First-Year Students

Unsatiated intellectual curiosity? A compulsion to collaborate and create? An infectious enthusiasm for ideas? If these are the symptoms, Hampshire’s the cure.

To be eligible to apply as a first-year student you must have received, or be on track to receive, a high school diploma or high school equivalency and must be 17 years of age or older at the time of enrollment. College coursework completed during high school often counts towards advanced standing and possibly an accelerated timeline towards graduation. If you have completed more than 15 transferable college credits, you are eligible to apply as a transfer student.

Questions? Contact admissions@hampshire.edu

Apply via the Common App

Application Deadlines

Required Application Materials

Hampshire exclusively uses the Common Application. To apply, submit the following materials:

• Completed Common Application 
• Mid-Year Report (if currently attending high school)
• Current or completed high school transcript(s)
• School report and college counselor recommendation
• One (1) teacher letter of recommendation

Optional Writing Supplement

Please respond to the following question in 500 words or less:

• At Hampshire College students take ownership of their learning and customize their curriculum. With that in mind, tell us something you recently learned about and find fascinating. What else do you want to learn about this topic and how will you continue to deepen your knowledge about it?

Optional Application Materials

Some optional application materials can be submitted through the Common Application. You will also have the opportunity, after applying, to submit additional optional materials such as photos, videos, PDFs, Word documents, and music files through your online application portal with Hampshire College.

• Video/media supplement. This could be music, dance, film, animation, monologue, etc. (provide link)
• Project sample: Submit an example of your independent or collaborative project work. This project can be creative, scientific, or otherwise showcase the type of work you've done in high school. Provide a link if necessary.
• Additional letters of recommendation, up to three.
• An interview with a Hampshire student or counselor.

Application Status

Once we process your application, we will send an acknowledgment email that includes a username and password for you to check the completeness of your admissions file online. To make sure that you receive your decision, we recommend not opting out of email communications.