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 2019 and 2020
American University
Amherst College
Arizona State University
Auburn University
Azusa Pacific University
Babson College
Bard College
Barnard College
Beloit College
Biola University
Boise State University
Boston University
Bowdoin College
Brandeis University
Brown University
Bryn Mawr College
Bucknell University
Butler University
California Institute of the Arts
California Lutheran University
California Polytechnic State University (San Luis Obispo)
California State Polytechnic University (Pomona)
California State University (Bakersfield)
California State University (Channel Islands)
California State University (Chico)
California State University (Dominguez Hills)
California State University (East Bay)
California State University (Fresno)
California State University (Fullerton)
California State University (Los Angeles)
California State University (Maritime Academy)
California State University (Monterey Bay)
California State University (Northridge)
California State University (Sacramento)
Carleton College
Case Western Reserve University
Chapman University
Clark Atlanta University
Clark University
Clemson University
Colgate University
Colorado College
Colorado School of Mines
Columbia University
Connecticut College
Creighton University
Dalhousie University
Davidson College
DePaul University
Drew University
Drexel University
Duke University
Durham University
Earlham College
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Emerson College
Fairfield University
Fordham University
George Mason University
George Washington University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Gonzaga University
Goucher College
Grinnell College
Hamilton College
Hampton University
Hawaii Pacific University
Hofstra University
Hollins University
Holy Names University
Hope International University
Howard University
Imperial College
Indiana State University
Indiana University
Jacksonville University
Kalamazoo College
Kean University
Kenyon College
King's College London
Knox College
Lafayette College
Lake Forest College
Lawrence University
Lehigh University
Lewis & Clark College
Long Beach City College
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola University Chicago
Loyola University Maryland
Loyola University New Orleans
Lynn University
Macalester College
Marquette University
Maryland Institute College of Art
McMaster University
Miami University
Michigan State University
Middlebury College
Mills College
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Montana State University
Morehouse College
Mount Holyoke College
Muhlenberg College
New York University
Northeastern University
Northern Arizona University
Northwestern University
Notre Dame de Namur University
Oberlin College
Occidental College
Ohio Wesleyan University
Olin College of Engineering
Oregon State University
Pace University
Pacific University
Pennsylvania State University
Pepperdine University
Pitzer College
Purdue University
Ramapo College of New Jersey
Reed College
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rice University
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Rowan University
Saint Mary's College of California
San Diego State University
San Francisco State University
San Jose State University
Santa Clara University
Sarah Lawrence College
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Scripps College
Seattle University
Skidmore College
Smith College
Sonoma State University
Southern Illinois University
Southern Methodist University
Spelman College
St Francis College
St John's University (New York)
Stevens Institute of Technology
SUNY at Purchase College
Syracuse University
Temple University
Texas Christian University
The Evergreen State College
The New School
The Ohio State University
The University of Alabama
The University of Texas at Austin
The University of WarwickTrent University
Trinity College
Trinity University
Tufts University
Tulane University of Louisiana
University of Arizona
University of Bath
University of Brighton
University of Bristol
University of British Columbia
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 Cambridge
University of Chicago
University of Colorado Boulder
University of Denver
University of Guelph
University of Hawaii at Manoa
University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Iowa
University of La Verne
University of Maryland
University of Massachusetts
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota
University of Nevada (Las Vegas)
University of Nevada (Reno)
University of New Hampshire
University of North Dakota
University of Oregon
University of Oxford
University of Pennsylvania
University of Portland
University of Puget Sound
University of Redlands
University of Rhode Island
University of Richmond
University of Rochester
University of San Diego
University of San Francisco
University of Southampton
University of Southern California
University of the Pacific
University of Utah
University of Vermont
University of Victoria
University of Virginia
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin
Vanguard University of Southern California
Vassar College
Villanova University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Wake Forest University
Washington State University
Wesleyan University
Western Michigan University
Western Washington University
Westmont College
Whitman College
Whittier College
Willamette University
Williams College
Woodbury University
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Yale University
