I am completely in love with Hampshire college at this point, it’s definitely the school I would want to go to if I don’t get in my top choices, but I’m worried about financial aid. I heard that the James Baldwin Scholarship serves minorities like me(:D) but how many people actually win the scholarship? Is it a full ride for all college years or just the transitional year? If I don’t get it and I pick it as my preferred admissions plan does my journey with Hampshire’s admissons process end there?
If you get the scholarship, it is a full ride for the first year. If you are successful, they will give you a scholarship for the remaining 4-ish years, but I don’t think that it is generally a full ride scholarship. The financial aid ‘package’ is typically a combination of grants, loans and work-study opportunities. I don’t know how many James Baldwin Scholars are admitted each year, but it looked like there were about 20 of them at commencement.
It seems like a wonderful program to me. JB Scholars receive huge amounts of support and encouragement. If you get admitted, it would seem like a no-brainer to me. The worst case scenario is that you don’t do as well as you would have hoped, or you don’t receive enough future financial aid. Even then, you went to a great school for a year and ought to be ready to complete a degree, wherever you go.