I applied regular decision and Bentley just received my interim grades. If they have all my documents could I hear back earlier than late march?
Not that I am aware of. I think they release in bulk. I am thinking mid-April. March would be great!
My son is a current Bentley freshman. You should hear back around March 20th - give or take a day or two. The third week of March is when many schools release their decisions.
I wish you the best of luck! Bentley has exceeded our expectations.
Hi BentleyCTMom…I am a prospective BentleyCTDad…my son is really psyched about Bentley as we have visitied several times and anxiously awaiting the decision. We visited about 11 top Biz schools in NE and he just seems to like Bentley’s vibe–a gut feel. What about your son’s experiences exceeded his and your expectations…Thanks.
Hi CTDad4312…I am happy to tell you about my son’s experience. First, Bentley was surprisingly affordable for us. We are a middle class family who lives in southeastern CT, we do own our home (with the bank as our partner of course - LOL), and my husband and I both work full time - just so you know a quick background. My son got into UCONN Storrs (his safety school - although he had zero interest in going their) - once accepted UCONN sent us a bill for $31,500. I can tell you that Bentley, with grants, came in under that number for us. It was a super pain to fill out the CSS Profile last year (and again this year) but worth the 4 hours I lost doing it. My son gets to go to his choice school and we can make it financially work. Also, Bentley offered my son a job on campus (work study). He works 6 hours a week in a very busy office on campus - which is his weekly fun money. He actually enjoys it. Six hours is really nothing. It works really well for our family. As far as academics, the courses are rigorous. Which is what my son wanted. There are no cake classes at Bentley. All freshman take GB 112 &GB 212 your first year - Accounting and Finance Intro courses 1 & 2. These are two super hard classes. Make or break you classes. If you don’t pass, you don’t stay. My son said he has never worked harder in all his school years, then at Bentley. Which of course is what we wanted - very challenging, meaningful courses. Hours upon hours he spends on his academics. But he loves it. He is an Econ- Finance major - he aspires to work in private equity and real estate investing. The classes are small. The teachers/professors know who you are - by name. No one skips class - you can’t - you will be missed. The classrooms are amazing as far as technology is concerned. I will say, our only academic disappointment is that Bentley does not accept UCONN ECE credits that you earn at your high school. They only accept the AP scores. This is definitely worth noting - but it wouldn’t hold us back from attending. As far as clubs, I will say there is something for everyone. My son was apprehensive because Bentley does not offer his sport (crew) - but since they do not, it freed up his time to join clubs he has never been exposed to. He joined the Real Estate Investment Club and the Bentley Trading Club (ie like Wall Street - they invest real $ from the University - lots of it!). Clubs have positions that you apply for. If you don’t do a good job, they will fire you - like the real world. Opportunities are plentiful for exposure to other projects as well. In the fall, my son took part in the PWC Challenge (PriceWaterhouse Cooper). This was not for a class or a grade. This was for pure for self discovery. They had to form into groups (there were 22 groups of 5 students formed) - PWC gave them a real life work assignment (a dilemma) and they had two weeks to figure out a solution and then they had to pitch it to a PWC panel. They then received a critique of their performance. The top team did win money, however, my son said he did it for the experience not necessary the prize money. These types of opportunities are plentiful at Bentley. It is very common for representatives from various Boston companies to come in and speak at a club meeting. My son really likes that. He makes a point to speak to them after their presentation and grab their business card. Next week he is attending a meeting on a potential internship this summer (and he is only a freshman!) and another club/organization is taking head shots for free next week as well (and you don’t have to be a club member for that). This school is so academically challenging, but also so driven by the real world. They want these students to walk away with not just a diploma but with the knowledge to jump right into the work force. This semester my son has an “extra” seminar 6-week class (above his 5 regular courses) - that is purely for assisting the students with creating their LinkedIn accounts and building their resume. The campus itself is very safe and comfortable. It is self contained - which we liked very much). You can go to Harvard Square and spend the day in Cambridge/Boston and then you can escape back to campus to a quiet self contained atmosphere. The free Bentley bus to Harvard Square is super convenient - my son goes into Cambridge/Boston once a week. It really is like having the best of two worlds (city for fun, quiet town for learning). As far as friends go, my son has made an abundant of friends. There is definitely partying on the weekend - if you child asks, but it is manageable. You can choose to participate or not. Nobody will pressure you. I know my son “party’s” one weekend night and the other his friend group watches movies. Sunday is his full study day. He saves Saturday to relax. His weeknights are busy with homework. Lots as I mentioned earlier. Clubs meet at night and it seems to me that Wednesday is a very popular night for clubs. Sometimes a club doesn’t meet until 9pm. I also want to mention that the President, Gloria Larson, is such an amazing woman. She is front and center - mingling with the students. My son has spoken to her on several occasions. One night as my son was a spectator at a Bentley hockey game, Gloria sat with his friend group and talked to all of them and got to know them. She is sincere. She is not a phony at all. She believes in Bentley and her students.
