<p>My S is a HS Junior and Bennington College is on our short list. We are familiar with its curriculum and have read all the reviews, websites, etc. Though it is praised by many, I am curious as to why its retention rate could be higher. Also, its website and literature is somewhat minimalist. Is the campus pleasing to the eye? It's not cheap. I am curious as to the condition of its buildings and unique residence halls. Thanks, Brian</p>
<p>Haven't been there but know someone who teaches there. </p>
<p>She says the campus is beautiful as is the natural setting. She says the students tend to be artsy-quirky and some have a less than serious approach to hard work academically speaking and some have some emotional difficulties--of the artistic-sensitive type--this could explain the lower retention rate. Also it's small and isolated so some kids may want a "bigger scene" after their first year or two.</p>
<p>That's my impression, too, Pywacket from visiting the campus and a family living in nearby New Hampshire. The campus view is gorgeous, surrounding scenery breathtaking. Bennington village is progressive because of the native Vermonters (first and best in state environment laws) which attracted thousands of escaping NYC-area people (second homes, back-to-the-land first homes) who bring in their cafes, classical music/regional theater tastes, folk music etc. Unique!
With that magnificent setting, coupled with the college's own fine history of producing top writers, dancers and painters, I think a student needs to become very disciplined as an artist/student to stay with it.</p>
<p>had to grin when you mentioned Bennington as "not cheap." Thirty years ago it was the most expensive LAC in the nation; then everyone caught up with them. Used to attract well-financed arts applicants from very sophisticated metropolitan areas, espec Boston and NYC area.</p>
<p>My daughter graduated from Bennington several years ago and is
currently finishing up a doctorate. </p>
<p>The school is self-selecting, in that it attracts a more artsy, self-motivated student. For those who need more structure, it is not the right place. The are wonderful engaged professors who provide guidance, but contrary to most of these types of schools, I would not consider it a warm, fuzzy, hand-holding type of place. The students are provided with amazing opportunities and some really thrive. </p>
<p>Those who feel the lack of a large campus, a large array of class offerings and consider the small student body to be a problem, as previously mentioned, probably leads to the transfer rate.</p>
<p>The clapboard-style housing is interesting and kept in better shape than most traditional dorms, and the kids seem to find their niche. There are weekly community meetings in each of the houses.</p>
<p>The required, yearly fieldwork-term gave my daughter 4 very valuable work experiences and made her a much more attractive candidate for graduate schools.</p>
<p>The schools has moved well away from its party rep. of the 70's and 80's, and requires academic excellence from its students. Those who think that they can just skate through without doing the work, tend to be those who leave after the first year. </p>
<p>It still retains a quirky flavor. My advice to anyone considering Bennington is to do an overnight.</p>
<p>~The campus IS gorgeous, in a gorgeous setting, and there is a lot of building going on including a terrific newly finished Student Center. The college maintains all of the buildings well, but when you visit you may want to look at more than one of the houses as they each have their own personalities and some groups take better care of them than others. The old houses are very home-like with hardwood floors throughout, and a fireplace and piano in every common space. The new dorms are more cool, industrial style.
~Retention is something of a problem at all of the "alternative" schools in part because it takes a pretty mature, self directed student to succeed at them. The academic freedom can be intimidating to some 18 year olds. the kids my daughter knows that left Bennington after their first year left for several different reasons, some of which were mentioned above. 1. They found it was too small (ironically, two that she knows left and came back after experiencing large university life) 2. Poor work ethic (they made the mistake of thinking that no grades meant not having to work hard, when actually, just the opposite is true, evaluations are much more demanding) 3. Finances (not cheap is right!) and 4. Some of them had the opportunity to travel or do interesting work (there are a lot of very talented kids there).
~My daughter loves the freedom to design her own course of study and the opportunities for leadership positions on campus. The Field Work Term (the main reason she chose Bennington) has proven to be everything she hoped it would be in terms of experience and building a resume.
