禁漫天堂

Skidmore College is welcoming 713 talented and academically accomplished first-year and transfer students to its campus for the 2025-26 academic year and is investing more financial aid than ever to make a Skidmore College education possible. 

Selected from over 12,200 applicants, the 693 members of the Class of 2029 and 20 transfer students come from 38 different U.S. states and the District of Columbia, as well as more than 20 countries. With a 24% admit rate, the first-year students are members of one of the most selective classes in College history. 

Each year, an increasing number of top students apply to Skidmore; many rely on financial aid to make their education affordable. The College continues to expand the financial aid it makes available each year, enrolling academically talented students with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and achievements.   

鈥淪ixty-five percent of the class is receiving grant aid from Skidmore to make this education a reality. As someone who needed financial aid in order to attend college, I'm especially proud of the way that Skidmore continues to provide need-based aid 鈥� over $75 million annually,鈥� Vice President for Enrollment and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Jessica Ricker told the new students.  

This class embodies the Skidmore ethos of Creative Thought Matters."

Jessica Ricker 

Vice President for Enrollment and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid

"These new students are not only academically accomplished, they are athletes and activists; gamers and geologists; podcasters, punk rock researchers, and even preprofessional ballerinas," Ricker continued. "They are passionate and committed to a range of causes, including antiracism, the environment, and mental health and wellness.鈥�  

A first-generation college-going student, Ricker noted that that 14% of the new Skidmore students were the first in their families to go to college. 

By the numbers

• First-year students: 693
• Transfer students: 20
• States represented: 38
• Countries represented: 22
• Receiving financial aid: 65%
• Federal Pell Grant eligible: 20%
• First-generation college-going students: 14% 
• Domestic students of color: 31%
• Popular prospective majors: Management and business, psychology, biology, environmental studies and science, English 

A warm welcome  

Staff, faculty, fellow students, and alumni all play a key role in welcoming new students to Skidmore. 

Months before they arrived on campus, Skidmore staff were working to bring them to campus from locations as distant as China, Kenya, and Vietnam.  

More than 30 students arrived on campus in mid-August and are now spending their first semester in London as part of a Skidmore academic program for first-year students. 

Over 400 students arrived on campus on Thursday, Aug. 28, for Skidmore鈥檚 pre-orientation programs, designed to help them begin their college journeys with new friends and upperclassmen mentors. Programs ranged from outdoor adventures in the Adirondack Mountains to opportunities to explore Saratoga Springs, a top U.S. college town.  

Classes on Skidmore鈥檚 campus began Wednesday, Sept. 3.   

All students participate in a range of orientation programs organized by Skidmore鈥檚 First-Year Experience program, including multidisciplinary Scribner Seminars. This year鈥檚 seminars range from How to Change the World in 15 Weeks, taught by Professor of History and Director of Civic Engagement Eric Morser to Secrets, Codes, and Ciphers led by Assistant Professor of Mathematics Kirsten Hogenson. 

New Student Convocation  

The Skidmore community officially welcomed its newest members with bagpipers, academic regalia, and ceremonial pomp, at New Student Convocation on Tuesday, Sept. 2. 

President Marc Conner encouraged students to embrace both the academic challenges and the kindness associated with the Skidmore experience. 

鈥淎t Skidmore, we approach these challenges together. We take care of each other,鈥� President Conner said.

My hope for you is that you be challenged, that you will learn who you are and what you cherish, that you will make friends who will last your lifetime, that you will have moments of deep joy, and you will learn beyond your dreams.鈥� 

Samantha Majiedt 鈥�27, president of the Student Government Association, described the extraordinary opportunities associated with a liberal arts education at Skidmore as 鈥渇our years to build the foundation of your life.鈥� 

鈥淒on鈥檛 wait to use your voice. Don鈥檛 wait to take risks. Don鈥檛 wait to live boldly,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is your moment.  This is your class. This is your time to rise. So do not wait. Do not settle. Do not shrink. The world is watching. The world will not wait, so go out and change it.鈥� 

Linda Jackson-Chalmers 鈥�73, a trustee of more than three decades who came to Skidmore through its Opportunity Program, reflected on her own transformative student years amid the antiwar, women鈥檚 rights, and civil rights movements. 

鈥淯se these next four years at Skidmore to write your own stories, to write your history here at Skidmore. Take advantage of all that is available to you. Don鈥檛 be afraid to step out of your comfort zone, and do it with a spirit of understanding and inclusiveness,鈥� she told the students. 鈥淵ou will see our motto, Creative Thought Matters, in action throughout your years here.鈥� 

Rachel Roe-Dale, director of the First-Year Experience and professor of mathematics, referred to the summer reading for the Class of 2029, 鈥淪tay True,鈥� by Hua Hsu. 

鈥淗su writes, 鈥榯he thing you learn in college is how to live with other people,鈥欌�� Roe-Dale said, quoting the book. 鈥淎s you begin this chapter, remember that your education is not just about ideas and books but also about relationships 鈥� about learning to see yourself in others, to listen, to share, and to grow together.鈥� 

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