Hampshire College, Amherst | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

The key to understanding Hampshire is that, above ALL else; the college expects the student WILL step up and take charge of their education and chart their own individual academic course and direction. I watched peers flunk out of/withdraw/transfer out of Hampshire left and right over my four years there because they had the notion that Hampshire was somehow going to be “easy” because the Divisional system isn’t traditionally “exam and grades-oriented” and that is a COMPLETE & UTTER FALLACY!

IF you intend to graduate from Hampshire, you’d better have a VERY clear idea of what you want to study and concentrate in, and how you’re going to do it. Hampshire REQUIRES you have an academic plan, and a vision. You will HAVE to fulfill concentration requirements. AND, you will also HAVE to push yourself to study extensively on the other four campuses, otherwise an Ivy League (or any) grad school program isn’t going to happen unless you have a well-maintained EXCELLENT weighted GPA from Amherst, Smith, Mt. Holyoke & UMass/Amherst. Hampshire evaluations alone will NOT get you into grad school.

I was REALLY happy when I figured that academic caveat out during my first year. I wanted to take Five-College courses from the get-go, but CASA (Hampshire’s Center for Academic Support & Advising) will advise first years not to take courses off campus (which I found EXTREMELY academically limiting) until their second semester. Therefore, I took my first Five College courses at Amherst & UMass/Amherst during the Spring semester of my first year.

Hampshire IS therefore VERY difficult and challenging for students who enter college not knowing what they want to do, BUT, if you do choose Hampshire (for me it was my #1 college choice) then it means you feel you are ready for the challenges and the experiences of being a Hampster.

I chose Hampshire over a number of other colleges/universities that I’d applied to, (including some that surprised even me like Emerson College in Boston & NYU/Tisch as a Theater/Film student) but that was just one of the (MANY) things that further convinced me I was DEFINITELY “ready” for the Hampshire experience. If I was turning down Emerson College & NYU/Tisch in favor of Hampshire’s Theater/Film Programs, I REALLY wanted the “specific” experience that I KNEW Hampshire would offer me.

You just have to KNOW that the college is for you or not. After a semester or a year, you’ll KNOW. Once you complete Division I, and file your Division II that’s usually a pretty good indicator you’ll keep on attending. Your residential life experience at Hampshire is also CENTRAL to your academic one, so choose VERY carefully with whom (& where) you’ll live with on campus. I lived in two different mods once I left the dorms. 65 in Enfield (pretty good) & 81 in Prescott (EXCELLENT!) SO, sorting that out is also key to having a good overall experience at Hampshire. ??

Luckily, in my case I was from an academic family: my parents were both accomplished English Professors and Writers in the NYC Academia/Literary world. Therefore, I researched colleges EXTENSIVELY and even took two “gap years” in between high school and college to decide EXACTLY where to apply, and Hampshire just kept getting “top priority” when it came to my college considerations. The fact that they thought also thought Hampshire was exceptional was definitely a plus — they attended the University of Chicago & Columbia respectively, so I respected both their takes on Hampshire as academics.

Hampshire is NOT therefore an “easy” college, and it will test and challenge even the most rigorous of students. When it first opened in 1970, it was the MOST selective and competitive liberal arts college to get into in the entire country. I ??’d Hampshire because it was the “right fit” for who I was as an individual and as a student. And that’s WHY I chose it. I needed a “safe space campus” where I felt TOTALLY comfortable being out and open as a gay man. ?????? Otherwise, don’t even bother, because you’ll just end up hating Hampshire and wasting a WHOLE LOT of ????????.

I had a good time and learned a lot in the classes, but other than that it was a bad experience.
-It’s way too overpriced for what you get.
-For a school that says they offer constant feedback throughout the year including with midterm and final evaluations,,,, have fun opening up to few to no notes on your projects and papers, and copy and paste evaluations. “___ did a good job in class and did their work.” Okay..and?? That gives nothing to future employers. Waste of money and time. All my evaluations were 4 sentences long. Really glad I worked my butt off in your classes only to say that I did my work and didn’t talk in class.

Onto the little stuff:
-bad food, few options, small portions, and too expensive.
-everything closes at 4 on campus.
-bathrooms are disgusting.
-Gross dining comms in dorms.
-make sure to make friends DURING orientation!!!!!
-I recommend taking a college writing course at another school freshman year.

Positives:
-can wake up 10 minutes before class because everything is very close by.
-can be good if you’re the right type of person I guess.