AMHERST — Hampshire College will exceed its admissions goal with the class entering this fall, with 255 students committed to attend, based on a May 1 deposit deadline.
Meeting or going beyond the enrollment goal is an important aspect of the college’s Financial Sustainability Plan, with President Ed Wingenbach calling the achievement “another exciting milestone.”
“As we place urgent and globally relevant questions at the center of our curriculum and challenge students to become agents of momentous change, these numbers affirm that our bold approach to the liberal arts speaks meaningfully to students and families as they make their college choices,” Wingenbach said in a statement.
The new students will be part of the largest incoming class at Hampshire since 2018, and marks the culmination of various positive trends, including inquiries, visits and applications growing steadily, and applications up almost 60% over 2021.
“This significant growth is evidence that the work we’re doing to get the word out about Hampshire is paying off, and, more important, that prospective college students are responding enthusiastically to Hampshire’s radical pedagogy,” said Hampshire Dean of Admissions Fumio Sugihara.
The incoming class will feature students from 35 states, many from where Hampshire has drawn in the past, including Massachusetts, New York and California, but also from states where few students have come before, such as Arkansas, Nebraska, Utah, South Carolina and Kansas. In addition, 29% of those in the incoming class identify as Black, Indigenous or people of color, and 9% will be international students.
Maxwell Gamboa is among those who will be attending and cited the fluid curriculum and close community built with staff, according to a statement provided by the college.
“It is my belief that the best way to learn is when you build relationships, educating others while learning yourself,” Gamboa said. “I found myself not wanting to commit to a written-out major. I wanted to create one myself to pave the way.”
Hampshire College, meantime, is also continuing its Change in the Making campaign which has raised almost $33.5 million. In November 2020, Paula H. and James S. Crown invested $5 million in the campaign. A month later, Dr. Lucy McFadden contributed $2 million. And in January, Hampshire College received a second $5 million gift to the campaign, co-chaired by filmmaker Ken Burns, along with McFadden, Gail O’Neill Caulkins and Julie Schecter.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
