Bennington College to enroll largest incoming class in its history – Vermont Biz

Vermont Business MagazineThis fall, Bennington College will welcome over 250 first-year students and 18 transfer students. This entering class will be the largest in the Colleges history.

Students reported that Benningtons appeal stemmed from historical strengths of the Collegeincluding the self-directed academics ofthe Plan, annualField Work Terminternship opportunities, and access to world-classfaculty mentors. Bennington has also been very successful at handling the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a leading institution in the liberal arts, Bennington has attracted a hugely diverse student body, with over 15% of the Class of 2025 coming from outside of the United States (from 24 different countries). About 20% of the class of 2025 are domestic BIPOC students, 18% are the first in their family to attend college, and 25% are Pell recipients.

The class of 2025 also includes a diverse array of 15 United World College Davis Scholars, hailing from 7 UWC campuses around the world from Armenia to India to Tanzania, and representing 11 countries including Congo, Ireland, Libya, Malawi, Peru, Russia, and Spain.

Building upon Benningtons partnership withKIPPthe largest public charter school network in the US, which has a particular focus on serving low-income communitiesthree KIPP Scholars will also join the Class of 2025. Students come from KIPP Academy Lynn Collegiate High School (Lynn, MA); KIPP Generations Collegiate (Houston, TX); and KIPP Northeast College Preparatory (Houston, TX).

With this incoming class, Bennington continues its commitment to making higher education accessible and affordable, as well as fostering an inclusive environment for students from diverse backgrounds.

Students and families have been increasingly drawn to the value of a Bennington education. This year saw a record number of applicationsover 1,700reflecting a 25% growth from the previous years admissions cycle and continuing Benningtons recent application success. During the last 5 years, from Fall 2017 to Fall 2021, Bennington received the highest number of applications in the Colleges history.

Navigating Studies During COVID-19

The Colleges shift to a hybrid model of learning for the 2020-21 academic year allowed current students to reap the benefits of a Bennington education while maintaining the safety of the entire community.

Benningtons collaboration with public health, community, and higher education partners, as well as rigorous quarantining and preventative testing standards, allowed interested students tosafely return to campusby Fall 2020. Students were involved in creating and supporting the Colleges protocol. There have been no campus-wide COVID-19 outbreaks to date.

Courses for the 2020-21 academic year were offered in a hybrid format to accommodate students both on-and off-campus. These courses often transcended online lectures to embrace intriguing forms likemail artandletter writing. Responding to student interest, Bennington continued to offer pop-up courses throughout the year, on topics fromexploring the era of COVID-19toexamining Belarus and democraciesaround the world.

About Bennington CollegeBennington College is a liberal arts college in southwestern Vermont that has distinguished itself as a vanguard institution within American higher education.It was the first to include the visual and performing arts in a liberal arts education. It is the only college to require that its students spend a termevery yearat work in the world.Bennington students work intensively with faculty to forge individual educational paths around their driving questions and interests.

Bennington Colleges alumni include twelve Pulitzer Prize winners, three U.S. poets laureate, four MacArthur Geniuses, and countlessNew York Timesbestsellers and National Book Award recipients.

Rooted in an abiding faith in the talent, imagination, and responsibility of the individual, Bennington invites students to pursue and shape their own intellectual inquiries, and in doing so to discover the profound interconnection of things. Learn more atbennington.edu.

Source:Bennington, VT:This fall, Bennington College 8.31.2021

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Bennington College to enroll largest incoming class in its history - Vermont Biz