessions and personal safety, it is imperative that doors are locked at all times when the student is out or sleeping.
If you are locked out of your hall/room, please follow the lock-out procedures listed below:
9 a.m.–9 p.m.:
- Contact your RA staff member.
- If your RA is not available, try another RA in the building.
- If no RA is available, call Campus Safety at 518-580-5566.
9 p.m.–midnight:
- Contact the RA on call for your building.
Midnight–9 a.m.:
- Contact Campus Safety at 518-580-5566.
*Note: It may take up to 20–30 minutes for Campus Safety to respond.
Remember, you are responsible for carrying your ID Card when you leave your room. This includes going to the bathroom, gym or class. This lock-out procedure is not to be used in place of carrying your ID Card.
The college does not accept responsibility for any theft or losses in student rooms, storage closets, storage areas or anywhere in college buildings or on campus at any time, either during terms or during one of the recesses. This applies to any damage from water, steam, soot, smoke, fire or any other destruction. It is advised that all students be certain that they are protected by their family homeowner's insurance.
Gallagher Koster Student Personal Property Insurance, a company not affiliated with the college, does provide personal property insurance plans for individual students. CLICK HERE to download their 2011 personal property brochure.
All residence halls have lounges throughout the buildings. Most lounges feature sofas and end tables and one lounge per building contains a big-screen TV with a Blu-ray/DVD player and cable.
There is a fully operational post office located on campus on the first floor of Case Center, including individual student mailboxes. Please visit the College Post Office website to learn more about their services.
Local merchants who have flowers or baked-goods deliveries for students can bring them to the Case Center Information Desk on the second floor of Case Center. The desk is staffed from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday–Thursday and 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Friday. The desk has no system in place for weekend deliveries.
Within every residence hall, there are designated quiet hours, during which residents must keep noise to a minimum.
In addition, "courtesy hours," which call for general consideration regardless of time, are always in effect. If someone asks you to quiet down, please comply.
During final exams, quiet hours are in effect 24 hours a day. The enforcement of quiet hours is everyone's responsibility. If your neighbor is being too loud, you are encouraged to ask them to please quiet down. If this proves ineffective, see your RA or call Campus Safety.
Quiet hours are:
Sunday night–Friday morning: 9 p.m.–9 a.m.
Friday night–Sunday morning: 1–10 a.m.
Pets, except for fish (maximum tank size 10 gallons), are not allowed in housing. Students found in violation of this policy will be charged a cleaning fee and the pet must be removed from the space immediately.
With proper documentation and approval through the special housing accommodations committee, approved emotional support animals (ESAs). Service animals are always permitted.
Special Interest housing allows students to live in Special Interest housing options within our on-campus residence halls. Special Interest housing includes eight housing options that are outside of the standard Residence hall room selection process. Please see the descriptions below for each type of interest. Students may apply to live in Special Interest housing during housing selection in the spring.
Substance-Free floor
The purpose of the Substance-Free community is to support all students in their decision to not allow alcohol or other drugs to negatively affect the community in which they live. Further, the Substance-Free community exists in order to provide students with a comfortable, safe living environment free from the pressures associated with alcohol and other drugs. This community is close-knit, as students share this common bond. Students who are in substance-abuse recovery programs are encouraged to apply.
Students living within this community agree to three conditions:
- Not to physically bring drugs and/or alcohol into this community
- Not to enter this community under the influence of drugs and or alcohol
- Not to bring guests into this area who are under the effects of drugs and/or alcohol
If students who live in this community are found to violate any of these conditions, they may be asked to move out of the community.
Substance-Free Quiet floor
The Substance-Free Quiet floor is located on the third floor of Howe Hall, within the Substance-Free community and will observe 24-hour quiet hours in addition to the other conditions of Substance-Free living.
Global community
The Global Community has been designed for students who value learning about other countries. This community is open to all students (domestic, international, study-abroad alumni, etc.) who wish to learn more about the global influences on students.
Multicultural community
The Multicultural Community has been designed to provide opportunities for students to learn about, and appreciate the diverse backgrounds of their peers. This community is open to students of all racial and ethnic identities.
Gender Inclusive housing
Gender Inclusive housing is an option provided within our residence halls to allow students to live outside of the standard confines of housing by legal sex. Students choosing this option will be housed in either a section of Wiecking Hall, where the bathroom is not gendered, or in a suite in one of our eight other residence halls where the bathrooms are not gendered.
PRISM Community
Peers Representing Intersectional Identities and Sexuality Meaningfully.
The PRISM community strives to celebrate the lives and experiences of students who identify within the LGBTQ+ community. We strive to acknowledge intersectionality of identity and create a space where LGBTQ+ individuals can feel valued, safe, and in community with one another through intentional programmatic efforts. Through discussion of LGBTQ+ history, activism, and current events residents of this community can grow in their knowledge of and participation in the LGBTQ+ community at large.
Quiet floor
The quiet floor is a community designed to provide a quieter atmosphere than most residence halls in hope of providing an environment that meets the needs of students that need a quiet environment for their studies.
This floor will observe 24-hour quiet hours year-round. Students who live in this area and violate quiet hours may be asked to move out of the community.
Women's housing
In keeping with our roots of initially being founded as a women's college, Skidmore College currently offers one women's floor within our residence halls. This floor provides our female students with an opportunity to live in a community consisting exclusively of other women.
The women's floor is open to all students who identify as women.
Honors Forum housing
This housing option is available only to students in the Periclean Honors Forum. Students applying for this option will not need to complete the special-interest housing application; rather, they instead should connect with the Honors Forum staff to indicate their interest.