Hampshire College Top Questions

cons: tiny community with too much drama and changeover no graduate students to balance out us know-it-all undergrads student body that is mostly super privileged like woah undefeatable bueauracracy and ineffectual administration expensive as hell even with FA shitty housing pros: everyone finds their own pocket of really awesome people amazing funding for student groups the best undergraduate program hands-down for people who actually want to teach themselves things student representation on the board of trustees and administrative groups for each school

it's not for everyone. if you don't like arguing, the general spirit of activism, the smell of marijuana, really smart people who do too many drugs and manage to write insanely good essays anyway, or woodland creatures, and if you do like a whole lot of direction in your academic work, you'll be better off elsewhere. there are a lot of problems, mainly bureaucratic ones. we have no money. but the idea of a self-guided education is kind of addictive.

First off, I am madly in love with Hampshire, so be aware that I'm pretty biased. No other school would allow me to do what I'm doing (my course of study resembles a lot of my friends' grad school plans, and I'm only two years into my undergrad), and I am incredibly grateful for that. That's not to say the school doesn't have its problems- it is frequently highly bureaucratic, and many levels of that bureaucracy border on the tyrannic. I've been lucky in avoiding most of that (having a Dean as my first-year advisor definitely assisted too), but a lot of my friends have been burned by that difficult bureaucracy. If you're willing to dig through the red tape, though, you can get just about anything you want from Hampshire, especially if you have a faculty member on your side (and most Hampshire profs are genuinely excited about student work, and really eager to help you). Hampshire's got just shy of 1500 students, and, in my opinion, that is a perfect size. It's a lot smaller than my high school was, so that worried me a bit at first, but I've come to really appreciate being able to at least recognize a large proportion of the campus on sight. Classes are really small (I've had multiple classes with only 5 or 6 people, and they've been the best- my biggest Hampshire class had just over 30 people), which means you get a lot of chance to engage in discussion, which most professors encourage. The small size is also pretty great socially, especially in those first few weeks of college when everyone is so eager to get to know everyone else- you don't have to worry that you'll never see the person you had that great conversation on the bus with again, because they will definitely pass you at the dining hall or post office later. If you get stifled by Hampshire (and some people do), you still have the rest of the 5 colleges- together, over 30000 other college students to hang out with. I've found that Smith and Hampshire are particularly inclined to hang out together, but I've got friends at all 4 other colleges, and there's usually at least one 5 college student in all of my Hampshire classes. Because there are so many colleges around, "college town" seems almost too weak a word to describe the Valley community. Amherst and Northampton are the two towns that are the center of off-campus life, and they both definitely have their own non-college vibe (Northampton more so), but 30000 college students are bound to make an impact on the area. There are a ton of great concerts and restaurants and bars to be enjoyed, plus amazing indie shopping and lots of pretty cool cultural events. Amherst and Northampton are pretty unique places- there are barely any chains to be found (there is a mall with all your national chain-store/fast food needs that's pretty accessible by bus, though) and lots of great local flavor. The best part, in my opinion, is the fact that there's a really good bus service running throughout the whole area that is 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} free to 5 college students. Once you learn how the buses work, you can get almost anywhere you want to be (and Hampshire's a very rural campus) with a minimum of trouble. Hampshire has a very politically aware student body, and the only real difference is in how far left the students are- a conservative on this campus would probably be considered a left-moderate anywhere else. This doesn't mean that Hampshire students agree with each other, and there are definitely frequent controversies on campus over touchy issues. This past year, there was a lot of heated discussion over Israel/Palestine issues- Hampshire has a very vocal pro-Palestine (and anti-Israel) group, and a rather large Jewish population, and the debate got very tense for a month or so, focusing especially on issues of Hampshire investment in Israel. That debate got lost in a much larger action, however, when a group organized a week of protests to make Hampshire become actively anti-racist. Race and racism are problems that Hampshire has to deal with every few years as a new crop of students comes through and needs new education- unfortunately, because Hampshire is a small and expensive school, the student body is predominantly white, and usually upper-middle-class, and various student groups are constantly working to address the problems associated with that privilege. Hampshire probably doesn't do enough to address bringing race and diversity into the classroom, and, with its small endowment, isn't able to attract many faculty of color, or award very much financial aid to students of lower class backgrounds. Hampshire has been working to increase diversity on campus, and has programs in place to try to bring students of many backgrounds together and make them all feel comfortable, but there is a lot of work to be done, and Hampshire students and administrators have been engaged in a very intense dialog about the way that should proceed.

It's how the world should be. As long as people are comfortable with themselves they aren't judged for things the outside world might ridicule them for. People are open and passionate. You do have a lot of freedom academically but there are more restrictions than they let on.

