Hampshire is the experimental college of the five college consortium in Amherst, MA. It was created in the sixties by the four other colleges in the consortium as, well, an experiment. Because of this, academics are quite a bit different that at any other school; don't expect grades and multiple choice quizzes.

Similarly, Hampshire's manner of assessing applicants is atypical. Hampshire joined the SAT optional movement and thus does not require standardized testing for admission. Based on their student population and their unusual curriculum, I expect that they're looking for talented kids who have show independence (academically, extracurricularly, etc.) while in high school. It wouldn't hurt to have better grades, but if you write a great essay and have solid extracurriculars, admission shouldn't be too hard.
- sam.stemper