Acceptance Rate
21%
Avg. SAT
1480
75th percentile
“Skidmore fuses intimate liberal arts with Saratoga Springs' horse-racing glamour and artistic undercurrents, perfect for students who crave creativity amid New York's rural elegance.”
Saratoga Springs, NY
Location
Small Suburb
Campus Setting
You arrive at Skidmore in Saratoga Springs, a Victorian spa town 30 miles north of Albany where thoroughbreds thunder around the oldest stakes race in America each summer. Founded in 1903 by Lucy Skidmore Scribner as a women's school teaching home economics to the daughters of the Gilded Age elite, it evolved into a coed liberal arts college by 1970, shedding its vocational roots for a fierce commitment to the arts and interdisciplinary exploration. Skidmore attracts quirky, self-driven creatives—think dancers who code, environmentalists who paint—who thrive on close-knit collaboration but might chafe at the isolation of this small suburb, where winters bury the campus in snow and the nearest big city pulses two hours away in Manhattan or Boston. The school's personality shines through its unpretentious vibe: professors host barbecues, and the town infuses campus life with mineral springs, farm-to-table cafes, and a progressive arts scene that feels worlds away from Ivy pressure.
Photo Gallery
+32
+24
Admissions
Acceptance Rate
Test Policy
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Average GPA
Application Fee
Academics
Student-Faculty Ratio
Programs Offered
Full-Time Faculty
Women Faculty
Research Spending
Degree Levels Offered
In Skidmore's classrooms, you'll debate philosophy in seminars capped at 16 or choreograph ballets informed by neuroscience, thanks to an 8:1 student-faculty ratio that dwarfs most peers (more intimate than 90% of liberal arts colleges). The college punches above its weight in performing and visual arts—its dance program rivals Juilliard feeders—while business, environmental studies, and government draw pre-professionals with hands-on projects like consulting for local nonprofits or researching Adirondack ecology. Research thrives for undergrads from day one, but tradeoffs loom: without graduate students, pure STEM heavyweights lag behind research universities, and the self-designed major option demands unusual initiative that overwhelms the less motivated.
Student Body
Total Enrollment
2,704 undergrad • 0 grad
Undergraduate
Graduate
International
White
64%
Black / African American
4%
Hispanic / Latino
10%
Asian
6%
Other / Multi-racial
16%
Campus Life
Campus Setting
Saratoga Springs, NY
Varsity Athletics
NCAA Athletics
A typical week at Skidmore mixes 8 a.m. Scribner seminars with midnight rehearsals in the Tara Art Center, afternoons hiking nearby state parks, and weekends at fratless parties in cedar cabins or the historic racetrack. Over 90% of students live on campus in theme houses fostering communities around sustainability or a capella, fueling a social scene that's inclusive yet cliquey among arts majors. Traditions like the Freakout all-nighter of student performances capture the exuberant, experimental spirit, but brace for Saratoga's sleepy off-season—minus racing crowds and SPAC concerts, social energy dips, and brutal upstate winters keep you indoors, testing even the most resilient extroverts.
Housing
On-Campus Housing
Housing Capacity
Meal Plan Available
Average Room & Board
Athletics
Athletic Association
Liberty League
ROTC & Veteran Support
Veteran’s Programs Available
Yellow Ribbon Program (Post-9/11 GI Bill)
Yes
Cost & Aid
In-State Tuition
Out-of-State Tuition
Room & Board
Estimated Cost
Financial Aid
Students Receiving Aid
Receiving Pell Grants
Average Grant
Average Federal Loan
Net Annual Cost by Household Income
Household Income
Avg. Net Cost
$0 – $30K
$11,889
$30K – $48K
$13,382
$48K – $75K
$17,195
$75K – $110K
$26,939
$110K+
$42,836
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Outcomes & Earnings
Retention Rate
90%
4 Years Graduation Rate
80%
6 Years Graduation Rate
83%
Median 10-Year Earnings
$69,363
90% of first-time, full-time students complete their freshman year at Skidmore College and return in the fall. 80% of first-time, full-time students graduate in 4 years, and 83% graduate within 6 years.
Graduation Rate
4-year grads
80%
4-6 years
3%
Non-grad
17%
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Key Statistics
Type
Private
Tuition
$61,132
Acceptance
21%
Undergrads
2,704
4-Year Grad Rate
80%
Endowment
$335M
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866