I looked into the scholarships that Bennington offers from the main website, but it doesn’t say what the qualifications for any of them are. How do I find out what scholarships I qualify for?

I looked into the scholarships that Bennington offers from the main website, but it doesn't say what the qualifications for any of them are. How do I find out what scholarships I qualify for? — Asked by Anonymous

Bennington handles in-house financial aid a little differently than most places in that each financial aid applicant is considered for both need and merit-based aid at the same time. Basically, that means that if you have need or display merit, you’re going to be considered for some sort of financial aid, be that scholarships, grants, or loans. Bennington also considers aid separately from government aid, so you’ll have your Bennington financial aid package plus whatever you get from the government. There isn’t any sort of blanket qualification spectrum for financial aid - your FAFSA and your admissions application are what will determine your financial aid package.

Just in terms of facts and figures, I can tell you that 79% of students at Bennington receive a financial aid package and that the average scholarship/grant award for this year was $25,466. It’s also worth mentioning that the Financial Aid Office is really good at working one-on-one with students and families to come up with a financial aid package that will allow you to attend the college. If you have more specific financial aid questions you can always feel free to email them at finaid@bennington.edu, or call at (802)440-4325. If you want a little more information than what I’ve written here, you can look at the financial aid page on our website at www.bennington.edu/financialaid.aspx.

-Evan ‘13