College · Private nonprofit · Amherst, MA · Rural
Hampshire College
Amherst, MA
Admit rate75%
6-yr median pay$22k
Net price / yr$24k
Undergrad size839
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $24k/yr for a shot at a $22k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 75% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid.
If you get in
839 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
Rural — true campus bubble, nature on the doorstep, plan for a car.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $74k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $24k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$297k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$96k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$201k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback4.3x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $58.9k
- Room & board
- $16.0k
- Books & supplies
- $1,000
How students pay for it.
Pell grants39%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans62%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$27k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $11k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention77%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr54%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$22k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$47k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out0%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- Rural
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 839
- Location
- Amherst, MA
- Region
- New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)
- Carnegie class
- Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus
- Size & setting
- Four-year · very small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, selective, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- New England Commission on Higher Education
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White62%
- Hispanic13%
- Black7%
- Two or more races6%
- International5%
- Unknown5%
- Asian2%
First-gen students14%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time0%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$60k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 63
What you can study.