Posted by Kevin Wang
Skidmore once again broke their applicant record with 8,600 applications for the class of 2018, following last year's record of 8,286.
This year's application total reflects a 3.8 percent increase over the application count for the class of 2017, and a 49.6 percent increase over the 5,750 applications received for the class of 2016.
According to Mary Lou Bates, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, this year's pool includes applicants from 49 states (plus D.C., Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and Guam) and 119 international countries.
Several factors can be attributed to the dramatic growth in applications for the last two years, one being a more streamlined application process. An article in The New York Times noted that for years before their removal, Skidmore had included one or more short-answer questions on its supplement to the Common Application. Mary Lou Bates, who was quoted in the article, felt like answers were too generic and that the Common App essay was sufficient in evaluating the students. Skidmore's removal of the extra writing requirement correlated with last year's 45 percent jump in applications.
In the last two years, Skidmore has also appeared in favorable college rankings, including The Princeton Review's "Best Value Colleges," Huffington Post's "Most Accessible Professors," and Newsweek's top-ten list of happiest students.
In a State of the College address, President Philip A. Glotzbach also attributed last year's increase to expanded travel by admissions staff and a major upgrade of the College's Web site.
The admissions office is currently reviewing the candidates and decision letters will be mailed on Monday, March 24.