Sueb--I don't think you should draw any conclusions from the length of the interview. Your son sounds like a very good fit for Hampshire. My daughter's interview took place with an admissions person down here (Bethesda) and was in a Barnes & Noble bookstore coffee shop. She said it lasted about an hour--probably took that long to finish her coffee!

My daughter didn't visit Hampshire until after she had been accepted. Somehow she was convinced, sight unseen, that it was the place for her.

SueB20,

I'm a Hampshire grad. From what you've said, you have nothing to worry about--he should get in with no problems.

Sueb--It'd be great fun to meet up in Hampshire!

You know, my daughter just loves it there, and I think your son would, too. Don't be so sure he won't get into Emerson, though; we were very surprised that our daughter got into Bard and Bryn Mawr in spite of her very erratic grades. But Hampshire is a great place for her, to our delight.

Jane, were you happy there? We are a bit nervous about our daughter's eventual project, and how that will go.

Sueb20 - And YOU are comfortable with Hampshire, and have you taken a similarly close look at other schools?

My son was accepted at Hampshire this past year, and we went up together a few months ago for the "accepted students" dog & pony show. Midway through, we looked at each other and ran away screaming. OK, not really screaming, but shuddering and walking really, really fast.

More than any other college I've encountered, Hampshire seems to be a "love it or hate it" place, with a disappointingly large proportion of 'hate it' students. Scuttlebutt on the Student Review web sites seems to be that the school divides into two groups -- 'Slackers' who skate by and do very little work (with very little accountability), and those who truly engage and dig in (and get out of it what they put into it).

If you are SURE your student will turn out to be the 'dig in' type and will have the persistence needed to latch onto faculty advisors and get any help he needs, then it's certainly possible to get a top notch education there. But I'd look very, very closely before shelling out that kind of money for a school with that kind of 'risk' --

That said, I LOVED the Amherst area and the affiliated schools. If DS had gotten into Amherst, I'd be in Heaven.

Good to hear from "both sides" on the Hampshire thing. For the most part, anyone I have talked to has had only very positive things to say about Hampshire. My son is most definitely the Hampshire type, but I can definitely see why some people would run screaming in the other direction. We have looked at 5-6 schools so far, and out of all of them, I could "see" DS at Hampshire more than the others. However, I do think that career-wise, Emerson would be much better for him. We still have a couple of schools to look at, but with a current GPA of 2.8, we need to focus on smaller schools that look at the "whole student" and not just GPA's and SAT scores. My son is actually quite brilliant in many areas, but unfortunately his grades don't show it. (Except for the A's in Film and History classes!) I could go on and on -- I have certainly obsessed about him, his grades, and college options almost nonstop over the last few months! Thanks for the encouragement not to give up on Emerson, Kkay. I do keep wondering if there's a chance, especially in this economy?! (We will not have to apply for financial aid.)

Don't need financial aid, then take a look at this NY Times article about Reed College giving admission preference to those who don't need aid.

Here is a link that might be useful: Reed College

Kkay_md, Hampshire was not the place for me for a variety of reasons, the main one being that I should have been in art school (I did eventually go). Also, it's in the country, and I am a city mouse! If your daughter has visited the school and is fine with its setting, then she should be all right.

I wouldn't worry about Div III, if that's the project you refer to, until she gets there. She will have MANY other projects before she gets to Div III.

"with a current GPA of 2.8, we need to focus on smaller schools that look at the "whole student" and not just GPA's and SAT scores."

I truly do not mean to sound dismissive, but the truth is that in today's competitive college admissions arena, your son's likelihiood for acceptance into Hampshire is probably not high.

I say this from the perspective of someone who works in higher ed (private research university) and who is nearing the college admission finish line with my second child. Here are the Princeton Review statistics for Hampshire:

Admissions Selectivity Rating: 89
SAT: Reading Middle 50%: 610 - 710
Math Middle 50%: 540 - 660
Writing Middle 50%: 590 - 700
ACT: Middle 50%: 26 - 29
Average HS GPA: 3.45

There is also a breakdown of the percentage standings for GPA and your son is in the bottom 15%.

