🎯 Parent/student verdict

Likely

Accessible for most applicants.

✅ Best for

  • Students focused on Visual & Performing Arts (the school's signature program)
  • Families wanting a small liberal-arts experience

Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price by income, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.

🏛️ Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification
Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus
Total enrollment
839
Under 1,000
In-state tuition
$58,896
sticker, before aid
Tuition
$58,896
flat rate (no in/out-of-state split)
Admit rate
70.4%
Accessible
Test policy
Test-optional
2023
10-yr earnings
$46,938
median, after entry

Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.

📊 Outcomes & cost

What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.

Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).

Earnings, 6 yrs after entry
$22,195
Earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$46,938
4-year completion
54%
Median debt (completers)
$26,893
Cost of attendance
$74,195
sticker price, not net
Pell-eligible students
39%

💰 True ROI

4.9× return

What families actually pay (after aid) vs. the sticker — and how 10-yr earnings stack against the real cost. Most sites quote sticker; we quote what families really pay.

What families actually pay (4 yrs)
$96,136
$24,034/yr avg net
Aid that hides behind the sticker
$200,644
vs sticker $296,780
10-yr earnings total
$469,380
$46,938/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup actual cost
2.0 yrs
at the median earnings rate

"True ROI" = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (actual 4-yr net price). The actual net is from Scorecard (average across all families); your family's net price will vary by income — see the breakdown above. Earnings are 10 years after enrollment (Scorecard PP-FOS, all majors combined).

💰 What families actually pay

Net price by family income

Net price = sticker price minus grant aid. This is what families actually pay out-of-pocket after scholarships and need-based aid — the most honest affordability signal there is. At Hampshire College, the average net price is $24,034/yr across all families.

Family income $0-30k
$13,749/yr
Family income $30-48k
$15,251/yr
Family income $48-75k
$18,165/yr
Family income $75-110k
$25,447/yr
Family income $110k+
$37,221/yr

🔎 Earning over $110K? The federal brackets above lump every family from $110K to $1M+ into one row.

Need-based aid usually phases out somewhere between $200K and $300K at private colleges — but the exact threshold varies a lot. For a precise estimate based on your family's actual income, assets, and your student's academic profile, use Hampshire College's official Net Price Calculator:

Get your family's estimate from Hampshire College →

Opens on Hampshire College's site. Takes about 10–15 minutes; have your most recent tax return handy.

Source: College Scorecard (NPT41-NPT45). Net price = total cost of attendance minus federal, state, institutional, and other grants. Some brackets may be suppressed for student-privacy reasons (small cohorts). Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates only. The $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — Department of Education hasn't refreshed these brackets since the early 2010s.

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at Hampshire College

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what Hampshire College actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Visual & Performing Arts
21 degrees · 47.7%
Typical career outcomes
Graphic Designer $59k Art Director $106k Multimedia Artist / Animator $99k Musician / Singer $39k
Highly variable. Steady-pay roles cluster in design, illustration, production. Performance careers have very wide income distributions.
2. Biological & Biomedical Sciences
9 degrees · 20.5%
Typical career outcomes
Biological Scientist $87k Medical & Clinical Lab Tech $61k Pharmaceutical Rep $82k Physician (post-MD) $239k
Many bio majors → med school / grad school. Direct-employment bio roles are lower-paid than that pipeline.
3. Social Sciences
6 degrees · 13.6%
Typical career outcomes
Economist $118k Political Scientist $130k Sociologist $93k Market Research Analyst $75k
Economics + poli sci sub-disciplines pay much more than sociology + anthropology.
4. Natural Resources & Conservation
4 degrees · 9.1%
Typical career outcomes
Environmental Scientist $79k Conservation Scientist / Forester $67k Wildlife Biologist $71k
Forestry, environmental science, conservation work — often public-sector or NGO.
5. Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender, & Group Studies
4 degrees · 9.1%
Typical career outcomes
Policy Analyst $79k Researcher / Editor $73k Foreign Service Officer $87k
Often a pre-professional path (law, policy, academia, international work).

Source: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a), bachelor's-level first majors aggregated to 2-digit CIP family. Share is of these top 5 only — not all majors.

💼 Top programs by earnings

Highest-earning majors at Hampshire College

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major (CIP code). From the federal College Scorecard program-level outcomes.

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. Bachelor's Degree $21,113 $36,508

For full college-vs-major comparison + ROI leaderboards, see /college-outcomes →

⚖️ Compare side-by-side

Hampshire College vs. another college

Type the college you want to compare against. We'll show admit rates, net price by your family income, top majors with career outcomes, and merit aid — all in one side-by-side view.

Building a college list?

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