An interview at Bennington is much more like a conversation than a formal interview. Someone asked a question similar to this just a couple days ago that I also answered so I would encourage you to check that one out! Mostly, they just want to hear what interests you, what you really love to do, what makes you tick…what are the things you most want to explore in your undergraduate education?

Bennington doesn’t look for “types”. The counselors don’t have a list of things that they check off as they talk to you or listen to what you have to say. In my opinion, you are “Bennington material” if you are a passionate and driven individual who is interested in seeing how things you love intersect, come together, and overlap. Just be honest in the interview and don’t think they want you to be something you are not.

Some topics covered in mine (which was done in a little cafe right by my house in San Francisco and lasted an hour and a half! so awesome): Romantic authors like Melville and Hawthorne, the Beat Poets, french food, where the best burritos in San Francisco are, and whether my hair could be considered “long” or not (in the email to her, I told her I would be the girl with long brown hair, but we had different opinions of what long meant haha).

After I got into Bennington, my counselor was back in San Francisco and took me out for a congratulations coffee. They really get to know you and want to spend the time helping you out.

-India K, ‘12