Our Commitment to Financial Aid in 2019-2020

Good afternoon,

We are writing to clarify information about individual financial aid packages for the 2019-2020 school year. Hampshire’s plan to establish a more sustainable business model for the College will not change the method we use to package individual financial aid awards for the 2019-2020 school year. We will use the same methods of calculating the family contribution and awarding financial aid as we did in the 2018-2019 school year.

In keeping with previous years, you may see a change in your financial aid award based on any of the following circumstances:

• If your family income, assets, or members of the household information have changed, you may find that your financial aid has increased or decreased. Changes will occur if the underlying application information has caused a change to the calculated “Family Contribution.”
• As a student progresses through their time at Hampshire, you become more eligible for Federal Direct Student Loans. As a first year, the maximum loan in the package is $5,500. As a second year, the maximum is $6,500. And for the third and fourth years, the maximum loan is $7,500 in each year. These increases in loan levels do not affect your grant aid assistance (Hampshire Grant).
• When a student moves from the dorms to the Mods (or off campus) and off the full meal plan, we will reduce your Hampshire grant by $1,000 per semester, as we have done in the past. The move off the meal plan still saves you money as you are no longer charged for the full meal plan.  

We have heard a rumor that with a smaller student body, there will be more financial aid available. Unfortunately, this will not be the case. The majority of Hampshire’s financial aid budget comes from tuition revenue, and is thus impacted when our student enrollment changes.

We have also heard questions about whether Hampshire’s upcoming accreditation review with the New England Commission on Higher Education (NECHE) will impact financial aid. The College intends to demonstrate that we remain in full compliance with the Commission's standards. Even if NECHE were to place Hampshire on probation, federal financial aid would not be affected while the College works to remedy its probation.

For more information about financial aid for the 2019-2020 school year, please review the Student FAQ page. We also invite you to call, email, or visit us in the Financial Aid office.

Next steps:

If you have not yet done so, please complete and submit your financial aid documents. Students can review their required documents on the Hub. Families who complete their financial aid application by the May 1, 2019 deadline will receive their award letters by early June. Once the packaging process is complete, students will receive an email letting you know that your award is ready to be viewed on TheHub.

If you have any questions or need guidance while completing your application, please do not hesitate to contact the Financial Aid office. Financial Aid counselors are available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome. If you prefer to schedule an appointment ahead of time please contact us at financialaid@hampshire.edu or 413.559.5484.

Thank you,

Kristína Moss Gunnarsdóttir 08F
Interim Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid

Jennifer Lawton
Director of Financial Aid