Fiscal crunch takes toll on students - Lee Coleman, Schenectady Gazette

Private liberal arts colleges, including Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs and Union College in Schenectady, are seeing a decline in admission applications and increased requests for financial aid. “It’s no surprise, looking at the economic climate,” said Robert Shorb, associate dean and director of student aid and family finance at Skidmore. Some students’ parents have lost their jobs, he said. Some families’ college investments have declined dramatically with the stock market.