Admission Criteria

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Admission Criteria

Hampshire, like many very selective private liberal arts colleges, does not have stated minimum admissions criteria.There are many factors that determine which applicants are offered admission, beginning first and foremost with a student's relative academic strength and fit to Hampshire. The admissions committee conducts a careful, holistic review of each candidate. The 2007 Entering Class Profile can help give candidates a sense of Hampshire's averages in terms of traditional factors. The admissions committee values students who have pursued a challenging high school program. Other factors include quality of writing, classroom engagement, and passion for learning. Beyond readiness for a rigorous liberal arts program, Hampshire's admissions committee seeks students who value community and demonstrate the self-direction necessary to negotiate their academic concentrations with our faculty.

Standardized Testing

College Board Number: 3447
ACT Number: 1842

For most applicants, Hampshire's admissions process does not require standardized test scores. Approximately 87% of applicants submit scores from the SAT. Test results can sometimes help the admissions committee assess a candidate more fully, and so test scores are accepted as an option in the admissions process. However, it is not a disadvantage if a student elects not to submit standardized test results.

The exception is for international applicants whose primary language is not English; these students are required to submit official TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) scores obtained within the past two years. A score of 577 (233 on the computer version) is usually required for admission. Results from other standardized tests (such as SAT I, ACT, ELPT) or predicted grades for IB English A1 or A2, or for A-level English, will also be considered.

Students who do not have grades or detailed narrative evaluations for the last two years of high school are strongly encouraged to submit results from one or more standardized tests such as SAT, ACT, or SAT II, or AP examination results.

Middle 50% SAT I scores
600-710 Critical Reading
560-670 Mathematics

Advanced Placement Policy

The First-Year Program (Division I) requires all students to complete a distribution requirement of one 100-level course in each of Hampshire’s five interdisciplinary Schools: Cognitive Science; Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies; Interdisciplinary Arts; Natural Science; and Social Science.

Although Hampshire does not operate on a traditional credit system, Hampshire does offer advanced placement for AP exams scores of 3, 4, or 5. Students who have achieved AP scores of 3, 4, or 5 may substitute 200-level Hampshire courses to satisfy the distribution requirement in appropriate Schools. Official test results should be sent through the mail to the admissions office.

Similarly, students who present International Baccalaureate Higher Level Exam scores of 5, 6 or 7, Advanced British A Level scores of A or B, or comparable scores on the Matura, Abitur, or other advanced secondary-level examination may use 200-level courses to fulfill the first year distribution requirement in the relevant Schools.

Hampshire does not grant credit for dual enrollment college courses, unless the student will have earned an associate's degree prior to enrollment. However, dual enrollment courses are helpful in the admissions process as enrollment in college courses demonstrates a desire for academic challenge.

Hampshire College