In past years, how selective has the Bentley Women’s Leadership Program been? I just applied for the class of 2023 and I’ve heard by word of mouth that it’s pretty selective, but I haven’t been able to corroborate that with any information I’ve found online.
@hippygolucky The class of 2023 will be the 3rd year with this program. The first year they enrolled 40. Last year we heard they enrolled 70. My daughter & I attended the Womens Leadership luncheon this past October and they did not hint to how many they will take this year. It’s kind of hard to have a number because they send out acceptances to the program in March but not everyone who gets into the program actually decides to attend Bentley.
@Stuffedquahog I had no idea the program was that selective!
@bentley2023 It has to be selective due to the scholarship attached to it. If you are selected into the program it comes with a $10,000 a year scholarship (I believe they partner with Liberty Mutual in order to offer this). Aside from the scholarship component, this program is stellar! Four years of workshops, seminars, guest speakers, trips to Boston area corporate headquarters to speak with women in business, etc. Anyone fortunate enough to get chosen for this program will benefit immensely. However, keep in mind if you do not get into this particular program there are also several program/clubs at the Center of Women & Business that are open to all interested.
Oh wow! Thanks guys for your input. 
1 Like
My friend works in admissions and told me that there were over 500 applicants this year.
1 Like
Wow! that makes me nervous …
@MKR2365 that’s interesting!
Does your friend know what the fall 2018 admit rate was to Bentley (in general)? Bentley does not publish their common data set on their site and I have yet to see what the admission stats were for your class (fall 2018).
Sorry for the late response. I’m not sure about the exact numbers, but I believe the acceptance rate was somewhere in the low 40s (maybe around 42%), if not the upper 30s. If I recall correctly, the average SAT for the Class of 2022 accepted students was somewhere around a 1300, and the ACT was 28.
Average SAT for the last admitted class was either 1320 or 1340 per the admitted student’s day I went to last year for the class of 2022.
Has anyone heard back about Women’s Leadership?
I heard back same time as everything else. I got in!
@suzyQ7 Not sure yet. We are in Zermatt Switzerland visiting my son abroad. WiFi is so very spotty - we tried last night on my D’s phone to log into the portal by phone but kept getting booted off network. I’ll let you know once we find out. We might need my S’s laptop but that is at his university and not with us here. Frustrating.
My daughter in Connecticut got in. It was noted in her admissions letter.
My daughter got into the program as well. She is thrilled! Acceptances into the Women’s Leadership Program for anyone who applied ED were announced a few days after the RD acceptances.
Congratulations to Stuffedquahog and CTCLASS2019! Do you or anyone out there in this forum have recommendations on how to improve one’s chances of getting into the Women’s Leadership Program? What is Bentley looking for in an applicant to this program? If you are a prior applicant and were accepted into the program, would love to hear what your prior experiences are that you feel helped you get into the program and what personal characteristics may have helped as well…do you think it was your GPA vs. EC’s vs leadership positions held while in HS? Thank you much.
@Netsirknna I really believe that my D’s leadership roles in HS assisted her in getting a spot in the WL program. She has held many leadership positions in HS such as: crew co-captain (rowing); President of Interact; executive board member of student government. Plus these were not “in name only” positions. She went above and beyond in all her EC’s including finding new events in the community for clubs to volunteer at or raise money to donate to a chosen charity.
For Interact she chaired a Comedy Night (new event she thought of) that took months to plan and it raised over $3,000 that went to 3 very worthy causes.
For crew she thought of a brand new community outreach volunteer idea for this year. She planned the whole event and made all of the necessary arrangements. This past December the crew team spent an afternoon at a local nursing home playing holiday bingo and singing Christmas carols. She was able to get both the boys and girls teams to participate. It meant so much to the residents in the home.
She actually has a handful of additional events like this that she thought up and chaired in her HS years. And she does does it all because she enjoys it, NOT to build a resume. It comes from her heart.
The point is she is a leader who loves coming up with new ideas, rallying her team and/or club members, and then making it happen. I personally think GPA has nothing to do with WL, it’s your leadership qualities that assist you with gaining a spot. I wish you the best!
Thank you for your feedback Stuffedquahog and giving me some insight. Your D’s leadership roles are incredibly impressive! Best of luck to her as well, her future is bright!