The Thompson Memorial Chapel is one of the most distinctive college landmarks that you’ll find anywhere. It has to be the most photographed building at Williams College. And Williams has one of the most beautiful campuses in the country. As a Middlebury Panther in the eighties, I had no idea why our rival Williams students and athletes were known as the Ephs. What is an Eph? I didn’t have the benefit of the Internet to find out that Ephraim Williams was the college’s founder. Their mascot is the Purple Cow. Not a fearsome mascot, if you ask me. But they have a beautiful campus and really smart kids.

A visit to Skidmore was long overdue. Founded by heiress Lucy Ann Skidmore as a women’s college, it became co-ed in 1971. The campus sits on North Broadway, just up from beautiful downtown Saratoga Springs.Skidmore’s Tisch Learning Center is home to the Psychology, History, American Studies, Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work departments. The building seems to have a random bench in a turret facing the student center. It provided welcome rest after I walked around campus.