Bennington College

I recently had a tour at Bennington College and I also attended an information session. The impression I got was that Bennington College offers students an amazing education for several reasons:
1. Students learn what they want to learn: Students are not required to take a certain number of general education classes. Rather, students take classes that they know they like, along with classes that they are not sure they like, classes they do not particularly like or do well in, and classes they have always been interested in taking but haven’t taken before. This allows students to really get to explore.
2. The faculty really helps students figure out what they want to do: Students work closely with advisors to figure out what drives their inquiry. I can't stress how important this is.
3. Field Work Term: Each winter, every student is required to complete a seven week long internship, known as a Field Work Term. The purpose of the Field Work Term is to give students the chance to test out what they are learning in college in the real world; that way, students don’t graduate from college and then find out that they hate their job. A Field Work Term is a great opportunity to learn about yourself, become more independent (students have to find a place to internship at and set it up. Although there is a Field Work Term Office to provide some guidance, students are mostly on their own), travel (you can go anywhere in the world!), develop skills in the workplace, and add to your résumé. Through a Field Work Term, students also learn how to make a résumé and a cover letter, both valuable skills to know.
4. You don’t have to get traditional grades: If you don’t want to receive traditional letter grades, you don’t have to. Instead, you can get grades in the form of written evaluation statements. If you want to receive both regular grades and written statements, you have that option, as well.
5. The classes are very small: classes range anywhere from 7 to 2...

Its amazing what Bennington Graduates are doing with themselves, if you look for it, you'll find Benningtonites everywhere. The grandpa from Little Miss Sunshine, authors everywhere, the woman who made twilight into a movie. The love interest in Igby goes down is set as a Bennington Student. For such a small school, its amazing how much the school has influenced my life, before i even knew it existed, let alone thought about attending myself.

bennington college is a place where intellectual development is highly and constantly encouraged. students are challenged using innovative ideas. the community is welcoming and close-knit.

Apply to FAFSA January 1st of your senior year of high school. Also, take advantage of as many scholarship opportunities as you can. Fastweb.com is an example of a website with plenty of scholarships, of which you can apply for.

Even if you don't meet the criteria for a scholarship, if it isn't a competitive scholarship, applying for it may be worth it. I know a girl who applied to a scholarship geared towards only males, but because barley anyone applied, she won the scholarship!

Never limit yourself.