Bennington, Vermont. 759 undergraduate students. 92 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
UNITID 230816 · OPEID 003682 · IPEDS HDVINTAGE · COLLEGE SCORECARD · 2025-05 · HISTORY 1996–2024
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Bennington College
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.
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE+11%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at Bennington College rose 11% between 2021 and 2024 ($59.6k → $66.3k).
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING BETTER-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Bennington College fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (1.7% → 0.0%).
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE+11%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at Bennington College rose 11% between 2021 and 2024 ($59.6k → $66.3k).
COMPLETION DROP · TRENDING WORSE-5pp
150%-time completion
150%-time completion fell 5 pp at Bennington College vs the 2018–2022 baseline (66.7% vs 71.7%).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. Vermont
Each tile compares this institution to the Vermont median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 10Y
$38,289+55% · 6→10y
Vermont median $50,331
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 6Y
$24,711
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry
COMPLETION · 150%
66.7%+43% · '97→'24
Vermont median 66.7%
MEDIAN FEDERAL DEBT
$19,250+124% · '97→'20
At program completion
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT
759+170% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS
RETENTION
85.0%+7% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time
ADMISSION RATE
48.0%-40% · '01→'24
latest cohort
IN-STATE TUITION
$64,644+181% · '00→'24
out-of-state $64,644
SECTION 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).
ALL FEDERALLY AIDED STUDENTS · TAX-RECORD EARNINGSVINTAGE 2025-05
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
6.7%
0%8% · GE20%+
Median federal debt $19,250 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $38,289 (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.
UNDERGRAD · 1996–2024780
Undergraduate enrollment.IPEDS EF
COMPLETION 150% · 1997–202471.2%
150%-time completion rate.IPEDS GR
MEDIAN DEBT · 1997–2020$26,000
Median federal student debt at exit.SCORECARD
COMPLETION · 150% · 1997→2024+43%
Bennington College · completion · 150% rose
49.6% → 71.2%
COMPLETION · 100% · 1997→2024+52%
Bennington College · completion · 100% rose
39.9% → 60.6%
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT · 1996→2024+170%
Bennington College · undergrad enrollment rose
289 → 780
IN-STATE TUITION · 2000→2024+181%
Bennington College · in-state tuition rose
$23,600 → $66,262
OUT-OF-STATE TUITION · 2000→2024+181%
Bennington College · out-of-state tuition rose
$23,600 → $66,262
MEDIAN DEBT · 1997→2020+124%
Bennington College · median debt rose
$11,625 → $26,000
COHORT DEFAULT RATE · 2011→2024-100%
Bennington College · cohort default rate fell
2.9% → 0.0%
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_8YR · 2005→2020+47%
Bennington College · earnings_median_8yr rose
$26,700 → $39,270
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.
Estimate the financial outcome at Bennington College
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
-$18,488
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
—
Doesn’t reach breakeven within the horizon
Cost per year
$26,325
HS-only baseline · VT
$37,800
Years to complete
6
CIP family
23
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 Vermont
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
“Bennington College graduates earn $X” — not “Bennington College makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Bennington College 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.