Bentley University

Bentley University is a place for successful leaders who set out to create positive change in our communities, organizations and the world. We believe in doing business and doing good at the same time. By combining business education with arts and sciences, we provide students with the critical thinking and practical skills to help them collaborate effectively, communicate clearly and lead successful, rewarding careers. Bentley is more than just one of the nation's top business schools. We are a community of leaders committed to making an impact that doesn't just move business forward, but that moves us all forward. We prepare students to become a force for positive change from the classroom to the boardroom.

Located on a classic New England campus just minutes from Harvard Square and Boston, Bentley provides easy access to this major metropolitan area's professional networking and cultural opportunities. Access to Boston, combined with Bentley's strong emphasis on engaged, hands-on learning opportunities provides the ideal career preparation for today's fast-changing economy. With nearly 80 percent of students living on campus, this tight-knit and inclusive community embraces diverse perspectives and backgrounds. The university enrolls approximately 4,200 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate and PhD students. Bentley was founded in 1917 and is set on 163 acres in Waltham, Massachusetts, 9 miles west of Boston. For more information, visit www.bentley.edu.

4,061 Undergraduate Students
60/40 Male-to-female ratio
1,116 Graduate Students
30% Students of color
15% International Students
77% Students living on campus
97% First-year students living on campus

9% Asian
4% African-American
10% Hispanic
57% Caucasian
3% Two or more races
2% Unknown
15% International

100+ Student clubs and organization

40+ Varsity, intramural and club sports

1,500+ Students participating in intramural and club sports

20% Greek life members (4 sororities and 7 fraternities)

"Motivated" is the number one way to describe "driven yet collaborative" Bentley students, and most people "take academics extremely seriously" and "spend most of their time at the library or the stock trading room on campus." That said, people here are "very outgoing and involved in a range of activities on campus" and are "diverse in culture and educational experience, with broad perspectives from industries and countries across the world." Regardless of background, "everyone understands the language of business." There are a large number of international students, and "a lot more men than women." The student body is "a little bit cliquey, but alright in general," and there is "a sense of mutual respect among peers."

Everyone at Bentley has "a strong focus on jobs, internships, and résumé building," so much of students' free time goes to interest-based extracurriculars, which consist of clubs and activities (such as the student-run Bentley Investment Group) that "offer students an opportunity to explore their interests [and] acquire new knowledge and skills." Still, "students are able to prioritize work, but when we are finished up we have some fun." Most students are "part of an organization, whether it be Greek life or a club." On the weekends, there are usually some parties, but "there is no pressure to go. They are fun but not a major part of life on campus." Fraternities are off-campus, and as such, "the frat-mosphere is not nearly as pronounced as the hyper-focus on where [you are] steering your career." "We hang out and discuss a lot of different ideas about business-related externalities.... It's the entire culture," says one student. The campus activities board "makes sure there are events throughout the week and weekends for people to attend that are school-sanctioned," and other fun activities around campus include attending Division I hockey games in the school's sports complex, as well as "events that [the Campus Activities Board] constantly promotes."

“The school does a great job in prepping students for real-world applications,” says one Bentley attendee—and that’s a sentiment shared by many. Since these are “high performers who are driven,” it’s no wonder that graduates consistently find success on the job market. One of the school’s “greatest strengths … is its career development services” office, which “strives to go above and beyond” for undergrads—sixty percent of students credit it with their success after graduation. Indeed, it’s quite apparent that the staff “is determined to help find every student a job prior to graduation.” To do that, they offer “services ranging from résumé/cover-letter critique to preparation for an interview,” and have adapted these services and others into a hybrid recruiting model, accessible both in-person and online. By doing so, they are continually demonstrating “that the Bentley community cares and [will be] there every step of the way.” Best of all, the university’s “close connections and good reputation within the Big 4 [accounting firms] and other top companies in Boston set students up for success by increasing their chances of scoring a job.”