Announcing the Class of 2024
Bennington College is preparing to welcome a robust and diverse class of 161 new first-year and transfer students this fall term, both online and in-person.
Students hail from 27 states and 21 countries
16% are domestic students of color
17% have international citizenship
The class of 2024 hails from 27 states (and Washington DC) and 21 different countries. Of the incoming class, 17% of students have international citizenship, 16% are domestic students of color, 22% are the first student in their family to attend college, and 28% are Pell eligible. This class continues Bennington’s commitment to making higher education accessible and affordable to students from a diverse array of backgrounds.
“We welcome the Class of 2024—both in-person and virtually—with immense hope and enthusiasm for the coming year,” said President Laura Walker. "Bennington's commitment to a close, collaborative, and hands-on academic experience has never been greater and, after months of diligent work to reimagine that collaborative process under the constraints of a global pandemic, we are eager to come together again to learn and grow."
"We are excited to welcome the diverse, creative, and talented members of the Class of 2024 to the Bennington community," said Vice President for Enrollment Tony Cabasco. "The admissions and financial aid staffs enjoyed getting to know these students and families while helping them navigate a challenging college search this year. We are delighted they have chosen to join us at Bennington."
22% are the first in their family to attend college
28% are Pell eligible
Competitive Pell Eligibility
Smith College 24%
Bard College 22%
Bennington College 20%
Mount Holyoke College 20%
Sarah Lawrence College 16%
Skidmore College 15%
Oberlin College 10%
Among the class of 2024 are 12 students who are enrolling in Bennington after completing a gap year, including four students who participated in Bennington’s Gap Year Independent Learning Program, for which they will earn academic credit for work they did prior to Bennington.
In addition, the College is welcoming transfer students from Marlboro College, Austin Community College, Baldwin-Wallace University, Onondaga Community College, Rockland Community College, Smith College, Suffolk County Community College, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Virginia Commonwealth University, Wells College, and Whatcom Community College.
The class of 2024 also includes a diverse array of 9 United World College Davis Scholars, hailing from schools from Mahindra to Dilijan.
Across the board, interest in Bennington continues to grow among college-bound students. As compared to five years ago, the total number of applications to Bennington has grown, with a 25% overall increase since 2015. This year saw the third-highest number of applications in the College's history. For the 2020-21 academic year, 1,381 rising first-year students applied to Bennington, 60% of whom were admitted.
As these admissions trends indicate, the College remains focused on building a strong foundation for the future. The student experience continues to be individualized and rigorous, with a student to faculty ratio of 10:1. Bennington’s flexible, responsive curriculum also directly engages students’ academic requests through adding new courses each term and allowing students to propose intensive “pop-up” mini-courses that investigate unfolding current events and issues.
The academic year kicks off on September 1 with Convocation and the start of Fall courses.