I do believe it is far more hurtful to try to hope that non-numerical factors are going to outweigh seriously skewed quantitative aspects. A GPA that is lower than a B average will need to be counterbalanced by absolutely stellar SAT or ACT scores. Has your son taken the SAT yet? If so, is he near or at the top of the Hampshire ranges?

If the answer is no I would advise not to get too hopeful. And for all those who are tempted to respond with their stories of getting in X years ago, the admission picture today is NOT what it was a generation ago, or even 10-15 years ago. The economy is helping dampen some of the insanity but only the demographics of the echo boomers (children of the huge cohort of boomers) is going to ease the crunch. Within the *next* decade the number of college applicants will decline and the scene will shift. But for your son, and my daughter, it won't be in time to do anything for them.

Good luck. Please do start looking at non-selective schools. There are plenty out there and it will probably make the experience a much more positive one if you and your son are both realistic in your expectations.

Ann

running, thanks. I do know the statistics for Hampshire, but I also know that a friend of my DS is going to Hampshire this fall -- her GPA was a 2.4, believe it or not, and she was accepted Early Decision. She swears it was her "kick-a$$ essay" that got her in. So, I still have hope. And if you look at various other web sites that talk about Hampshire's selectivity, they put a lot of emphasis on whether you can write (he can) and the whole "fit" thing.

He just took the SAT last weekend. But SAT scores are NOT required by Hampshire.

We are looking, and have looked, at less selective schools. I don't want anyone to get the impression that we have only looked at two schools; we've looked at several, and we're not done (visiting Keene State next week).

FWIW, DS's numeric stats also weren't that great -- but I think his essay was right up their alley. DS's Math SATs were excellent, but his Critical Reading and Writing were pretty average. (I mean average - not 'average for very good students'.) Maybe his geographic and ethnic diversity helped?

Reed didn't accept him even though we'd have happily paid their full price...

I think this discussion is so interesting--to me, the whole college match-up is like falling in love, a question of chemistry. We have always lived in/near large urban areas, and my daughter grew up taking a city bus or the Metro. We tend to vacation in cities--frequently in NYC and overseas--and my daughter is very much at ease in those settings.

So when we saw Hampshire, I thought she would have run in the opposite direction (like Sweeby and her son). But to my astonishment, she instantly connected with the school. Not only has she already done several independent study projects, but she is a volunteer peer counselor, and works on the farm. She loves the setting, and takes advantage of the five school consortium.

By contrast, my son can't stand the place. I see him at a more mainstream school like the ones my husband and I attended for our undergrad degrees. Everybody is different.

As for the whole question of SAT scores/grades/essays/interviews--I don't have any insights. I just know that we were dubious about our daughter getting in anywhere with her odd mix of grades (some downright abysmal) and SAT scores (stellar) and glaring lack of school activities. However, she is a knowledgeable bird watcher and gardener, she is very vivacious, and has a wicked sense of humor--she also suffered from a serious illness for 4 years. In spite of her strange academic picture, nearly every school she applied to wanted her (except Reed!). My husband and I were floored--we had anticipated sending her to the local community college.

The acceptance process seems to me to be much more mysterious than a cut-and-dried statistical sorting. If my daughter were looked at from mere statistics, I don't think she would have stood a chance. I do think that schools can have a nuanced approach. And if any school is nuanced, it's Hampshire!

Kkay, obviously the admissions people at these schools saw something in your DD beyond the GPA, which is what I hope will happen for my DS. Whether that is realistic or not, I don't know, but this morning I told him that he should not give up on these two "selective" colleges that he feels so drawn to. His grades this year show a strong upward swing (from a 2.3 to a 2.8) and I completely expect all A's and B's next year because (THANK GOD) he doesn't have to take any math or science! He will also be taking one fewer class -- this year he had 6 classes, which was too much. I know he'll have a great portfolio, recommendation letters, and so on, so for now, I need to think optimistically so he can too! His teacher from film class this year said on his final report card "Jack has the desire and the ability to be one of the world's great young directors..." I mean, how can I be pessimistic when I read something like that!?

No SAT scores yet, but I know he will have very low math scores but good (maybe even great) English/Language/ Whatever-They-Call-It-Now scores.