Posts tagged admissions counselor

Is it required to visit Bennington and/or schedule an interview to get into the school? I was just wondering because I live farther away and it would be harder for me to go out there and schedule something like that. Though I would love to meet all of you, since you all seem like great people :D — Asked by finnabangyongguk

There’s absolutely no requirement for you to come and visit or do an in-person interview as part of the Admissions process (although we do love it when you guys do that!).

As far as visiting campus goes, that’s partially what this blog is for - allowing prospective students to get a sense of life at Bennington by looking vicariously through our eyes. Obviously there’s no parallel to seeing the real thing, but we do our best to give you enough information that would allow you to make an informed decision about whether or not you want to attend Bennington without having to visit.

As for the interview: while we don’t require an interview, we strongly, strongly encourage them. The good news is that they needn’t be in-person. We have several Admissions Counselors who are divided up by different states and regions; so each state has a counselor assigned to it (and we also have an international counselor). The best way to find out who your counselor is would be to call the Admissions Office at (802)-440-4312 and ask! The counselors make trips throughout their territories in the fall and can schedule in-person interviews at their various stops, OR we can get you in contact with them to schedule a phone interview.

Anyway, I hope that helps! We hope you come visit if that ever becomes a possibility!

-Evan ‘13

What did you wear to your interview? I know this is kind of a shallow question, but I've heard the interviews at Bennington are informal? Like, are jeans and a nice top at all acceptable or should I go with some type of skirt/dress dealie. (I'm a girl) — Asked by Anonymous

You can really wear whatever you feel comfortable in, whether it’s a skirt/dress dealie (regardless of your gender), jeans and a nice (or not nice) top, etc.

I’m pretty sure I wore something ill-fitting that made me look like a frumpy junior office manager. I also arrived to my interview more than an hour early and sat in the parking lot freaking out because I was (am) nuts about being punctual.

When the interview finally got started it took me about 5 or 10 minutes to relax and realize that no one was going to ask me a question like “What is your greatest weakness?” or “Why should you be accepted to Bennington?” Instead the person who interviewed me was incredibly nice and just wanted to know about what I was interested in and liked to do.  

If I could go back in time I would have worn something that made me feel good (in my case, garish red lipstick) and tried to relax a bit and enjoy the opportunity to have a conversation with an admissions counselor (all of whom, I can now vouch for, are quite awesome). 

- Ellie