Hampshire is not a place to attend if you want a great deal of people to know what school you go to. Very often you will hear "you go to school in New Hampshire?" However I think that the number of people who have not heard of Hampshire is dwindling due in part to the great success of its alumni. I have a very love-hate relationship with this institution. It has almost infinite potential, and yet so often it makes almost unforgivable mistakes. It has a struggling first year program that distracts many students from what they really want to do, delays any independent work and often causes a great deal of disenchantment with education at large. However this is also something that the administration says that they are working hard to change. Despite sometimes being weak the academic advantages often outweigh the disadvantages. One such instance is the opportunities that I have had to work with two or three other students and a professor for an extended period of time on research projects. As far as I can tell such an experience is almost unheard of for a second year undergraduate outside of Hampshire. The professors though range from absolutely excellent to poor at best, as some of them seem themselves to have lost faith in the program of teaching at Hampshire, and with the administration taking the school in directions that they believe (possibly very rightly so) are incorrect. The area is beautiful my favorite that I have seen so far, especially in the fall. Two great college towns are a short free bus ride away, as well as four other college campuses. Also it is in a great location for road trips as well, Vermont is very close, Montreal a little further, Boston only a couple of hours and New York City about 3 or four. It is a great area to go camping or hiking rock climbing and biking. All of this though can be very distracting from academics. The social life is great although often very clickey and somewhat incestuous. I once read a quote from a previous student that it was the worst place to go if you wanted to be able to avoid embarrassing ex's and that is incredibly true. There are however a lot of great people on campus, and their is always a very open air about it, I have never seen someone openly rejected. It is a great place to dress however you want, and not be harshly judged. Cologne make-up fancy jewelry and hair are comfortingly rare at Hampshire. The biggest complaints on campus are in order of frequency heard: 1) The cost of attending 2) The quality of everything versus the cost of attending 3) The buildings are in terrible shape I don't think that I know enough to have a knowledgeable comment on the first two but the buildings are often in terrible shape. For only having I think 11 buildings on campus there is around a 30 million dollar backlog in maintenance. I find that amazing. There is no student union on campus, and the area that is the closest, leaks water frequently. The dorm buildings are ok, but the "Mods" (student apartments on campus) are often disgusting, usually with mold, and insects, as well as other general issues. And for a large part these issues are not the fault of the occasionally uncleanly student that inhabits them.

The first thing you need to know about Hampshire is that the reality of the school doesn't add up to what is advertised. Look at any of the material and you'll find oratories on student driven work, endless opportunity, and a legacy of independent thinking. The reality, is that its incredibly hard to do independent work because of the unfourtunate lack of professors and the insane amount of beauracracy and opportunities are available, but funds simply do not allow for the endless amount advertised. Hampshire was founded to be at the cutting edge of alternative education, but unfourtunately these days its closer to slightly left of the normal liberal arts education. That being said, Hampshire does have one fantastic quality that I feel makes up for all the false advertising, I truly feel that I have been challenged by the academics to a level I never thought possible and I feel that the level of critical thinking that I have been forced to attain has allowed me to view the world from a truly unique perspective. I feel that my cognitive abilities have truly improved by leaps and bounds since coming to Hampshire. If you're serious about Hampshire, come here for the professors and readings, not for the falsely advertised package.

It gets really annoying explaining Hampshire to people, especially because the academic experience is so personal and people have a tendency to not care to listen to long descriptions unless it is indicative of the money you could potentially make in the future. It's in a good college area, the administration has things to work out. Racism is an issue, as it is everywhere. I don't feel like writing in this box anymore.

Hampshire Big Picture: a place where there is no money, and where the renovations are few and far between, and where the professors are paid shit. However, the other students are amazing, unique, and strangely talented. The professors care about teaching the students, one on one, and about being mentors and forging understanding. If you want to learn, with a capital L, then come here. If you want good grades and a good education from a good school and then go on to have a good job and a good life then don't come here at all. We offer none of that. But if you're interesting and intend to stay that way, come here.

I love that I can do what I want, without having to go through general education. When I tell people that I go to Hampshire, they usually don't know what it is or they write it off as a hippie school. It is nothing of the sort. I work really hard there, and get the profits from it as a result. The area around it is really nice, there are 4 college in 10 miles and everything is connected, so even though its a small town, there is plenty to do. One thing I would change is the fact that if you are not sure of yourself when you begin school there, you get very lost. The kids are a little too convinced that their way is the only way. Being liberal does not always mean open minded. Everything is unusual about Hampshire. We are constantly looking at each other and laughing about the fact that we found a utopia, and whereas all of our friends from high school are working to pass English 101, we are taking trips to Peru to study shamanism.

The best thing about Hampshire is definitely the eclectic, tight-knit community. The small student population (around 1500) in conjunction with the fact that upperclassman live in the mods (on-campus apartment-style housing) rather than off campus, leads to a very close community of students that aids in both meeting people, making friends, and getting help. There are so many interesting people with great stories to hear, and there's always something going on, ranging from circus practice to social justice conferences. If that wasn't enough, the campus is absolutely gorgeous- all the empty space makes for great places to picnic, read outside, or play a game of frisbee- whether it's the Yiddish Book Center garden or the library lawn, it is very easy to find a beautiful place to hang out. The best way to summarize Hampshire in a nutshell would be to say that it is a thriving environment that is so full of life, care, and fun. Overall, I think it's safe to say that both students and faculty alike love being a part of the school.