Before I end this (very long post) - I would like to recommend that no matter what school your child decides on, go to Rate My Professor and scope out their professors once they are assigned a schedule. It is always great to stay informed and try your best to choose a professor that is right for your learning style.
Good luck! I hope this helped.
@bentleyCTmom Thanks for this informative post. I think you can count yourself very fortunate to be able to attend Bentley for under $31K. We would be thrilled to have such an opportunity. Unfortunately for us, looking at the stats, I am pessimistic about the finance end of it. The cost of Bentley is soooo HIGH that even with the 1/2 scholarship you are still looking at a COA of $45K. $180K+ for an undergrad degree. Ouch! The Accountants coming out can only expect to start making around $60K. And to have huge debt is a problem.
Bentley is my son’s top choice and we wish deeply to be able to send him there. We pray every night to the tuition GOD that we can afford it.
The wait is long and full of dread. If it does not work out, it will be a good life lesson for my son.
The best of luck to your son. It sounds like he is well on his path to success.
@MassDaD68 Thank you for your kind words regarding my son and our good fortune with Bentley. I am sending lots of positive thoughts and prayers your way!!! I will check back in a few weeks to look for your update and in the meantime I am crossing my fingers that your son receives good news on all counts!!
You seem very thorough but I have to mention in this post - just in case others reading this may not know - have you completed the college board’s net price calculator on the web? When all was said and done last spring, the packages from all the schools my son was accepted at, came in so close to what the net price calculator said they would. At the time I didn’t believe the predictions. I didn’t want to get my hopes up. But when the numbers came in for real, it was close to accurate. I was shocked.
You’re right, it would be crazy to spend $180 k for 4 years of school. I understand where you are coming from. It’s our job as parents to keep it all in persepective for our kids.
All the best.
Eagerly awaiting as well. I did the net price calculator and it did show 1/2 price tuition (hopefully true) but no financial aid, just a Stafford loan. We aren’t expecting need based aid as we never received any with my daughter, and his early action schools have given final numbers, just merit, no need. He’s still waiting on 2 schools with Bentley being 1. If he gets the 1/2, it will still be most expensive school to attend. It’s still his top choice though. Wish there was something higher, I don’t think he would qualify for full. Its hard that it will be the last school he hears from. Thanks bentleyCTmom for all of the info.
Wow! Thank you so much for your thorough description.
@VirginiaDare It sounds like your in the same boat as us. He will most likely miss the full and could get the 1/2 tuition. It is sad that there is no in-between. Another 10K/year would go a long way to making it possible. It is the proverbial straw breaking the camels back. You need to draw a line in the sand for college costs and not get sucked into the hype like one can do during an auction. You need to maintain discipline and poise and make decisions based on logic and calculations.
Like your son, this is DS’s top choice and will be the last to accept him. He is going to be quite upset I know. We just need to explain to him that heartbreak is all about growing up. It is a lesson all children need to learn. As a parent it always breaks your heart to see the child in the storefront window yearning for something they cannot have. It is a very important life lesson to learn.
@bentleyCTmom Thanks for your kind words and prayers.
I think my son will be fine, he’s pretty reasonable. We basically gave him a budget which was comparable to our State University, and anything over that will need to be in Merit or loans. He’s not planning on going into debt so he will accept what comes his way. He’s got some pretty great options so far. Many members of our family have attended Bentley so it would be great, but he would definitely go with another choice if needed. Good luck to you as well