Economics
The $70,000-a-Year Liberal Arts College Just Won’t Die
Even in a tough higher ed market, few schools actually go out of business.
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Like leg warmers and mullets, Bennington College seemed a candidate for oblivion a generation ago.
The school has long shined in the now out-of-fashion humanities. Its famous alumni include writers Donna Tartt and Bret Easton Ellis, not some hoodie-wearing tech billionaires. Tucked away at the foot of Vermont’s Green Mountains, it charges $73,000 a year. The college nearly went out of business in the 1990s and was still on its knees earlier this decade.
