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Bentley offers in-state tuition rates to first-generation students

"Empowering students from different backgrounds leads to diverse perspectives and conversations inside and outside the classroom."

By Julia Taliesin

November 7, 2021

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Bentley University has announced it will offer state-university tuition rates for first-generation students from Massachusetts.

In a release, the university shared plans to offer a scholarship program, called BentleyFirst, enabling first-generation students to attend the private university for the same tuition as UMass. Bentley, which has its campus in Waltham, is considered a top-tier business school and was ranked in Bloomberg’s top 10 in 2016.

“Empowering students from different backgrounds leads to diverse perspectives and conversations inside and outside the classroom that benefit all our students,” Vice President of Enrollment Management Carolina Figueroa said in a statement. “The BentleyFirst program increases access to all the benefits that come from a private education including smaller classes, personal attention and student support.”

Figueroa was also the first in her family to attend college, as was Harry C. Bentley, the university’s founder. The university cited a long history of supporting first-generation students.

Bentley boasts the FirstGen Presidential Fellows program, which offers high-achieving students a full scholarship, mentoring, networking, and career development throughout their four years, and includes a capstone project. The university was also named part of the 2021-2022 First-Gen Forward cohort, a group of schools with proven dedication to advancing the outcomes of first-generation students.

The BentleyFirst program does not require a separate application, and eligible students accepted to Bentley qualify. Students may also be eligible for additional financial aid.