Academics
A small, private liberal arts college tucked away in Southern Vermont, Bennington College maintains an academic philosophy that encourages a particularly high level of “independence,” “creativity,” and “critical thinking” among its student body. Bennington offers small, discussion-based classes, no core requirements, and individualized plans of study. Instead of majors and minors, students participate in a “Plan Process,” where they design their own four-year curriculum with a strong “support system of advisors and committees.” Faculty members are working practitioners in their field who are “driven and passionate,” “highly accessible,” “engaging,” and “often feel like personal mentors.” Students also note that their relationships with faculty feel less typically “hierarchal,” with “transparent pedagogy,” opportunities for midterm feedback, and student-professor relationships operating on a first-name basis. Coursework is generally “reading and writing-intensive,” and it’s far more common to see students working on a “project or essay” during finals than cramming for an exam. Students are also required to complete a “field work term”—each student spends seven weeks in an internship that can set them on a professional path and give them valuable connections that are useful after graduation.
Student Body
Students at Bennington are by and large “passionate,” “independent,” “creative,” “liberal,” “hardworking and driven.” “Students here are the very definition of unique,” says one student. “There are many students who have interesting style, hobbies, and interests and it creates a really exciting atmosphere.” While student’s individualized academic plans are interdisciplinary in nature, providing opportunities for broad studies across the liberal arts and sciences, students report an emphasis on “niche work” by an “introspective” and “extremely eclectic group of students with a unifying sense of oddness.” With just over 700 students, the small student body is “tight-knit.” Some note that, given the self-directed nature of students’ work and projects, students can “create a bubble,” with work that can be overly “abstract.” Yet “the community is very accepting, constructive, and there is little peer-pressure or competition.” One student reports that “there’s very little separation between social life and the classroom, in a way that can often feel intense.” If issues related to “racial power dynamics” and “socioeconomic class structures” arise, Bennington’s small, “interconnected community” means “people have to work through these [issues] and understand them in different lights to move forward.” “Bennington’s students care as much about interpersonal and social relationships as they do work,” says one student. “This isn’t to the detriment of academia or the work itself but...an invigorator of collaboration and conversation.”
Campus Life
Bennington College students often have a “high workload in many disciplines, so a majority of time is spent studying or producing work.” While some say that Bennington students “are very social...spend a lot of time together...” and “tend to work in communal spaces” instead of private rooms, others point out that students can be especially focused on their personal work and projects because they are so “passionate.” Make no mistake: Bennington, Vermont is small-town living. With a car, you can go into town and see a movie, take mountain hikes, go on “runs through North Bennington,” or “swim in Lake Paran when it’s warm.” But students have plenty of opportunities to socialize on campus. These might include Friday and Saturday night dance parties and “formal and informal” evening events spotlighting speakers, musicians, and other visiting performers. Other on-campus activities include “trivia nights and karaoke,” and “film screenings and art shows.” The residential houses at Bennington “are small and foster unique cultures and communities, so many students are comfortable relaxing with housemates in the house common rooms.”
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