Bentley University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Bentley University

Bentley University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Waltham, Massachusetts (city: small), with a total reported enrollment of 4,474 students of which 4,521 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. Bentley University is categorized as “18” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.

Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. The reported admission rate is 45.1%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,352 and an ACT midpoint of 30. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $37,930, with published in-state tuition of $61,000 and a Pell grant recipient share of 16.1%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $25,023, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 87.5%, and the first-year retention rate is 92.7%. Graduates earn a median of $120,959 ten years after enrolling, compared with $86,679 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 131100.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 91.5% of graduates earn above the high-school threshold. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.