Acceptance Rate
45%
Avg. SAT
1403
75th percentile
“Bennington crafts fiercely independent thinkers and artists who design their own educations amid Vermont's remote, misty hills.”
Bennington, VT
Location
Town
Campus Setting
You arrive at Bennington College, founded in 1932 as a pioneering women's college by a coalition of New York intellectuals seeking to break from rigid traditions, and you immediately sense its rebellious spirit—co-ed since 1969, it remains a haven for students who chafe at conventional paths. The type who thrives here sketches feverishly in studios until dawn, debates philosophy over communal dinners, and relishes the freedom to invent their studies without majors until junior year. The school's personality pulses with creative eccentricity: think repurposed barns as galleries and faculty who double as working novelists or choreographers. Nestled in tiny Bennington, Vermont—a town of 15,000 with a Revolutionary War monument and autumn leaves that blaze like abstract paintings—you trade urban buzz for Appalachian Trail hikes and quiet introspection. But honesty demands noting the tradeoffs: profound isolation (nearest major city, Albany, is 40 miles away) means fewer spontaneous adventures, and the small size amplifies every interpersonal drama.
Photo Gallery
+45
+37
Admissions
Acceptance Rate
Test Policy
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Average GPA
Application Fee
Academics
Student-Faculty Ratio
Programs Offered
Full-Time Faculty
Women Faculty
Research Spending
Degree Levels Offered
In Bennington's classrooms, you dive into intimate seminars where a 9:1 student-faculty ratio ensures your voice shapes every discussion, from dissecting climate policy's ethical knots in social sciences to improvising jazz ensembles in music. The signature Bennington Plan hands you the reins: no general education requirements, just advanced work from day one, culminating in a self-designed 'Plan' with winter internships and public critiques that feel more like artist salons than exams. Visual arts, dance, literature, and music dominate, with undergrads apprenticing in professional studios or composing for the college orchestra; research thrives through faculty collaborations, like mapping neural networks in psychology labs. Yet the intellectual culture rewards radical self-starters—those who falter under ambiguity might struggle amid the lack of structure, and while selective (tougher than 70% of liberal arts colleges), breadth yields to depth in humanities over STEM.
Student Body
Total Enrollment
797 undergrad • 130 grad
Undergraduate
Graduate
International
White
63%
Black / African American
3%
Hispanic / Latino
10%
Asian
2%
Other / Multi-racial
21%
Campus Life
Campus Setting
Bennington, VT
A typical week at Bennington unfolds in a whirlwind of studio time, rehearsals, and house potlucks: mornings in critique-heavy classes, afternoons hiking the campus's 650 wooded acres or volunteering at local farms, evenings debating in the 10 quirky residence houses—think the bohemian Old Castle or the cozy arty Dickinson. The social scene skews collaborative and low-pressure, fueled by 100+ clubs like the student-run food co-op or experimental theater troupes, with traditions like the Field Work Term (FWT), a mandatory January internship that scatters you to New York galleries or Vermont nonprofits. Parties happen in woods or barns, more jam sessions than ragers, fostering tight-knit bonds among the 800 undergrads. Positives abound in the supportive, queer-friendly vibe and stunning fall foliage, but challenges loom: brutal winters bury paths in snow, rural remoteness limits dating pools and big events, and the intense creativity can breed burnout for the less resilient.
Housing
On-Campus Housing
Housing Capacity
Meal Plan Available
Average Room & Board
ROTC & Veteran Support
Veteran’s Programs Available
Yellow Ribbon Program (Post-9/11 GI Bill)
Yes
Cost & Aid
In-State Tuition
Out-of-State Tuition
Room & Board
Estimated Cost
Financial Aid
Students Receiving Aid
Receiving Pell Grants
Average Grant
Average Federal Loan
Net Annual Cost by Household Income
Household Income
Avg. Net Cost
$0 – $30K
$22,117
$30K – $48K
$16,878
$48K – $75K
$22,656
$75K – $110K
$27,793
$110K+
$47,335
Apply for Financial Aid
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Outcomes & Earnings
Retention Rate
82%
4 Years Graduation Rate
50%
6 Years Graduation Rate
60%
Median 10-Year Earnings
$38,289
82% of first-time, full-time students complete their freshman year at Bennington College and return in the fall. 50% of first-time, full-time students graduate in 4 years, and 60% graduate within 6 years.
Graduation Rate
4-year grads
50%
4-5 years
10%
6-8 years
2%
Non-grad
38%
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Key Statistics
Type
Private
Tuition
$60,648
Acceptance
45%
Undergrads
797
4-Year Grad Rate
50%
Endowment
$63M
Bennington, VT 05201-6003
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