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Admissions & selectivity

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# Bentley University Acceptance Rate & Admissions

Updated October 1, 2026

[Overview](/school/bentley-university/)[Cost & aid](/school/bentley-university/cost/)[Outcomes](/school/bentley-university/outcomes/)Admissions[Majors](/school/bentley-university/majors/)[Similar schools](/school/bentley-university/similar/)

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## What is the acceptance rate at Bentley University?

Bentley University’s reported acceptance rate is 45.1%.

**Acceptance rate · Fall 2024**
45.1%

Source: College Scorecard · Fall 2024 admissions. Acceptance rates can change from year to year; this figure does not predict the current or next admission cycle.

First-year applicants and admitted students · CDS 2024-25

**Applicants**
11,011

**Admitted**
4,961

Source: Bentley University Common Data Set 2024-25, C1 · first-time, first-year students.

How to interpret the acceptance rate

Bentley University admits 45.1% of applicants, a rate well below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 11,011 first-year applicants and 4,961 admitted applicants.

## What SAT and ACT scores do enrolled Bentley University students report?

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, Bentley University reported that enrolled first-year students who submitted SAT scores posted a middle-half range of 1290 to 1403. 19% of the entering class submitted SAT scores.

ACT submitters, who made up 2% of enrolled students, landed in a middle-half range of 28 to 31. These numbers reflect enrolled students who chose to submit scores, not cutoffs for admission.

Among enrolled first-year students with a reported class rank, 34% ranked in the upper tenth of their high-school class, 66% in the upper quarter, and 95% in the upper half. A useful benchmark is the university’s own middle-half ranges: 1290 to 1403 on the SAT and 28 to 31 on the ACT.

The ranges below describe enrolled students who submitted test scores at Bentley University. Use them as academic context, then check the university’s current testing policy for your application cycle.

**19% of entering students submitted SAT scores**

SAT: reported composite scores

**25th percentile**
1290

**Median**
1340

**75th percentile**
1403

CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

**2% of entering students submitted ACT scores**

ACT: reported composite scores

**25th percentile**
28

**Median**
30

**75th percentile**
31

CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Source: Bentley University Common Data Set 2024-25, C9 · Enrolled first-time, first-year score submitters.

## Who enrolls at Bentley University?

**Pell Grant recipients**
16.1%

**Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group**
8.4%

**First-year retention**
92.7%

Retention source: College Scorecard; full-time first-year retention.

About these student measures

The entering-student group includes part-time entrants as well as other attendance patterns.

Bentley University enrolls 4,474 undergraduates, with an estimated 8.4% arriving as transfers or part-time students and 16.1% receiving Pell Grants. Most enter directly from high school, while transfer students and Pell Grant recipients form smaller segments of the undergraduate body.

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 537 transfer applicants, of whom 235 were admitted and 96 enrolled. Pell-eligible families should use the cost calculator to see an individualized net price, and transfer students should verify credit transfer rules for their chosen program before enrolling.

Bentley University posts persistence and completion figures that sit above the medians for comparable institutions. The first-year retention rate is 92.7%, above the peer median of 83.4%—the midpoint among institutions of the same type and size.

The [six-year graduation rate](/analysis/what-the-graduation-rate-doesnt-count/) for the first-time full-time cohort is 86.8%, also above its peer median of 68.8%. Pell Grant recipients in that cohort complete at 88.8%, which is 2.0 percentage points above the overall rate.

Enrolled students can expect a strong track record of completion, and Pell students finish at a rate that exceeds the cohort average. The figures describe outcomes for the entering cohort as a whole, not a prediction for any one student.

## Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: [methodology](/methodology/).

Analysis and methodology by [Daniel Rogers](/about/#founder), founder of College Azimuth.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Admission rates describe past applicants, not an individual’s chance of admission; confirm requirements and deadlines with the institution.

Figure notes link to sources and limitations. [About College Azimuth](/about/).