Bennington College vs Hampshire College

Bennington College and Hampshire College, both bastions of liberal arts education, share a commitment to fostering intellectual curiosity and critical thinking. However, they diverge in several key aspects. Bennington, with an acceptance rate of 49%, is slightly more selective than Hampshire, which admits 60% of applicants. Bennington's student body is predominantly female (70%), while Hampshire's is more evenly balanced (53% female). Bennington students pursue a wide range of majors, with popular choices including visual and performing arts, literature, and social sciences. Hampshire students, on the other hand, gravitate towards interdisciplinary programs such as cognitive science, environmental studies, and media studies. While both colleges boast impressive graduation rates, Bennington's 82% slightly edges out Hampshire's 79%. To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table that delves into these differences and more.

	Bennington College	Hampshire College
Overview
Location	Bennington, Vermont	Amherst, Massachusetts
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	84.0%	72.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	66.9%	75.1%
Application fees	$85
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	1,726	1,340
Total number of admissions given out	1,155	1,007
Admitted students who chose to enroll	249	133
Yield rate	21.6%	13.2%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$80,648	$66,658
Average net price	$35,569	$30,168
Tuition	$58,848	$51,000
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,350 Meal plan: $7,860	Room/dormitory: $8,520 Meal plan: $5,912
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $43,739	100.0% Average amount $36,653
Students receiving federal student loan	60.0% Average amount $5,083	64.0% Average amount $4,793
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $33,561	1.0% Average amount $8,793

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	771 Men 35.5% Women 64.5%	472 Men 38.1% Women 61.9%
Graduate students	113 Men 20.4% Women 79.6%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	15.5%	6.4%
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	769	1,180
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Visual & Performing Arts Social Sciences Foreign Languages and Literatures English Language and Literature Public Administration and Social Service	Visual & Performing Arts English Language and Literature Social Sciences Biological and Biomedical Sciences Ethnic Studies
Students to faculty ratio	10:1	11:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	67.8%	62.4%
Dropout rate	7.5%	37.3%
Transferred out	24.8%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	English Language and Literature/Letters, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $41,354 Year 2: $29,685 Year 3: $33,127 Visual and Performing Arts, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $14,867 Year 2: $17,950 Year 3: $15,066 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $21,964 Year 3: N/A Literature (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,202 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $15,302 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Music (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $21,599 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A	Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,720 Year 2: $19,829 Year 3: $23,704

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