Time reports on Skidmore's approach to financial aid

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How does Skidmore make decisions in admissions and financial aid? You'll find a three-page report in the current edition of Time, the result of a recent two-day visit to the campus by reporter Laura Fitzpatrick.

At a time when "colleges of all stripes are taking a battering as endowments evaporate and the alumni-donation well dries up," Time focused on Skidmore because it "typifies the unique dilemmas that face smallish private colleges" whose endowments are "too small to bankroll financial aid for all who need it."

Wanting to show readers how a "need-sensitive" institution like Skidmore makes financial aid decisions, Fitzpatrick spent hours reviewing the applications of individual students with Mary Lou Bates, dean of admissions and financial aid, and Bob Shorb, director of student aid and family finance. (All identifying information was removed.) She also observed a four-hour committee meeting at which science and math faculty determined those applicants to be offered—depending on need—up to $20,000 over two years through the "Skidmore Scholars in Science and Mathematics Program,” a program made possible by a $550,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.

That research resulted in a chart that noted that 40 percent of Skidmore's incoming class "won't pay anything like" the full cost of attending the college and reported the actual amounts that four families will pay. The amount ranges from $51,196 for a New York City family of four with an income of $169,007, substantial assets in the bank, and no other children in college to $0 for a New York State family of five with an income of $35,400 and one other child in college.

Over the last five years, Skidmore has increased its financial aid budget by 68 percent, from $16.1 million in 2003–04 to more than $27 million in 2008–09. In 2009–10 Skidmore will increase its financial-aid budget by $2 million—about eight percent—by "trimming travel, faculty raises, renovation plans and commencement activities," Fitzpatrick reports.

"While the cost of attending the college rose $2,000 this year, the average aid award increased $2,300. In addition to $7,000 worth of federal aid and state grants, work-study earnings and federal loans, the average financial-aid applicant will pocket $28,000 in Skidmore grants," she writes.

The full cost of an education at Skidmore is significantly higher than what any student pays, even those who are “full-pay” students, Shorb notes. In the 2008–09 academic year, for example, every student enjoyed a subsidy of $11,900 from a combination of Skidmore’s endowment earnings, annual fund gifts, and other sources.

Tuition and fees have grown by nine percent over the past two years, but the average financial aid package has grown by more than 17 percent over that same time period—from $20,653 to $24,190, or nearly double the rate of increase for tuition.

In commenting upon why the College agreed to work with Time on the story, President Glotzbach noted: “We felt that it was important to make certain that families are aware that we are doing all we can to make Skidmore affordable. We’ve made this a priority both in terms of our internal budgeting and our fundraising and the Skidmore community has responded. But we’re not yet where we want and need to be.”

Despite increasing its financial aid budget this year (even as it reduced costs in every other area of its operations) the College still did not have sufficient resources to meet all of the identified needs of students in its applicant pool, falling nearly $1 million short. “We really stretched as far as we could,” said Mary Lou Bates. “It was certainly one of the more difficult years as you never want to turn anyone down because of finances. But even with the infusion of new aid dollars, which were tough to come by, we just didn’t have enough to go around, particularly when we need to make certain we honor the commitments to our returning students. The good news is that we will again have a wonderfully strong and a richly diverse class of students joining us next fall.”

Skidmore received more than 6,400 applications this year. That’s down 14 percent from its all-time high of 7,400 this past year, but still the fourth-highest in the College’s history. “The bottom line for me,” observed Dean Bates, “is that even in this economy—and maybe because of it—families recognize that the type of education we offer is incredibly valuable. There is no ‘one way’ to be a student at Skidmore just as there is no ‘one way’ to survive the types of challenges life throws at you, and I think that we prepare our students better than most for just these kinds of moments.”

Learn more about how you can help support the College’s financial aid program.

Tags: financial aid, admissions