College dataData from U.S. Dept of EducationUpdated May 2026 · 4 min read
Data: 2026-05 Next refresh: Nov 2026

Bentley University: Cost, Graduate Salary, Acceptance Rate and Return on Investment

Bentley University is a private nonprofit college in Waltham, MA. Students pay about $37,930 a year in net price, and the median graduate earns $120,959 ten years after enrolling. By our Degree-ROI measure the degree pays back in about 2.4 years and adds $565,847 over a decade, ranking it #9 of 918 (top 2%) by value added.

Avg net price / yr
$37,930
Median salary (10 yrs)
$120,959
10-yr value added
$565,847
Acceptance rate
45.1%

What is Bentley University's acceptance rate?

Bentley University has an acceptance rate of 45.1%, which makes it selective. It is a private nonprofit institution in Waltham, MA enrolling about 4,474 students, with a 87.5% graduation rate.

How much does Bentley University cost?

Bentley University costs about $37,930 per year in average net price, what a typical student actually pays after grants and scholarships. Over four years, including typical borrowing, that totals roughly $176,743. Published sticker cost of attendance is $79,548 per year.

How much do Bentley University graduates earn?

Ten years after enrolling, the median Bentley University student earns $120,959 per year. That is $74,259 more than the $46,700 that the typical worker with only a high-school diploma earns.

Is Bentley University worth it? Degree ROI and payback period

Bentley University pays back its roughly $176,743 cost in about 2.4 years, then keeps returning the earnings premium. Over the first decade the degree adds about $565,847 net of cost, a 4.2x return on the money invested. That ranks it #9 of 918 (top 2%) by value added. Its top-tier value is driven mainly by strong graduate earnings and a high graduation rate.

Top 10% value

Bentley University graduation rate and student debt

87.5% of Bentley University students complete their degree, and the median graduate leaves with $25,023 in federal student debt. That debt is about 21% of one year of median graduate earnings.

Bentley University by the numbers (vs the typical college)

How Bentley University compares to the median four-year college in our snapshot. Percentile is its rank among the 918 colleges that report both earnings and cost (higher is better).

MetricThis schoolMedian collegePercentile
Avg net price / yr$37,930$20,299cheaper than 7%
Median earnings (10 yrs)$120,959$54,76899th
Graduation rate87.5%57.0%94th
Acceptance rate45.1%75.7%more selective than 87%
10-yr value added$565,847-$28,19299th
ROI multiple (per $1)4.2x0.73x95th
Payback period2.4 yrs8.8 yrsfaster than 94%
How we compute Degree value-add & ROI. Investment basis = average net price × 4 years + median debt (net price preferred; published sticker cost used as a fallback). Earnings premium = median earnings 10 years after entry minus the $46,700 typical earnings of a worker with only a high-school diploma (BLS Current Population Survey, median annual earnings for workers with a high-school diploma and no college (~$899/week, 2023)). Degree value-add = premium × 10 years minus total cost, the net return of the degree itself over a high-school career (it can be negative). ROI multiple = 10-year premium ÷ cost. Payback = cost ÷ annual premium. Ranked by value-add among the 918 four-year colleges in this snapshot that report both earnings and cost; 226 of them do not pay back at ten years. Missing values are excluded, never estimated.
Open data: these figures come from the public College Scorecard (public domain). Our computed Degree value-add, ROI multiple, and payback are free to cite/reuse under CC-BY 4.0.

Frequently asked

Is Bentley University worth the cost compared to other colleges?

By value added net of cost, Bentley University ranks #9 of 918 (top 2%) of the 918 four-year colleges we rank, and returns about 4.2x the money invested over a decade.

Is Bentley University expensive compared to other colleges?

Its $37,930 average net price is above the $20,299 median for the colleges in this snapshot, making it cheaper than 7% of them.

Do Bentley University graduates earn more than average?

Median earnings of $120,959 ten years out are above the $54,768 median, higher than 99% of the colleges here.

How hard is it to get into Bentley University compared to other colleges?

Its 45.1% acceptance rate is below the 75.7% median, making it more selective than 87% of the colleges in the snapshot.

Federal data behind this page

What a programme costs, what its graduates earn, and what aid is available are published by federal statistical agencies rather than by any provider's marketing page, and the sources below are the primary ones. They are linked so a reader can check a figure here directly.

This page compares programmes on published data. Outcomes vary by student, and a reader's own aid package and circumstances decide what a programme actually costs them.

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