Bennington College
Bennington College at a Glance
Reviewed by James A. Barham, PhD, Vice President and Academic Editor. Influence ranks come from our InfluenceRanking™ methodology; other figures come from federal data, with the year shown under each section. Report an error
Bennington College Featured Rankings
About Bennington College
Featured Alumna
Denise Susan Walsh ranks among our Top Influential Political Scientists Today.
According to Wikipedia, Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont, United States. Founded as a women’s college in 1932, it became co-educational in 1969. It is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.
Bennington College Admissions, Retention, and Graduation Information
| Annual Applications | Acceptance | Retention Rate | Graduation Rate | Median SAT Score | Median ACT Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,825 | 45% | 82% | 70% | 1347 | 31 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); acceptance rate for fall 2024; test scores for fall 2024; applications and enrollment for fall 2023; retention for students who started in fall 2023; graduation rate within six years for students who started in 2019.
How Much Does Bennington College Cost To Attend?
| Tuition and fees (in-state) |
|---|
| $68,746 |
| Income | Average Net Cost |
|---|---|
| 0 - 30K | $22,350 |
| 30K - 48K | $24,783 |
| 48K - 75K | $24,125 |
| 75K - 110K | $30,079 |
| 110K+ | $43,575 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); tuition and fees for 2025–26; net price for 2024–25, for first-time, full-time students receiving financial aid.
How Much Do Bennington College Graduates Make?
Ten years after starting college, former Bennington College students who received federal financial aid earn a median of $46,253 a year, and 87% of those not still in school are working.
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard; students who started college in 2011–12 or 2012–13, measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars.
Bennington College's Demographics
Students enrolled at any time during the 2023–24 school year, including part-time and online students.
| Student Body | Under-Grads | Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| 943 | 831 | 112 |
Source: National Center for Education Statistics; 12-month enrollment for 2023–24.
Where is Bennington College?
Bennington College is located at One College Drive, Bennington, VT 05201-6003.
How Safe is Bennington College?
Relative to its enrollment, Bennington College has a violent crime rate of 5.72% and a property crime rate of 0.22%. Bennington has a violent crime rate of 0.40% and a property crime rate of 2.49%. Sources: campus: U.S. Department of Education Campus Safety and Security data, on-campus offenses in 2024 (violent: murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; property: burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson, which excludes ordinary theft); city: FBI Crime Data Explorer, offenses reported to the city police in 2024.
What Is Bennington College Known For?
Bennington College is known for its academic work in the following disciplines:
- Literature
- Sociology
- Philosophy
- Communications
- Anthropology
- Psychology
- Education
- Political Science
- History
- Economics
- Medical
- Mathematics
- Physics
- Biology
- Business
- Computer Science
- Religious Studies
- Earth Sciences
- Chemistry
Bennington College's Top Areas of Influence With Degrees Offered
Each rank compares how much Bennington College's faculty and alumni have shaped a field with other schools, using Wikipedia, Wikidata and scholarly citation databases such as Crossref and Semantic Scholar. World and U.S. ranks reflect modern influence; the historical rank counts influence across all time. How we rank influence
Bennington College ranks #57 in the U.S. and #149 worldwide for influence in Literature.
literature DegreesBennington College ranks #96 in the U.S. and #298 worldwide for influence in Sociology.
sociology DegreesBennington College ranks #180 in the U.S. and #609 worldwide for influence in Philosophy.
philosophy DegreesBennington College ranks #183 in the U.S. and #634 worldwide for influence in Communications.
communications DegreesBennington College ranks #190 in the U.S. and #588 worldwide for influence in Anthropology.
anthropology DegreesBennington College ranks #191 in the U.S. and #459 worldwide for influence in Psychology.
psychology DegreesBennington College ranks #206 in the U.S. and #845 worldwide for influence in Education.
education DegreesBennington College ranks #210 in the U.S. and #812 worldwide for influence in Political Science.
political-science DegreesBennington College ranks #259 in the U.S. and #735 worldwide for influence in History.
history DegreesBennington College ranks #301 in the U.S. and #1670 worldwide for influence in Economics.
economics DegreesBennington College ranks #339 in the U.S. and #1225 worldwide for influence in Medical.
medicine DegreesBennington College ranks #387 in the U.S. and #1620 worldwide for influence in Mathematics.
math DegreesBennington College ranks #431 in the U.S. and #1961 worldwide for influence in Physics.
physics DegreesBennington College ranks #445 in the U.S. and #1887 worldwide for influence in Biology.
biology DegreesBennington College ranks #450 in the U.S. and #1593 worldwide for influence in Business.
business DegreesBennington College ranks #515 in the U.S. and #2367 worldwide for influence in Computer Science.
computer-science DegreesBennington College ranks #581 in the U.S. and #2564 worldwide for influence in Religious Studies.
religious-studies-hub DegreesBennington College ranks #681 in the U.S. and #2666 worldwide for influence in Earth Sciences.
earth-science DegreesBennington College ranks #692 in the U.S. and #3206 worldwide for influence in Chemistry.
chemistry DegreesWho Are Bennington College's Most Influential Alumni?
Bennington College's most influential alumni include professors and professionals in the fields of Literature, Nursing, and Sociology. Here are some of Bennington College's most famous alumni:
- Andrea Dworkin
- An American feminist writer .
- Michael Pollan
- An American author, journalist, activist, and professor of journalism.
- Bret Easton Ellis
- An American novelist.
- Helen Frankenthaler
- An American painter.
- Hildegard Peplau
- An American nurse and nursing theorist.
- Anne Waldman
- An American poet .
- Sally Mann
- An American photographer.
- Jonathan Lethem
- An American novelist, essayist, short story writer, Roy E. Disney Chair in Creative Writing, Pomona College.
- Sheila Miyoshi Jager
- An American historian.
- Donna Tartt
- An American writer.
- Ann Goldstein
- An American translator.
- Alec Wilkinson
- An American journalist.
