+11%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at Bentley University rose 11% between 2021 and 2024 ($54.9k → $61.0k).
Massachusetts · Private nonprofit · Predominantly bachelor's
Bentley
Waltham, Massachusetts. 4,288 undergraduate students. 78 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Bentley
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Bentley University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (0.7% → 0.0%).
+11%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at Bentley University rose 11% between 2021 and 2024 ($54.9k → $61.0k).
+92%
Private nonprofit bachelor's-predominant peer
10-year earnings at Bentley University are 92% above the private nonprofit bachelor's-predominant peer median ($121.0k vs $63.2k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. Massachusetts
Each tile compares this institution to the Massachusetts median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$120,959+40% · 6→10y
Massachusetts median $56,022$86,679
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry88.2%+22% · '97→'24
Massachusetts median 66.5%$24,007+74% · '97→'20
At program completion4,288+11% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS92.9%-2% · '04→'09
first-time, full-time48.4%+18% · '01→'24
latest cohort$58,150+225% · '00→'24
out-of-state $58,150SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
2.6%Median federal debt $24,007 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $120,959 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Ten-plus year arc
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
Undergraduate enrollment.
150%-time completion rate.
Median federal student debt at exit.
+22%
Bentley · completion · 150% rose
71.3% → 86.8%
+37%
Bentley · completion · 100% rose
58.8% → 80.6%
+225%
Bentley · in-state tuition rose
$18,795 → $61,000
+225%
Bentley · out-of-state tuition rose
$18,795 → $61,000
+74%
Bentley · median debt rose
$14,375 → $25,023
-75%
Bentley · cohort default rate fell
1.5% → 0.0%
+68%
Bentley · earnings_median_8yr rose
$61,100 → $102,857
+63%
Bentley · earnings_median_6yr rose
$53,300 → $86,679
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
Ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Human Computer Interaction.$180,058Business Administration, Management and Operations.$143,471Finance and Financial Management Services.$143,094Finance and Financial Management Services.$123,384Accounting and Related Services.$121,021Taxation.$119,361Marketing.$117,833Computer and Information Sciences, General.$116,980Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods.$116,933Accounting and Related Services.$115,168Finance and Financial Management Services.$110,594Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other.$109,800Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods.$104,011Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities.$103,187Accounting and Related Services.$99,268Business/Managerial Economics.$95,081Business Administration, Management and Operations.$94,417Marketing.$93,454Business/Corporate Communications.$87,208
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
19 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCES · CIP 11
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
MULTI/INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES · CIP 30
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
Finance and Financial Management Services.$110,594Accounting and Related Services.$99,268Business Administration, Management and Operations.$143,471Business Administration, Management and Operations.$94,417Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other.$109,800Marketing.$93,454Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods.$116,933Finance and Financial Management Services.$143,094Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods.$104,011Accounting and Related Services.$115,168Business/Managerial Economics.$95,081Taxation.$119,361Business/Corporate Communications.$87,208Accounting and Related Services.$121,021Finance and Financial Management Services.$123,384Marketing.$117,833
FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION
Estimate the financial outcome at Bentley
Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.
Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.
NET PRESENT VALUE
$1,222,100
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 6
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
- Cost per year
- $25,331
- HS-only baseline · MA
- $42,600
- Years to complete
- 4
- CIP family
- 52
Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Same sector and degree mix in Massachusetts
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Bentley graduates earn $X” — not “Bentley makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Bentley caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.