Bennington College — admissions, outcomes, merit aid & scholarships

🎯 Parent/student verdict

Match

Solid match for academically prepared students.

✅ Best for

Solid academic profile (SAT 1290–1413 · ACT 30–32 middle 50% + typically a 3.7+ unweighted GPA in rigorous coursework)
Students focused on Visual & Performing Arts (the school's signature program)
Families wanting a small liberal-arts experience

🎯 The reality

Bottom-quartile academic profile if: SAT below 1290, or ACT below 30, or unweighted GPA below ~3.50 (admitted-class quartiles; GPA floor is a calibrated heuristic where CDS not yet on file)

Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price by income, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.

🏛️ Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification

Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus

Total enrollment

780

Under 1,000

In-state tuition

$66,262

sticker, before aid

Tuition

$66,262

flat rate (no in/out-of-state split)

Admit rate

48.0%

Moderately selective

SAT middle 50%

1290–1413

EBRW + Math composite

ACT middle 50%

30–32

composite

Test policy

Test-optional

2023

10-yr earnings

$38,289

median, after entry

Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.

📊 Outcomes & cost

What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.

Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).

Earnings, 6 yrs after entry

$24,711

Earnings, 10 yrs after entry

$38,289

4-year completion

71%

Median debt (completers)

$26,000

Cost of attendance

$87,284

sticker price, not net

Pell-eligible students

25%

💰 True ROI

3.1× return

What families actually pay (after aid) vs. the sticker — and how 10-yr earnings stack against the real cost. Most sites quote sticker; we quote what families really pay.

What families actually pay (4 yrs)

$123,788

$30,947/yr avg net

Aid that hides behind the sticker

$225,348

vs sticker $349,136

10-yr earnings total

$382,890

$38,289/yr median, 10 yrs out

Years to recoup actual cost

3.2 yrs

at the median earnings rate

"True ROI" = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (actual 4-yr net price). The actual net is from Scorecard (average across all families); your family's net price will vary by income — see the breakdown above. Earnings are 10 years after enrollment (Scorecard PP-FOS, all majors combined).

💰 What families actually pay

Net price by family income

Net price = sticker price minus grant aid. This is what families actually pay out-of-pocket after scholarships and need-based aid — the most honest affordability signal there is. At Bennington College, the average net price is $30,947/yr across all families.

Family income $0-30k

$18,480/yr

Family income $30-48k

$18,012/yr

Family income $48-75k

$22,336/yr

Family income $75-110k

$25,508/yr

Family income $110k+

$44,625/yr

🔎 Earning over $110K? The federal brackets above lump every family from $110K to $1M+ into one row.

Need-based aid usually phases out somewhere between $200K and $300K at private colleges — but the exact threshold varies a lot. For a precise estimate based on your family's actual income, assets, and your student's academic profile, use Bennington College's official Net Price Calculator:

Get your family's estimate from Bennington College →

Opens on Bennington College's site. Takes about 10–15 minutes; have your most recent tax return handy.

Source: College Scorecard (NPT41-NPT45). Net price = total cost of attendance minus federal, state, institutional, and other grants. Some brackets may be suppressed for student-privacy reasons (small cohorts). Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates only. The $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — Department of Education hasn't refreshed these brackets since the early 2010s.

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at Bennington College

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what Bennington College actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Visual & Performing Arts

57 degrees · 50.9%

Typical career outcomes

Graphic Designer $59k Art Director $106k Multimedia Artist / Animator $99k Musician / Singer $39k

Highly variable. Steady-pay roles cluster in design, illustration, production. Performance careers have very wide income distributions.

2. English Language & Literature

24 degrees · 21.4%

Typical career outcomes

Technical Writer $80k Editor $75k Writer / Author $74k Public Relations Specialist $67k

Writing-heavy roles. Variance is huge — corporate technical writers pay 2× journalists.

3. Foreign Languages, Literatures, & Linguistics

14 degrees · 12.5%

Typical career outcomes

Interpreter / Translator $57k Foreign Language Teacher $65k International Business Analyst $79k

Translation, international business, education, intelligence work.

4. Computer & Information Sciences

9 degrees · 8.0%

Typical career outcomes

Software Developer $132k Data Scientist $108k Information Security Analyst $120k Web Developer $85k

High-paying tech roles dominate. Median software roles cluster in the $90k-$130k range.

5. Social Sciences

8 degrees · 7.1%

Typical career outcomes

Economist $118k Political Scientist $130k Sociologist $93k Market Research Analyst $75k

Economics + poli sci sub-disciplines pay much more than sociology + anthropology.

Source: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a), bachelor's-level first majors aggregated to 2-digit CIP family. Share is of these top 5 only — not all majors.

💼 Top programs by earnings

Highest-earning majors at Bennington College

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major (CIP code). From the federal College Scorecard program-level outcomes.

Major (CIP)	Credential	Cohort	1-yr earnings	4-yr earnings
Visual and Performing Arts, General.	Bachelor's Degree	34	$20,809	$39,958
Music.	Bachelor's Degree	15	—	$26,241
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft.	Bachelor's Degree	23	$16,579	$23,575

For full college-vs-major comparison + ROI leaderboards, see /college-outcomes →

🤖 AI program signal

AI + computing education at Bennington College

CS degrees (annual)

9

CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

⚖️ Compare side-by-side

Bennington College vs. another college

Type the college you want to compare against. We'll show admit rates, net price by your family income, top majors with career outcomes, and merit aid — all in one side-by-side view.

Alternatives to Bennington College

Matched not just by selectivity, but by strategic goal — what a family actually decides on.

🏆 Better merit-aid options

These similar-selectivity schools have published auto-merit grids that Bennington College doesnt — your kids scores could unlock real scholarship dollars.

University of Alabama in Huntsville

AL · Public

39 auto-merit scholarships on file

Texas Tech University

TX · Public

31 auto-merit scholarships on file

The University of Alabama

AL · Public

23 auto-merit scholarships on file

Mississippi State University

MS · Public

19 auto-merit scholarships on file