Bentley University

College review by Lisa Bleich

Bentley offers a strong business curriculum coupled with the ability to double major “liberal studies” in various disciplines related to business such as sustainability, media and culture, or ethics. The campus is made up of red brick buildings situated along a hill with the upper, academic quad and the lower residential quad. Be prepared to walk a lot of steps, which should keep off the freshman 15!

Bentley prides itself on its vast business curriculum, its integration of technology into the classroom and the learning, and a strong experiential based learning. This hallmark of hands on learning permeates the campus through a marketing media lab, where students conduct primary market research such as surveys and focus groups to a financial lab complete with state-of-the art financial updates and research tools to an accounting lab where students learn how to use SAP software that is common practice in the big accounting firms.

All concentrations participate in a corporate immersion program, which provides students with real world experience in the classroom; for example, the marketing students had done research for Apple computer to help them penetrate the college market more effectively.

There is also a lot of teamwork built into most classes and Bentley supports this through offering an electronic study group room reservation system to its students. The Career Services department is very proactive and starts working with students their freshman year to map out a strategic career plan to help them determine the best concentration and internship plan to help students achieve their goals. They are successful as last year 98% of students were either employed or in graduate school upon graduation. The largest employers are the big 4 accounting firms.

Students are clean cut, professionally driven, and fairly homogeneous. Girls sport straight jeans and blazers with a put together looks; boys dressed more casually with a combination of shorts, sweats, jeans and sneakers. The ratio of girls to boys is 40:60. There is a small Greek population, but no Greek houses.

It does not appear to be a party school, but students do participate in sports, community service, and other leadership activities. Basketball (DII), Hockey (DI), and Football (DII) are the most popular sports. There is a daily shuttle into Harvard Square, which is about 20 minutes away, but the shuttle does not go into nearby Waltham.

The average student is in the top 25% of his/her high school class and has an average SAT/ACT score of 1250/28-29. Students in the top 20% of Bentley’s incoming class receive merit based scholarships, but Bentley is needs blind in its admission.

Admission takes a holistic approach to students weighing their academic and personal characteristics. They like to see students taking Calculus their senior year, but will accept pre-calculus as well. They put a lot of stock in teacher recommendations. There are roughly 4,000 undergraduates.