<p>MLevine --because of its structure, Hampshire needs students are are very highly motivated and work well independently in an unstructured setting, so it may very well be that 8 essays are the first test of academic work ethic. It also gives the ad com more opportunity to get a good insight into the student's personality and inclination. The kids who are overwhelmed by all those essays may also be the type of kids who would not do well without more structure. </p>
<p>So yes, its a lot of work, but I can see the rationale. The last thing Hampshire needs are kids who are slackers, or who target Hampshire because they think that somehow things will be easy there for them.</p>