Mr. Hampshire & Ms. Elisabeth
André Hampshire
Counselor, Admissions Strategy and Writing
M.M. Composition, Texas State University
Published Poet
Develops each student's academic and admissions strategy, including the choice of majors and universities, and directs the analysis and revision of application writing.
Mr. Hampshire studied chemistry and English at the University of Texas at Austin and composition at Texas State University. He counsels students in the sciences and the humanities with the same discipline.
Elisabeth Hampshire
Counselor, Student Dialogue and Exploration
Published Poet
In conversation with students, she helps them recognize what they have not yet considered and give words to thoughts still taking shape. The understanding that emerges informs the counseling as a whole.
Ms. Elisabeth is a poet. Her literary background informs her attention to the words students choose and to the thoughts that take shape as they speak.
How We Work
Hampshire Academia was founded in Austin, Texas, where most of its students still live, and now works from Vancouver, Washington, with students online and, for tutoring and test preparation, in person in Portland and Vancouver. It is small by design. We accept a limited number of students each year, because counseling of the kind we practice requires that we know each student well.
Every counseling student works directly with Mr. Hampshire and Ms. Elisabeth, from the first conversation through the student's college decision. No one else handles a student's work.
Before any counseling engagement begins, we meet with the family for forty-five minutes, each party interviewing the other. We work with no more than twenty-five families in an admissions cycle, and the decision to work together must rest on a mutual sense of compatibility. Neither party is bound by the conversation.
Our Philosophy
Depth
We limit enrollment because the work requires time and attention for each student. We would rather counsel fewer students well.
Authenticity
An application should present the student as the student is, with actual interests, real experiences, and honest perspectives. We do not invent hooks or angles.
Understanding
Before we offer guidance, we take the time to understand each student's strengths, aspirations, and circumstances.
Intellectual Growth
The admissions process is an occasion for a student's development. A student should finish it more articulate and with a clearer understanding of themselves.
Honest Assessment
We tell students what they need to hear, kindly and directly. Encouragement that is not true serves no one.
Accountability
A family that engages Hampshire Academia works with its founders, and we answer personally for the work.