Skidmore College: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
Hempstead, New York · Private nonprofit · Moderately selective · CDS 2025-2026
Skidmore College is a private nonprofit university in Hempstead, New York that admits about 71% of applicants, making it a moderately selective school. The average family pays about $35,129 a year after financial aid, which matters more than the published sticker price. It is best known for Radio, Television, and Digital Communication, Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions and Psychology, General, its largest undergraduate programs by number of graduates. About 66% of students graduate within six years. Its most recent Clery Act report shows roughly 1.7 criminal offenses per 1,000 students.
Skidmore College is a private institution located in Hempstead, New York with a moderately selective admissions profile. For the most recent reporting cycle, Skidmore College admits about half to three-quarters of applicants, with an overall admission rate of 71%. Admitted students typically post an average SAT of 1294 and an ACT composite around 29. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $35,129 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether Skidmore College is realistic for their teenager, the most useful planning step is comparing your child's current GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against these admitted-student ranges — not the headline acceptance rate alone.
What GPA does my child need for Skidmore College?
Skidmore College admits students with a wide GPA range, but most successful applicants present an unweighted GPA of 3.3 or higher with a college-prep curriculum. Parents tracking their child's GPA toward this tier of school can use Solyo's free calculator to see weighted, unweighted, and college-recalculated numbers side by side.
What does Skidmore College weight in admissions?
Skidmore College reports the following factor importance in its Common Data Set (2025-2026). These are the criteria the admissions committee weighs when reviewing applications.
- • Rigor of secondary school record
- • Class rank
- • Academic GPA
- • Application essay
- • Recommendations
- • Interview
- • Extracurricular activities
- • Talent/ability
- • Character/personal qualities
- • Standardized test scores
- • First generation status
- • Geographical residence
- • State residency
- • Volunteer work
- • Work experience
- • Level of applicant's interest
- • Alumni/ae relation
- • Religious affiliation/commitment
SAT and ACT scores Skidmore College typically admits
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 600–690, with an EBRW midpoint near 635. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 27–31. Many applicants here submit scores; even slightly below the average can be competitive when combined with a strong GPA and curriculum.
| 25th percentile | 1260 |
| 50th percentile | 1320 |
| 75th percentile | 1390 |
| % submitting SAT | 25% |
| 25th percentile | 28 |
| 50th percentile | 30 |
| 75th percentile | 32 |
| % submitting ACT | 4% |
- • Test-optional: Standardized test scores are not required, but may be submitted and considered.
- • Policy detail: Considered if submitted
Where admitted students ranked in their high school class
Class rank distribution gives parents a clear sense of how academically dominant a typical admitted student was within their own high school cohort — often a more meaningful signal than absolute GPA.
| Top 10% of class | 24% |
| Top 25% of class | 55% |
| Top 50% of class | 88% |
| % submitting class rank | 21% |
How much does Skidmore College actually cost?
Published tuition is $55,450 for in-state students and $55,450 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $17,720 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $35,129 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 24% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
| In-state tuition | $58,845 |
| Room and board | $19,318 |
| Average net price (after aid) | $35,129 |
| Application fee | $70 (waivers available) |
Application deadlines and early decision data for Skidmore College
| Regular deadline | Rolling |
| Notification date | Rolling, beginning February 1 |
| Reply deadline | May 1 or within 2 weeks if notified thereafter |
| Rolling admissions | Yes |
| Offers Early Action | Yes |
| EA deadline | Early Action I - 11/15; Early Action II - 12/15 |
Will my child graduate from Skidmore College?
Retention and graduation rates are the most overlooked numbers in college planning, but they predict actual outcomes far better than acceptance rate. They tell you whether admitted students stay and finish on time.