~I think that if they can see the possibilities and handle the freedom, Bennington can give kids a great place to grow and learn who they are and what they care about.</p>
<p>oops! just saw that last post, sorry for any repetition.</p>
<p>Another option for self-directed students is New College of Florida. It's a similar size as Bennington, also no grades but with high standards and much, much less money.</p>
<p>UNC Asheville is another public school with the quirky, artsy atmosphere. Antioch, Sarah Lawrence, Oberlin, Connecticut College, Wheaton, Goucher, Wells, Randolph Macon, Hampshire are some other considerations.</p>
<p>I went to Randolph Macon many years ago when it was just 600 men. Definately quircky, but it made me what I am - and that's good.
Anybody out there familiar with RMC today, as it is on our list. We need to go to a 'tuition exchange' college and both Bennington and RMC are in tht program. However, it looks like Bennington's tuition exchange is contingent upon need. Anyone have information about this?</p>
<p>Did I miss something? I though RMC just went coed. Wells is newly coed too.</p>
<p>There are actually two colleges with the name Randolph Macon, Cpt. You're thinking of the former Randolph Macon Women's College, which I believe will now be known as Randolph college.</p>
<p>Correct. There used to be RMC for men and RMC for women. The men's college went co-ed about 1972, admitting 50 women that year. (Now) Randolph College is admitting a small number of men (I think) next year. A recent thread discussed why and how this was done. I went to RMC when we were 600 men down the road from Mary Washington with almost 2000 women. I thought that it was a nice arrangement.
When did Wells go co-ed? That;s a shame. I wish that single-sex LACs had the resources to remain-the-same. My son and I love the Hampden-Sydney campus, but neither of us feels comfortable with him going to a college in which a large portion of the student body still thinks that President Bush is a great leader. If somebody has information to the contrary, please chime in.</p>
<p>As to your question re: tuition exchange based on need, you should contact the FA department directly to check on their criteria. While not least expensive of the lot, I found Bennington to be very responsive to our family's wildly changing EFC over the course of four years. </p>
<p>They do tend to be generous with 'merit' aid when they want a kid. My D's HS stats were not what I would have considered in the merit contention range, but she had an interesting profile with some strong passions. I guess that Bennington saw something in her that they wanted and made her an offer she couldn't refuse. </p>
<p>While at Bennington, she finally made the practical connections between her passion and how to translate them into an actual career.</p>
<p>Thanks hop. My son is only a B plus student (but had a rough time in the 9th grade. He, however, is passionate about acting and is planning to attend a 5-6 week pre-college theatre program this summer. I contacted Bennington about their tuition exchange policy and they applied immediately. Need is a consideration, but they explained, as you just did, that there are other sources that they may draw from based upon need, instead of using tuition exchange. My son is very independent and intense, but he dislikes the surveillance inherent to the 'race for grades'. For this reason, Bennington seems like a good option. He likes remote campuses with a small strong college community. While we are looking at BFA programs, Bennington (along with Muhlenberg, Beloit and Sewanee - talk about remote) is at the top of our LAC list.</p>
<p>Brian, I don't know what other schools are included in your faculty tuition exchange, but if your son is at all interested in an all-male school, Wabash College in Indiana is excellent, very generous with merit money, and way more liberal than H-S College. </p>
<p>By the way, my daughter is a freshman at Beloit. It's definitely NOT as remote as Bennington, with easy access to Madison, Wisconsin (great college town) and relatively easy access to Chicago. They also have a great drama department, and you'd be hard-pressed to find ANY Bush lovers there, but you will find lots of "intense" quirky kids like your son. :) If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>Bennington is not as remote as it might appear to be. We are 20 minutes north of Williams college (where, if you are enrolled at Bennington, you can take classes and Williamstown is very charming) and 20 minutes south of Manchester VT which is full of outlets and restaurants. Albany is 40 minutes away and plenty of people go to New York city for the weekend. Sometimes people also head up to Burlington to go to UVM for the weekend.</p>
<p>My absolute favorite Bennington and Williams movie (they called it "Willard") is "Three in the Attic". I named my college dog "Paxton Quigley III" after the star. And having been at Williams at the time, and spending time at Bennington, it seemed highly "realistic".</p>
<p>Bennington is also featured in several strange books--known as Camden college in Bret Easton Ellis books and Hampden in The Secret History by Donna Tartt</p>
<p>You might want to look at Bard College for your son, also.</p>