Hampshire College

Hampshire College is different from the other four colleges. Much younger and endowed with less money, it has excellent programs for painters, film makers and other artsy types.
http://www.hampshire.edu/
I happened upon an art class of five students with one professor. The quality of the student work was outstanding, much higher than what I had seen before in other liberal arts colleges.

Admissions page

" In addition to transcripts and recommendations, students are asked to submit a personal statement and a critical essay or academic paper. They may, if they wish, include a sample of creative work, such as a portfolio of creative writing, photography, or artwork, a musical recording, or a DVD. ... Students are self-directed, persistent, creative, share a desire to engage in collaborative and independent work, and are willing to assume substantial responsibility for their own education."

The SAT Scores are in the 600-700 range for English and 530 - 660 up for math. Around 400 freshmen are taken per year.
International students: TOEFL or SAT, ACT, ELPT accepted as well as high English grades in the IB. First year credit for the Abitur is given.

This college writes 'credit for the Abitur' on its website. The boss of the admissions team is a former teacher of German familiar with the German school system.

Financial aid for international students is very limited.
Hampshire has early decision on Nov 15, early action on Dec 1, regular decision on Jan 15.

Please check their website for explanations of early decision and early action. Not all colleges explain these deadlines so well. http://www.hampshire.edu/admissions/2258.htm

You may have noticed that Hampshire has even more trees than the other colleges. It is located on a former farm with a large wooded area. Amherst is not in walking distance, but the bus connects students with the other colleges. Hampshire does not duplicate any course that is offered by one of the other colleges. As a result, Hampshire students take courses in all the other colleges in addition to their own.