Program Description

Skidmore College

Pre-College Program in the Liberal and Studio Arts
Saratoga Springs, New York


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For More Information, Contact
Dr. James Chansky, Director of Summer Special Programs
Pre-College Program in the Liberal and Studio Arts
Office of the Dean of Special Programs
Skidmore College
815 North Broadway
Saratoga Springs, New York 12866
518-580-5590
Fax: 518-580-5548
http://www.skidmore.edu/summer
E-mail: jchansky@skidmore.edu

Type of Program: Credit-bearing, first-year college courses in the liberal and studio arts
Participants: Coeducational, grades 10–postgraduate
Enrollment: 80–100
Program Dates: Five weeks, July to early August
Head of Program: Dr. James Chansky, Director of Summer Special Programs

Location

Saratoga Springs is a small, cosmopolitan town in upstate New York, well known as a summer resort town and for its Victorian heritage, famed spas, thoroughbred racing, and commitment to the arts. The lively summer season at Skidmore College receives national recognition for the rich diversity of its programs in the liberal, fine, creative, and performing arts and for the public offerings that fill Skidmore’s theater, gallery, and recital and lecture halls.

Background and Philosophy

Since the late 1970s, Skidmore has been bringing bright high school students to the campus for a summer experience of college life and learning. Through the combination of first-year college-level courses, dormitory living, and the rich and varied intellectual, cultural, artistic, and social life of the summer campus, the program is designed to offer high school students a true college experience.

Program Offerings

Pre-College students enroll in two credit-bearing courses and some college-level noncredit courses, selected from among a range of offerings in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and mathematics, as well as a robust array in the studio arts. They may focus on a particular area, such as two courses in the studio arts, a math and a science course, or a writing and a literature course, or explore more broadly, taking ceramics and biology, calculus and poetry, anthropology and chemistry, or similar combinations. The courses open to precollege students are introductory, foundation-level courses offered through the College's regular summer session, so precollege students are enrolled in courses alongside Skidmore and visiting college students. Courses are taught primarily by full-time Skidmore faculty members, who are known for their attention to students and to student learning. Students working in the studio arts can take full advantage of exceptional studio space and a strong arts program, reflecting the College’s strengths in this area in particular.
In addition to faculty support, the Academic Coordinator assists students in their course work, managing their time, and acclimating to the pace of college life. Special sessions help Pre-College students think about what they want to study in college, what sort of college they want to attend, how to negotiate the college application process, how to compose admissions essays, and how to prepare portfolios for applications in studio art. The art exhibits and lecture-demonstrations and evening lectures, readings, recitals, and performances offered by the concurrently running summer programs further enhance students’ intellectual and cultural life, and the extracurricular activities put together by the residence hall staff inject an element of pure fun into the program.

Enrollment

Program students come from all over the United States as well as from abroad and reflect a very wide diversity of social, economic, ethnic, and racial backgrounds.

Daily Schedule

Pre-College students enroll in two courses, equivalent to full-time enrollment in a typical college semester. Preparation time averages about 2 hours daily for each class. Free time is spent attending the many performances, films, lectures, and other events happening across the campus and in more relaxing and fun program-sponsored events, including swimming, working out in the gym, walking downtown to a coffeehouse, and socializing with new friends on campus and in the dormitory.

Extra Opportunities and Activities

Among the larger challenges facing Pre-College students is finding the time to take advantage of all the activities and events on campus: jazz concerts offered by the nationally known Jazz Institute faculty members and visiting artists; fiction, nonfiction, and poetry readings and discussions by the prize-winning writers in the New York State Summer Writers Institute; great movies shown in the International Film Festival; lecture-demonstrations and art openings through the Summer Studio Art Programs; and more.
Events organized by the dorm staff specifically for high school students include regular get-togethers following evening events, movie nights, volleyball games, study breaks, and other activities. Weekend off-campus events include attending a performance of the New York City Ballet at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, spending a day at the Six Flags Great Escape Amusement Park (among the largest in the U.S.), taking a day trip to New York City, and exploring the downtown area of Saratoga Springs.

Facilities

Students are housed in a dormitory and dine in the College’s recently renovated dining hall. The library provides lots of space for study and group work, a substantial collection of books and journals, and state-of-the-art computers. The sports and recreation center includes weight rooms; racquetball, squash, and basketball courts; a competition-sized swimming pool; an all-weather outdoor track and artificial-turf field; and several tennis courts. A running path winds its way around the perimeter of the campus, and numerous hiking trails zigzag through the woods to the north of the campus.

Staff

The Pre-College Program is one among the many summer academic programs administered by Skidmore’s Office of the Dean of Special Programs, the office bearing responsibility for all summer programs. The teaching faculty members and the academic coordinator are members of the Skidmore faculty and community and are all seasoned educators selected on the basis of their ability to teach first-year-level courses. The residential staff consists of an adult professional Residential Director and a staff of well-trained and experienced college students who serve as residential assistants.

Medical Care

Emergency and critical care for program participants is available through the College’s Office of Health Services and the Saratoga Hospital, which is 5 minutes from the campus. All students are required to submit a medical and release form prior to their arrival.

Costs

The total program cost for a residential student is approximately $4800–$5600 and includes tuition for two courses, room, board, and an activity fee. Books and supplies carry additional charges.

Financial Aid

Some full and partial scholarships are awarded annually on the basis of need and merit. As aid is limited, early application is advisable.

Transportation

Skidmore College is half an hour from the Albany County Airport and 45 minutes from the Albany-Rensselaer Amtrak station. Major bus lines also deliver service directly to Saratoga Springs. Taxi and limousine service is available to take students to the campus.

Application Timetable

Students are encouraged to make their inquiries in the late fall and to apply as soon as they receive application materials. Admission decisions are made on a rolling basis, usually within two weeks of receipt of a completed application. To ensure a place in the program, applications are best received by May 1, though applications are reviewed up to mid-June on a space-available basis.