Both of our kids went to Hampshire at a significantly higher cost than most other choices. In our case, we in Washington have one of the few public Hampshire-style ‘New College’ options, in The Evergreen State College (TESC), which would have been a viable alternative. Plenty of our friends have called into question our family’s college choices, and I too sometimes wonder how things would have been different if our son or daughter had gone elsewhere. Of course, particularly in hindsight, this exercise is not necessarily worthwhile, as we will never be able to really know.
Our son was a rather self-directed free-spirited individual before he arrived at Hampshire, and those qualities were certainly well-amplified there. I imagine that if he had gone to TESC or another school, he might have emerged in a similar place, although probably not as activist-minded. I do know that he was somewhat of a ‘slacker’ in high school, but he learned how to be motivated to work hard, plow through dense and complex readings, and write thoughtfully. He was certainly well-prepared to enter grad school where he told us stories of students with B.A. degrees from public universities whining about the unfair reading and writing assignment demanded by their out-of-control professors. For him though, it felt typical of any semester at Hampshire.
Our daughter was more buttoned-down and conventional, and was perhaps less of an obvious choice to attend Hampshire. However, she flourished there beyond our wildest dreams, emerging far better-prepared to enter her desired field (Theatre Education), compared to her contemporaries from other colleges. She graduated three years ago, but colleagues and employers remain deeply impressed by the depth and breadth of her experience coming out of college. In her case, it would be hard to imagine that she could have become as accomplished elsewhere.
UMass is a great university; both of our kids took a few classes there and were generally happy with their experiences. Particularly if a student is in-state, the tuition difference, as noted about, is quite significant. Hampshire is obviously monumentally different from UMass in a whole host of ways. In the end, both will get you a Bachelor’s degree, but the overall experience is going to be enormously divergent. Is the Hampshire experience better? I would personally say definitely yes. Is the Hampshire experience so much better that it is worth twice the price? For some kids, I would say definitely yes, but for other kids, I would have to wonder.
It makes some sense to consider matriculating at UMass and attending some classes at Hampshire. I don’t know if things have changed much in the 10 years since our son entered Hampshire, but the 5-College transfer enrollment process could be quite cumbersome back then. When you and your son visit Hampshire, I would ask about how hard it is to actually enroll in Hampshire classes as a UMass student. My sense is that the presence of a UMass student in a Hampshire class was a rarity.