firstimer

My son is a high school junior. We have compiled a long list of potential college choices based primarily on internet sources (College Board, Princeton Review, individual college websites). Bennington is on the long list. It seems like a wonderful school, but it seems that the typical student has already found her passion, and chose Bennington specifically to pursue it; whereas my son has several strong interests, but hasn't yet found his passion. Is Bennington a good fit for a student still on the road to find his passion, or is it designed more for a student who already knows her passion, and wants to get on with pursuing it? Would an undecided applicant be at a distinct disadvantage on admissions essays and interviews?

mest

firstimer, my s has a friend that is a freshman at Bennington. She has several strong interests, but not a clear direction. Her mother felt Bennington was a good place, that her daughter had a chance to explore a number of interests. My s visited and loved the campus. He has been admitted and will probably go to Bennington. Since he began the college process he has changed his mind at least three times on his major. My sense is that he is attracted to Bennington because he will have the opportunity to explore before he really has to make up his mind. But, he isn't a student yet so take this for what it's worth.

allthosethings

I think that many people come in with an idea of what they want to study, or what they thought was their "passion" but through classes, and Field Work Term, end up having experiences that lead them in new directions anyway. If you don't have one strong direction, but you come to Bennington and take a variety of classes you will discover your interests. One of the things to watch out for: some people do that and then realize, or think, that what they have discovered they want to pursue is not offered at Bennington because of it's small size. Some people leave at that point and transfer to schools that do offer those majors. In my experience, the ones who stay, realize that they can build their own body of work here through classes (here and at Williams) FWT, and tutorials. This can be a very satisfying and personal education.