The characteristics below are intended to highlight the kinds of indicators that broadly apply to prospective students for whom Hampshire might be a good fit.

• » You always carry a book, notebook, drawing pad, or laptop with you. Everywhere. Just in case.

• » When you see something you admire, you think, “Hey, I could do that.” And then you try.

• » You consistently find ways to incorporate your “non-academic” interests into your academics.

• » When asked for a book recommendation, you are able to rattle off the names of several recent reads.

• » You don’t just talk about ending world hunger; you get involved. You want to make a difference. Change the world. Starting with yourself.

• » You value class discussion and learn as much from your peers as you do from your teacher.

• » Your life’s ambition is something that no one else has ever heard of. And you have three of them.

• » You’re excited to receive a paper back with personal comments. You seek out (and respond well to) meaningful feedback.

• » You’ve always wanted to learn to ride a unicycle. So you start a unicycling club at your school.

• » You are interested in several seemingly unrelated subjects (maybe physics, philosophy, and music). You see connections between them. You want to be able to explore these connections in college.

• » You are not satisfied with simply knowing how something is done. You always ask why. You want to understand at a deeper level.

• » You make up new words. You get people to actually use these words.

• » You don’t believe there is just one definition of success. You really seem to get that life is bigger than a GPA. Bigger than college even. This is all just leading you toward a rewarding life.