Living in a residence hall, eating in a dining hall, being independent, doing your laundry, meeting new people and leaning to balance all the things you need to do with those you want to do are of course also a part of your preparation for college. The Pre-college program will give you plenty of opportunities to test yourself on all levels of college life and learning, and help you gear up for the real thing!

One of the College's residence halls is set aside each summer for high school students in the Pre-Collegiate Program. Students live in single and double rooms in suites for six, with an adjoining double bathroom. Several small lounges throughout the building and a large ground floor lounge provide ample social space. An adult Residence Hall Director and a group of Skidmore College students serving as resident assistants live in the hall along with the high school students, and make sure that students’ social life on campus is as rich and rewarding as their intellectual life.

While maintaining an atmosphere supportive of the common intellectual and artistic goals of the students, the residence hall staff spend a lot of time with students in informal ways as well as organized gatherings, movie-nights, sports and games, study breaks, weekend events and off-campus trips that supplement the already rich range of open-to-the-public offerings on campus.  The residence hall staff works to provide an environment that supports individual interests and communal living, and ensures that planned and unplanned activities fill the days, the nights and the weekends.

Newly renovated in 2006, the Murray-Aikins Dining Hall provides a place to eat and more. There are always hot and cold entrees, a full salad bar and vegetarian entrees available for lunch and dinner. Restaurant-style seating and natural light creates a comfortable atmosphere, lounge seating and wireless Internet access offer students the perfect place to socialize or study as well as taking in a great meal.

The Sports and Recreation Center includes two gyms, a competition-sized swimming pool and diving pool, racquetball and squash courts, weight and athletic training rooms. Adjacent to the center is a lighted artificial turf field, an all weather track, lighted tennis courts and several playing fields. 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.

The Lucy Scribner Library houses more than 400,000 volumes, augmented by subscriptions to about 1,700 journals and periodicals, more than 6,500 phonograph records and cassettes, 4,000 cd's, some 12,000 art and art history slides and more than 4,000 videotapes. Comfortable and quiet reading and studying spaces are spread throughout the building, as are the more than 125 state-of-the-art computers.

The Case College Student Center sits at the crossroads of the campus. The Summer Registration and Information Desk, open every day and into the evening, is on the second floor, along with the Burgess Cyber Café. On the ground floor is the Skidmore Shop, the Post Office and The Spa, the college's snack bar.

The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery’s designation as a “teaching museum” signals Skidmore’s intent to make Tang exhibitions, collection, and programs a significant contributor to a broad liberal arts education. Tang Museum exhibitions feature contemporary art, but regularly address other disciplines, including the natural and social sciences, performing arts and humanities. Events in the summer include, of course, exhibits in the museum, but also activities on the museum.

The Schick Art Gallery in the Saisselin Art Building offers students, the college community and the public an opportunity to experience significant contemporary and historical works of art borrowed for exhibit here from museums, galleries and private collections. Shows address a wide range of disciplines and are often accompanied by catalogues, gallery lectures and discussions with visiting artists, who often bring their own work to exhibit in the gallery.

Downtown Saratoga Springs is a short walk south on Broadway, or students can take the trolley, which runs on the hour throughout the day, making a loop from campus, through town, out to the Saratoga Spa State Park, and back.