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 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 15 or more transferable college credits,* you are eligible to apply as a transfer student.
*Transferable credits are courses attended at a regionally accredited college or university that are comparable in content and nature to courses offered at Hampshire College and valued at three or more semester credit hours with a grade of C or above, or P in a pass/fail course.
Questions? Contact admissions@hampshire.edu
Application Deadlines
Spring 2025 |
Deadline | Notification |
| Domestic First-Year Students | November 1 | December 1 |
| International First-Year Students | November 1 | November 10 |
Fall 2025 |
Deadline | Notification |
| First-Year Early Decision I | November 15 | December 15 |
| First-Year Early Action | December 1 | February 15 |
| First-Year Early Decision II | January 1 | February 1 |
| First-Year Regular Decision | January 15 | April 1 |
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 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.