news from camp hamp

hampcurious
Sat, 29 Nov 2008 18:54:12 +0000

I am not aware of how Hampshire compares, with regard to financial aid, to the other 5 colleges. What I have heard from current Hampshire students is that compared to the other schools to which they applied, Hampshire was the most generous. There is a big push right now to fundraise to improve the physical plant, which needs it, but I have heard that money in the last decade, or so, has been put towards attracting the strongest students possible through financial aid.

As was said above, there is a free bus that connects the colleges and goes to nearby towns. A car at Hampshire is not necessary. I will say though, that once you live in a mod, it becomes quite handy, in terms of buying food, to have access to one. There are many people on campus with cars and it is never a problem getting rides, in to Amherst, to the train or bus station, to grocery stores, Northampton, etc.

There are always things going on on campus, lectures, movies, parties, etc. Both Amherst and Northampton are full of restaurants (the range rivals that of a big city) and there are movie theaters and music venues. There are over 20 thousand college students in the area, so businesses cater to whatever they might want. My first year I felt lonely and bored sometimes and I blamed it on the size of both the school and the surrounding towns, but now that I have good friends I realize there is always something to do, and my feelings were more based on not having anyone to do them with.

The campus is a bit rundown. They are working on it. There is some sense of pride, among Hampsters, in the “bootleg” look. It was all built in the '70’s and so to some people it looks awful, to others kind of industrial and edgy. Frankly, that stuff becomes less and less important as you become more involved with the people and with your work. It is not a luxurious place, there is not a big endowment, what you are paying for is a philosophy of freedom and creativity. That has to be very important to you to make some of the difficulties of Hampshire worth it.

Finally:
Fendrock–The pool of filmakers who qualify for the advanced classes, in terms of having met the prerequisites, gets smaller, making it easier to get in to them, but yes, they are very popular so you also have to hope for a good registration time. I am not sure how many 5 college students take them. Sorry I can’t be more helpful, film is not my area.

Livingparadox–sorry, I guess this answer is too late, but hopefully you found that, yes, parents are always very welcome at any event at Hampshire.