Posts tagged applications

Would you say that you lovely admissions people accept the person or the application or BOTH?! — Asked by Anonymous

I’d say we look at you as a person, and at your application, so kinda both! We want to get to know you but also want to know how you work and what you’ve done in the past. We want to make sure you’ll be a good fit for Bennington and vice versa. 

Hope this helps!

-Selina ‘15

I know this has been asked before but I cannot for the life of me find the post again....what other schools did you admissions folk apply to (or at least look at)? — Asked by Anonymous

No worries, here it is. Hope that helps!

-Glennis

APPLICATION QUESTIONS

Hello wonderful humans,

Most of the questions we’re getting right are about the application. I just want to say first of all — whatever point you’re at, take a minute, take a breath, and congratulate yourself on the work you’ve done to get to this point. I know it’s a terrifying thing to have your future so up in the air — believe me, I’m a senior, and even though I’ve got a few pretty solid plans, it’s still scary to not know for sure what your life will become. All you can do is work your hardest and trust that what happens will be the right thing. You’re allowed to submit as many supplemental materials as you want.

So. To answer your specific questions:

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Hi! I submitted everything online for my application, but my think out loud was too big of a file to upload to the common app. Should I mail it in or is there another way to upload or electronically send it in? — Asked by Anonymous

Great question! Here’s what you should do: 

On the common app in the text box for your essay just put a little note saying that you’re going to send your essay to the college directly. Once you hit ‘apply’ Bennington will give you access to your ‘applicant status page’. On that there is a drop down menu where you can upload your essay without any problems. Let us know if this works out okay and feel free to give us a call (802) 440-4312 if anything comes up. While it feels like you’re submitting an incomplete application this is totally okay.

Hope this helps!

-Selina ‘15

Does Bennington require art portfolios for students going for something related to art? — Asked by Anonymous

Nah, they’re not required, although we do love to see any supplementary materials in your application. Bear in mind that your application isn’t judged by artists, either; the Admissions Counselors are the only ones who will see your application and the only ones who will decide whether or not you’re accepted. So go ahead and send us anything you have! It can really only help you, because it gives us an idea of what you’re passionate about and where your work might head if you’re to arrive at Bennington somewhere down the road.

-Evan ‘13

Application Questions

Hey Guys,

Thanks for all the great questions - keep them coming!

Buttt, if you have really specific questions about your application, we’re going to be able to give you a much better answer on an individual basis. Give us a call. The same people who write on the blog answer phones. We don’t bite!

802-440-4312 from 9-5 during the week.

Liam

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 other colleges did you apply to while you were applying to Bennington? — Asked by Anonymous

  • Emily ‘12: Middlebury, Connecticut College, Sarah Lawrence, Kenyon, and Ohio State.
  • Gabe ‘08: Vassar, Hampshire, Bard, Sarah Lawrence, Skidmore, SUNY Purchase, and some other SUNYs.
  • Emma ‘13: Bard, Swarthmore, Haverford, Oberlin, Colorado College, Skidmore and Ursinus.
  • Kevin ‘13: Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Brown, Columbia, Bennington, Hampshire
  • Amira ‘13: College of the Atlantic, Vassar, Sarah Lawrence, Louis and Clark, Warren Wilson, Grinnell, and a lot of University of California schools.
  • Jan ‘14: Reed, Bard, and Skidmore.
  • Seth ‘13: Marlboro, University of Puget Sound, College of Wooster, and UC Santa Cruz.
  • Holly ‘06: Hampshire, Orono, and University of Maine.
  • Jonah ‘12: Sarah Lawrence, Vassar, Brown, Bard, and Brandeis.
  • Leah ‘13: Swarthmore, Haverford, Sarah Lawrence, Vassar, Middlebury, Hampshire, and Washington College.
  • Jessieh ‘13: (Get READY!) Princeton, Sarah Lawrence, Reed, Wellseley, Mount Holyoke, Prescott College, USC, Bard, Hampshire, Vassar, Furman, Millsaps College, Bridgewater College, Evergreen, Boston College, Warren Wilson, and Kenyon. And then the BFA programs: NCSA, Rutgers, Southern Methodist University, University of Minnesota, Emerson, Boston Conservatory, Point Park University, and University of Utah
  • Michaela ‘13: Emerson, The New School, Louis and Clark, Hampshire, and all of the University of California schools.
  • Jason ‘13: University of Alabama in Huntsville
  • Ferrilyn ‘84: Castleton State and RISD.
  • Ava ‘12: Cornell, The New School, Hunter, and Bard.
  • Josh ‘12: Emerson and Hampshire.
  • Dominik ‘13:Amherst, Bates, Goucher, Franklin and Marshall, Skidmore, Gettysburg, Middlebury, Vassar, Williams, Oberlin, Colorado College, University of Chicago, and Pomona. 
  • And me? I only applied to one other school: Hampshire. Looking back that was probably not the greatest idea but it worked out wonderfully for me!

-Ellie