CassidyTitchenell

MariaSilva
Advisory
April10,2016

CollegeVisitReflection#3HampshireCollege

OnMarch26,2016,IvisitedHampshireCollegewithBlackstonesSaturdayAcademyin
Amherst,Massachusetts.HampshireCollegeisaliberalartscollege,meaningthatitfocusesits
courseson
literature,philosophy,mathematics,andsocialandphysicalsciencesandisoneofthe
FiveCollegeConsortiumlocatedinWesternMassachusetts.Itisabout800acresofbeautiful
landwhichallowforapeaceful,yetspiritualenvironment.
ThetourbeganwithstudentsfromSaturdayAcademyattendingasmallmeetingina
conferenceroomwherebasicinformation,suchastheschoolstuitionandstudentlife,were
introduced.Fromthere,wetraveledtothelibrarywhichcontainedawallfullofbooksrecapping
studentsindividualacademicprogramprojects.ThelibraryatHampshireissetupsothatonthe
firstfloor,studentsarefreetochatandtalkaloud,whileonthesecondfloorstudentsaremuch
quieter.Additionally,thelibraryatHampshireCollegehasawalldedicatedtoallowingstudents
toborrowseeds.Studentsareallowedtotakeseedsfromthedrawers,however,theymust
returnseedsfromtheplantsthattheygrewtorestockthedrawers.Aftervisitingthelibrarywe
wenttoalaboratorywhichwasequippedwithcomputers,microscopes,andotherscientific
equipmentyetitwasabitmessy.Thecountertopswerecoveredintrashandsomeequipment
hadnotbeenproperlyputawaymakingthelabseemneglected.Toconcludethetripwevisiteda
dorm,whichwasdecentlysizedandallowedstudentstobringalongapetfromhomeifthey
havecertainmentalhealthissuessuchasdepressionoranxietyasstudieshaveshownthatpets

arehelpfultothoseinneed.Thefloorsofthedormswereseparatedbasedoneachstudents
genderrecognitionorwhotheywerecomfortable,roomingwith.Forinstance,somefloorswere
femalesonly,whileothersweremalesandfemalesorgirlsonly.Thisstoodouttomeasit
allowsallstudentstofeelcomfortableintheenvironment,regardlessofhowtheyidentify
themselves.
ThroughoutthevisitIwishedthatIhadtheopportunitytointeractmorewithsomeofthe
collegestudentsattendingHampshire.Ifgrantedthechance,Iwouldhaveaskedthemhowthey
adaptedtotheHampshirelifeandwhattipstheysuggestongettingintocollege.Iwouldhave
alsoaskedthemhowattendingHampshireCollegehaspositivelyaffectedtheirlives
academicallyandsociallysinceHampshireisoneoftheFiveCollegesthatallowsstudentsto
takecoursesonanyofthecampuses.BytalkingtoacollegestudentIfeelasthoughIwould
havebeenabletogatheradeeperunderstandingofwhatthecollegehastoofferandhowithas
impactedeachstudent,allowingmetogetabetterimpressionoftheschool.
AftervisitingthiscollegeIhavebeenexposedtowhatitmeanstotrulybeindependent.I
learnedthatatHampshire,studentsarenotgivenasetscheduleormandatedcertaincourses.
Instead,studentshavethefreedomtochoosewhatclassestheytaketofulfilltheirrequirements
inattainingtheirdegrees.AtHampshire,studentsalsohavetogothroughaDivisional
AcademicSystemwheretheycreate,study,andexecuteafinalproject.Thestudentsarefully
responsibletocompletetheirprojectsontheirownandreceiveminimalhelpfromothers.This
stoodouttomebecauseitshowedmethatonceIleavehighschool,Iamgoingtobeonmyown.
WhileIstillmayhaveaprofessorwhowillserveasanadvisor,Iwillneverhavethesame

closureandsupervisionincollegethatIhavenowinhighschool.Thistripopenedmyeyesto
theamountofresponsibilityandindependenceIwillacquire.
Overall,IbelievethatHampshireCollegeisacollegethatIwillkeepinmindforthe
future.Ithasanumberofuniqueattributessuchasallowingstudentstocreatetheirowncourses
andhavepetsmakingHampshiredifferentthanothercollegesIhavevisitedthusfar.Since
CarolynSheehan,Blackstonesexecutivedirector,attendedHampshire,therearemany
HampshiretraditionsthatarealsoincorporatedintoBACStradition.Forinstance,oncestudents
atHampshirearepreparedtograduateandhavefulfilledtheirdivisionalacademicrequirements,
theymustringabellfortheentirecampustohear.Similarly,atBlackstone,wemustringthe
cowbellinfrontoftheentireschoolaftercompletingandpresentingourportfolios.While
Hampshiredoesseemlikeabeautifulcollegeduetoitsacresoflandandeducationalvalues,itis
alsodistantfromsociety.GrowingupinPawtucketmyentirelifewherehousesarequiteclose
andstreetsarealwaysloud,IamnotsurehowIwouldadjusttomovingtosucharural
community.Hampshireseemedlikeitwouldalwaysbequiet(whichcanbeniceattimes)and
thebuildingswereprettyspacedoutwhichIfeelmightbeabitscaryatnight.Intheend,
HampshireCollegeisanicecollegeconsideringtheindependenceandfreedomitgrantsits
students,however,itmightbetooquietandoutthereformypersonalliking.