Hampden-Sydney College

Academics

Virginia’s Hampden-Sydney College is the tenth oldest higher education institution in the country, providing young men with a liberal arts education steeped in brotherhood and tradition. A 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio allows for small classes, one-on-one instruction, and scads of experiential learning opportunities such as cooperative learning and student research. The Rhetoric program is the cornerstone of a Hampden-Sydney education, instilling students with the “clear and concise oral and written communication skills” that stand out to employers and graduate schools; it follows that the school emphasizes that “freedom of expression is very important” and ensures that “students are able to ask difficult questions and discuss them honestly.” Because of this, the college is “one of the best places to develop one’s ability to think” and to “learn how a different lens of study changes how one digests and processes information.” The “career center and alumni connections are…outstanding” and “having alumni invested in you and your future really makes a difference.”

The student-professor connection at Hampden-Sydney is “the real deal,” and students can tell that faculty “invest so much time and care into their students…it is clear that they became professors to teach.” It helps that courses also keep things fresh with “whole class debates, demonstrations, and historical games.” One student says: “One of my classes was based solely on acting out management positions and seeing the psychology play out in real time.” While the core curriculum may feel rigid to a few, most come to appreciate the “wide variety of fields” required and even things like “mandatory attendance policies,” as they lead to “more face time between professors and students, which translates to better learning.” This also enables each class to have “academically stimulating conversations,” also described as “in-depth and purposeful,” and helps the professors to “keep the student’s interest at the forefront of the lessons.”

Student Body

The promise of brotherhood rings true at Hampden-Sydney, as “everyone watches out for you and there is always someone who is willing to help.” This is “a very intellectually stimulating and unfiltered environment” where “anyone can truly say any belief without fear of censorship, provided that the beliefs are extended in good faith.” This “group of the most thoughtful young men” all adhere to “an excellent Honor Code and Code of Conduct” and come “from all over the nation with all different backgrounds and upbringings.” There are “a good amount of extroverts [and] athletes” in this “very intellectual student body,” and enrollees strike “the perfect balance between scholars, athletes, servants of the community, and rowdy college-aged men.” A “real great spirit of unity” runs among students, who “make connections with others constantly.”

Campus Life

Classes are typically held back-to-back before lunch, after which students “either head to their dorm, the Rhetoric Center, the library, the Tiger Inn, or some other location to study and/or hang out with friends.” Since the dining hall is the only food option on campus and there are only 800 undergraduates, “you are bound to run into someone you know, and it is not uncommon to have ten crowd around a tiny round table.” The UnionPhilanthropic Literary Society (“more or less a weekly debate society”) is a popular club, and “on any given day people can be seen going for runs, playing various sports on the lawns around the college, fishing, and even just sleeping under trees between classes.”

Though the campus itself is somewhat isolated and provides “limited options on what you can do… that doesn’t mean that we don’t have fun.” There are “fraternities and parties that are available to anyone who wants to participate,” and “intramurals are popular along with varsity athletics” (lacrosse and rugby especially). Since “everyone lives on campus, people have no trouble getting together,” and “everyone tailgates football games, which is the highlight of the fall.”