Bennington College: Acceptance Rate and Admissions Statistics

Bennington College is a private liberal arts college with an acceptance rate of 57%. Located on a 470-acre campus in Southern Vermont, Bennington was founded as a women's college in 1932 and became coeducational in 1969. The college features an impressive 9-to-1 student / faculty ratio and an average class size of 12. Unlike most colleges, students at Bennington develop their own programs of study with the faculty. Another feature of Bennington's creative curriculum is the Field Work Term during which students spend 200 hours each year volunteering or studying off campus to gain work experience.

Considering applying to Bennington College? Here are the admissions statistics you should know, including average SAT/ACT scores of admitted students.

Acceptance Rate

During the 2017-18 admissions cycle, Bennington College had an acceptance rate of 57%. This means that for every 100 students who applied, 57 students were admitted, making Bennington College's admissions process competitive.

SAT and ACT Scores and Requirements

Bennington College has a test-optional standardized testing policy. Applicants to Bennington may submit SAT or ACT scores to the school, but they are not required. Bennington College does not report SAT or ACT scores for admitted students.

For students who choose to submit test scores, Bennington does not require the optional writing component of either the SAT or ACT. Note that for students submitting SAT scores, Bennington participates in the scorechoice program, which means that the admissions office will consider your highest score from each individual section across all SAT test dates. For those submitting ACT scores, Bennington does not superscore ACT results; your highest composite ACT score will be considered.

GPA

Bennington College does not provide data about admitted students' high school GPAs.

Self-Reported GPA/SAT/ACT Graph

The admissions data in the graph is self-reported by applicants to Bennington College. GPAs are unweighted. Find out how you compare to accepted students, see the real-time graph, and calculate your chances of getting in with a free Cappex account.

Admissions Chances

Bennington College, which accepts just over half of applicants, has a selective admissions process. However, Bennington also has a holistic admissions process and is test-optional, and admissions decisions are based on much more than numbers. A strong application essay and glowing letters of recommendation can strengthen your application, as can participation in meaningful extracurricular activities and a rigorous course schedule. The college is looking for students who will contribute to the campus community in meaningful ways, not just students who show promise in the classroom. While not required, Bennington strongly recommends interviews for interested applicants. Students with particularly compelling stories or achievements can still receive serious consideration even if their grades and scores are outside Bennington's average range.

Bennington also offers an alternative admission method, the Dimensional Application. The Dimensional Application is an "open-form application which allows students to choose the materials and format that will best demonstrate a readiness for a Bennington education." Bennington will be looking for evidence of your "ability to articulate original ideas or insights," a "record of academic achievement," a "capacity for growth," your "intrinsic motivation," and ways that you have made "contributions to your classroom and community." Bennington will be attempting to assess traits such as a "tolerance for ambiguity," a "facility for collaboration," "self-reflection" and "self-restraint," and aesthetic and cultural sensitivity.

As the graph above illustrates, most students admitted to Bennington (the blue and green dots) had a high school GPA of a 3.2 or higher. Although standardized test scores aren't required, you'll see that most admitted students had above average scores. Combined SAT scores (ERW+M) were mostly above 1200, and composite ACT scores were mostly above 25.

If You Like Bennington College, You May Also Like These Schools

• Bard College
• Ithaca College
• University of Vermont
• Mount Holyoke College
• Wesleyan University
• Amherst College
• Brown University
• Alfred University
• Skidmore College
• Clark University
• Oberlin College
• Sarah Lawrence College
• Hampshire College

All admissions data has been sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics and Bennington College Undergraduate Admissions Office.