Academics
Upper School
College Counseling
At the heart of Bentley’s college counseling program is the conviction that each student’s path to college is uniquely their own.
For this reason, Bentley offers a flexible program that attends to the specific needs and aspirations of each student. Bentley’s three full-time counselors work to see, know, and understand each of their counselees as individuals and provide them with the advice and resources that they need.
By creating an environment in which each student can explore the essential questions of adolescence – “Who am I? What do I want? What will I make of this opportunity?” – our process enables students to build from these early answers to college choices that represent the best fit: academically, socially, and culturally.
We want students to identify colleges where they will thrive as students, as citizens, and as people, recognizing all the while that the year-long college application experience can be an exciting journey of self-discovery, growth, and transformation.
By creating an environment in which each student can explore the essential questions of adolescence – “Who am I? What do I want? What will I make of this opportunity?” – our process enables students to build from these early answers to college choices that represent the best fit: academically, socially, and culturally.
We want students to identify colleges where they will thrive as students, as citizens, and as people, recognizing all the while that the year-long college application experience can be an exciting journey of self-discovery, growth, and transformation.
Parents & Guardians as Guides and Mentors
Bentley embraces the involvement of families in the college process, appreciating the crucial role they have always played in their student’s lives as guides and mentors, while also acknowledging the seismic shifts that the college process can bring to family dynamics. This is an opportunity for families and adolescents to evolve together. While the focus of Bentley’s college counselors is primarily on the student, they are also readily accessible to families for regular check-ins, questions, and concerns.
We often say, “The best way to be a successful college candidate is to make the most of your high school opportunities - academically, extracurricularly, and socially.” Thus...
We often say, “The best way to be a successful college candidate is to make the most of your high school opportunities - academically, extracurricularly, and socially.” Thus...
List of 4 items.
-
In Grade 9...
Students begin a year of personal growth by establishing strong academic habits, learning to find balance, and expanding their interests in extra-curricular activities. The primary job they have is to be the best they can be in a new setting. -
In Grade 10...
Students return to a program that is now familiar. Lessons learned in the first year are applied thoughtfully, completing the establishment of a two year foundation upon which the second half of their high school years will depend. (In October, 10th Grade students typically sit for the PSAT in October, alongside Eleventh Graders. This is strictly a practice experience.) -
In Grade 11...
Students engage in the college counseling process in earnest. The PSAT in October is followed by a December kick-off meeting attended by both parents and students. By January, comprehensive questionnaires are completed, and formal one-on-one meetings with college counselors have begun, followed by standardized testing, online research of colleges, college visits, and an important April case studies/college fair event.
By June, students will have a clearer picture of their academic profile, a working list of colleges, and be planning a summer that sets up successful engagement with the college application process in the fall. In addition, Bentley hosts over 125 college and university representatives each fall, encouraging juniors and seniors to meet with them. -
In Grade 12...
Students immerse themselves in a three-day Senior College Workshop before fall classes begin. Ideally, students will identify targets for early applications, finalize their college lists, and perhaps plan to sit for one more standardized test, all while polishing applications.
A majority of students file applications by November 1 (Early Action and Early Decision), and by mid-January, all applications are submitted. During February and March, decisions are released, students make final visits to colleges under consideration during April, and by May 1, each senior will have committed to one institution.
Related Links & Resources
Events & College Visits
College Counseling Staff
COLLEGE ACCEPTANCES
Classes of 2021 and 2022
Matriculations (in bold)
Alfred University
American University
Amherst College
Arizona State University
Bard College
Barnard College
Bates College
Baylor University
Berklee College of Music
Boston College
Boston University
Bowdoin College
Brandeis University
Brown University
Bryn Mawr College
Bucknell University
California College of the Arts
Cal Poly Humboldt
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Cal Poly Pomona
CSU East Bay
CSU Long Beach
CSU Monterey Bay
CSU Northridge
CSU Sacramento
Carleton College
Carnegie Mellon University
Case Western Reserve University
Champlain College
Chapman University
Clark University
Clarkson University
Clemson University
Colby College
Colgate University
Colorado College
Colorado School of Mines
Colorado State University
Columbia University
Connecticut College
Cornell University
Davidson College
Denison University
DePaul University
Dickinson College
Drexel University
Eckerd College
Elon University
Emerson College
Emory University
Florida State University
Fordham University
George Washington University
Georgetown University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Gonzaga University
Grand Canyon University
Grinnell College
Hamilton College
Hampton University
Harvey Mudd College
Haverford College
Howard University
Indiana University
Ithaca College
Kenyon College
Lafayette College
Lehigh University
Lewis & Clark College
Louisiana State University
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola University Chicago
Loyola University Maryland
Loyola University New Orleans
Macalester College
Marist College
Maryland Institute College of Art
McGill University (CAN)
Michigan State University
Mount Holyoke College
New York University
Northeastern University
Northern Arizona University
Northwestern University
Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Occidental College
Oregon State University
Pace University (NYC)
Pepperdine University
Pitzer College
Pomona College
Portland State University
Pratt Institute
Purdue University
Reed College
Regis University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rhode Island School of Design
Roger Williams University
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Rutgers University
Saint Mary's College of California
Saint Mary's College of California
San Diego State University
San Francisco State University
San Jose State University
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University
Sarah Lawrence College
Savannah College of Art and Design
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Scripps College
Seattle University
Skidmore College
Smith College
Sonoma State University
Southern Methodist University
St. John's College
Stanford University
Stevens Institute of Technology
Syracuse University
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University
The American University of Paris (FR)
The Evergreen State College
The New School
Trinity College
Trinity College
Tufts University
Tulane UniversityUniversity of Arizona
University of British Columbia (CAN)
University of California (Berkeley)
University of California (Davis)
University of California (Irvine)
University of California (Los Angeles)
University of California (Merced)
University of California (Riverside)
University of California (San Diego)
University of California (Santa Barbara)
University of California (Santa Cruz)
University of Chicago
University of Colorado Boulder
University of Connecticut
University of Delaware
University of Denver
University of Hawaii
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Kansas
University of Maine
University of Massachusetts (Amherst)
University of Michigan
University of Missouri
University of New England
University of New Hampshire
University of New Mexico
University of Oregon
University of Pennsylvania
University of Portland
University of Puget Sound
University of Redlands
University of Richmond
University of San Diego
University of San Francisco
University of Southern California
University of St Andrews (UK)
University of the Pacific
University of Toronto (CAN)
University of Utah
University of Vermont
University of Victoria (CAN)
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin (Madison)
Vassar College
Vassar College
Villanova University
Virginia Tech
Washington University in St. Louis
Wellesley College
Wesleyan University
Westminster College
Whitman College
Whittier College
Willamette University
Williams College
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Xavier University
Xavier University of Louisiana
