Colleges / Bennington College
College · Private nonprofit · Bennington, VT · Town
BC

Bennington College

Bennington, VT

AddressOne College Drive, Bennington, VT 05201-6003
Websitewww.bennington.edu
Price calculatorRun your numbers →
Admit rate45%
6-yr median pay$25k
Net price / yr$31k
Undergrad size780
§ I · The real read

What it's actually like.

The bet

Net price of $31k/yr for a shot at a $25k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.

Getting in

Admit rate of 45% means this is selective — grades, essays, and testing matter. Admitted students average SAT 1364.

If you get in

780 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.

Where you live

Town setting — self-contained, social life mostly on campus.

§ II · Cost & aid

Sticker vs. real.

Sticker cost of attendance is $87k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $31k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.

Sticker · 4 yrs$349k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$124k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$225k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback5.0x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.

Where the money goes · annual sticker.

Tuition · in-state
$66.3k
Room & board
$19.1k
Books & supplies
$2,000

How students pay for it.

Pell grants25%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans50%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$26k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $8k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes

Do people finish? Do they land?

1-yr retention84%
Solid.
Graduation · 6 yr71%
Majority finish.
6-yr median pay$25k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$38k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out20%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity

Setting, size, and who this school is.

Setting
Town
Control
Private nonprofit
Undergrad size
780
Location
Bennington, VT
Region
New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)
Carnegie class
Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus
Size & setting
Four-year · very small · highly residential
Undergrad program
Four-year · full-time, selective, lower transfer-in
Accreditor
New England Commission on Higher Education
Also known as
Bennington
§ · Who studies here

The student body at a glance.

  • White64%
  • International12%
  • Hispanic9%
  • Two or more races6%
  • Black4%
  • Asian2%
  • Unknown2%
First-gen students13%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time2%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$75k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 77

What you can study.

Colleges / Bennington College
College · Private nonprofit · Bennington, VT · Town
BC

Bennington College

Bennington, VT

AddressOne College Drive, Bennington, VT 05201-6003
Websitewww.bennington.edu
Price calculatorRun your numbers →
Admit rate45%
6-yr median pay$25k
Net price / yr$31k
Undergrad size780
§ I · The real read

What it's actually like.

The bet

Net price of $31k/yr for a shot at a $25k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.

Getting in

Admit rate of 45% means this is selective — grades, essays, and testing matter. Admitted students average SAT 1364.

If you get in

780 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.

Where you live

Town setting — self-contained, social life mostly on campus.

§ II · Cost & aid

Sticker vs. real.

Sticker cost of attendance is $87k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $31k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.

Sticker · 4 yrs$349k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$124k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$225k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback5.0x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.

Where the money goes · annual sticker.

Tuition · in-state
$66.3k
Room & board
$19.1k
Books & supplies
$2,000

How students pay for it.

Pell grants25%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans50%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$26k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $8k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes

Do people finish? Do they land?

1-yr retention84%
Solid.
Graduation · 6 yr71%
Majority finish.
6-yr median pay$25k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$38k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out20%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity

Setting, size, and who this school is.

Setting
Town
Control
Private nonprofit
Undergrad size
780
Location
Bennington, VT
Region
New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)
Carnegie class
Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus
Size & setting
Four-year · very small · highly residential
Undergrad program
Four-year · full-time, selective, lower transfer-in
Accreditor
New England Commission on Higher Education
Also known as
Bennington
§ · Who studies here

The student body at a glance.

  • White64%
  • International12%
  • Hispanic9%
  • Two or more races6%
  • Black4%
  • Asian2%
  • Unknown2%
First-gen students13%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time2%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$75k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 77

What you can study.