Whenever I got accepted into Hampshire I was really excited of course, But I wanted to find out more about it, the actual area and state as a whole. I first started by going onto the Hampshire website and looking at their Why Hampshire? section, and here is what I found:
So at Hampshire, there is no set majors or departments instead you can build your own curriculum based on the questions or issues that you're passionate about so it's focused mainly on independent work, close collaboration with professors, and real world experience like internships and volunteering.
I find this part interesting as part of their model is moving away from grades as they don't think a letter grades is an accurate way to measure someone's talent instead you get written feedback from faculty based on your work you're writing research and art and how much you’re actually engaged with the class
Hampshire is a small experimental college but It's part of a five college consortium which means you can take classes and use facilities at Amherst, Mount Holyoke, Smith and UMass
I really want to enhance my Digital Design career by attending art classes and develop my skills better and to reach globally, But I also have an interest in psychology which I’ve never really had the chance to do, But with Hampshire I would be given that opportunity, I could learn how people think and feel when using digital products but also how to understand how to improve those experiences.
I’ve been to America a lot on holidays growing up, I’ve been to Florida, New York City and Washington DC. And I truly love the country and I would love to go to Massachusetts and experience the culture, Amherst itself seems like a lovely place to visit, I’ve looked on maps and some tourist attractions and I think it is a beautiful area. I’ve also been wanting to push myself out of my comfort zone and live in another country for a while as it would develop my personal skills and independence
Studying in America would also open up more career opportunities for me both at home and in the states, It has been a dream of mine to work there and I have tried to with my placement year, but it is very hard with sponsorships, Doing an exchange year would help open more doors and help open my mind.
I also love the idea of self directed work as well, As that is the bulk of my course and It is my favourite part, researching, coming up with ideas, developing the work and learning from it. And through researching Hampshire and knowing that their work is mainly self-directed is exciting and will allow me to continue this passion.
[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1piVxPYUdrl-tsMt-XxbGI5vgKJ_sVfIzpaBQzXUGOIA/edit?usp=sharing](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1piVxPYUdrl-tsMt-XxbGI5vgKJ_sVfIzpaBQzXUGOIA/preview?usp=sharing)