Most popular majors at Skidmore College
The most popular undergraduate programs at Skidmore College, measured by the number of students who actually graduate each year, are Radio, Television, and Digital Communication, Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions and Psychology, General. Across all programs, Skidmore College confers roughly 568 bachelor's degrees a year. Graduates of its Radio, Television, and Digital Communication program report a median income of about $66,854 five years after entering college. Major popularity is a practical signal of where a school concentrates its teaching strength and where your child will find the deepest course offerings and peer community.
| Major | Graduates / year | Median earnings (5 yrs out) |
|---|---|---|
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication | 106 | $66,854 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions | 73 | $59,532 |
| Psychology, General | 70 | $62,755 |
| Marketing | 70 | $70,248 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services | 69 | $98,154 |
| Political Science and Government | 65 | $70,385 |
| Journalism | 58 | $60,154 |
| Public Health | 57 | $62,283 |
Is Skidmore College safe? Campus crime & safety
In its most recent Clery Act report (2024), Skidmore College disclosed 11 total criminal offenses across its campus and surrounding public property, about 1.7 per 1,000 students. That figure includes 3 violent offenses and 8 reported sexual assaults or VAWA offenses. Per-1,000-student rates matter more than raw counts when comparing schools, because larger universities mechanically report more incidents. Under the federal Clery Act, every college that receives federal aid must publish these numbers annually.
What is campus life like at Skidmore College?
About 36% of undergraduates at Skidmore College live in campus housing, so a meaningful share of students commute or live off campus. In Greek life, 0% of men join a fraternity and 0% of women join a sorority. Residential rate and Greek participation shape day-to-day social life and are worth weighing alongside academics and cost.
Other colleges in New York parents ask about
How parents track GPA toward selective schools like Skidmore College
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like Skidmore College recalculate it, and ask an AI college counselor specific questions about their teen's odds. The platform is built for parents — not students — and turns what's usually a fragmented planning process into a single dashboard.
Common questions parents ask about Skidmore College
What GPA do I need for Skidmore College?
Skidmore College admits students with a wide GPA range, but most successful applicants present an unweighted GPA of 3.3 or higher with a college-prep curriculum.
What SAT or ACT score does Skidmore College typically admit?
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 600–690, with an EBRW midpoint near 635. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 27–31.
How much does Skidmore College actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Skidmore College after grants and scholarships is $35,129 per year. That figure is more useful for budgeting than the published sticker price, because it reflects what families actually pay after aid is applied.
Is Skidmore College realistic for my child?
Compare your teen's current unweighted GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against the ranges above. If both numbers fall inside the school's middle-50, Skidmore College is a target school. If both fall below the 25th-percentile mark, treat it as a reach and balance the application list accordingly.
What is the acceptance rate at Skidmore College?
Skidmore College accepts about 71% of applicants out of roughly 21,771 who apply each year. That makes it a moderately selective school.
Is Skidmore College test-optional?
Yes. Skidmore College is test-optional, so SAT and ACT scores are not required, but strong scores can still be submitted and will be considered.
What is the graduation rate at Skidmore College?
About 66% of students at Skidmore College graduate within six years, and 57% finish in four years. 85% of freshmen return for sophomore year. Graduation rate predicts real outcomes better than acceptance rate.
What does Skidmore College look for in applicants?
Skidmore College rates course rigor, class rank, GPA and the application essay as "very important" in its Common Data Set. These are the factors the admissions committee weighs most heavily when reviewing an application.
Is Skidmore College a public or private school, and where is it located?
Skidmore College is a private nonprofit institution located in Hempstead, New York.
What are the most popular majors at Skidmore College?
The largest undergraduate majors at Skidmore College by annual graduates are Radio, Television, and Digital Communication, Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions and Psychology, General. The school awards about 568 bachelor's degrees a year in total. These figures come from federal IPEDS completion data.
Is Skidmore College safe? What is its campus crime rate?
Skidmore College reported 11 total criminal offenses in its most recent Clery Act disclosure (2024), roughly 1.7 per 1,000 students. Compare the per-1,000 rate rather than the raw total, since larger schools report more incidents.
What is campus life like at Skidmore College?
At Skidmore College, 36% of undergraduates live on campus, 0% of men are in fraternities, 0% of women are in sororities, according to its most recent Common Data Set.
Data sourced from the 2025-2026 Common Data Set submitted by Skidmore College, the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS, and Clery Act campus safety disclosures. Solyo extracts admissions data from official Common Data Set publications and refreshes it annually.