Colleges / Berea College
College · Private nonprofit · Berea, KY · Town
BC

Berea College

Berea, KY

Address101 Chestnut Street, Berea, KY 40404-2182
Websitewww.berea.edu
Price calculatorRun your numbers →
Admit rate19%
6-yr median pay$36k
Net price / yr$6k
Undergrad size1,513
§ I · The real read

What it's actually like.

The bet

Net price of $6k/yr for a shot at a $36k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.

Getting in

Admit rate of 19% means this is competitive but not impossible. Admitted students average SAT 1249 · ACT 26.

If you get in

1,513 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.

Where you live

Town setting — self-contained, social life mostly on campus.

§ II · Cost & aid

Sticker vs. real.

Sticker cost of attendance is $61k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $6k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.

Sticker · 4 yrs$243k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$24k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$218k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback0.7x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.

Where the money goes · annual sticker.

Tuition · in-state
$51.7k
Room & board
$8.2k
Books & supplies
$750

How students pay for it.

Pell grants84%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans8%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$4k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $3k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes

Do people finish? Do they land?

1-yr retention83%
Solid.
Graduation · 6 yr58%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$36k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$43k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out24%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity

Setting, size, and who this school is.

Setting
Town
Control
Private nonprofit
Undergrad size
1,513
Location
Berea, KY
Region
Southeast (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
Carnegie class
Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus
Size & setting
Four-year · small · highly residential
Undergrad program
Four-year · full-time, selective, lower transfer-in
Accreditor
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
§ · Who studies here

The student body at a glance.

  • White42%
  • Black20%
  • Hispanic18%
  • International9%
  • Two or more races7%
  • Asian4%
  • Unknown1%
First-gen students41%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time0%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$23k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 36

What you can study.

Colleges / Berea College
College · Private nonprofit · Berea, KY · Town
BC

Berea College

Berea, KY

Address101 Chestnut Street, Berea, KY 40404-2182
Websitewww.berea.edu
Price calculatorRun your numbers →
Admit rate19%
6-yr median pay$36k
Net price / yr$6k
Undergrad size1,513
§ I · The real read

What it's actually like.

The bet

Net price of $6k/yr for a shot at a $36k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.

Getting in

Admit rate of 19% means this is competitive but not impossible. Admitted students average SAT 1249 · ACT 26.

If you get in

1,513 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.

Where you live

Town setting — self-contained, social life mostly on campus.

§ II · Cost & aid

Sticker vs. real.

Sticker cost of attendance is $61k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $6k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.

Sticker · 4 yrs$243k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$24k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$218k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback0.7x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.

Where the money goes · annual sticker.

Tuition · in-state
$51.7k
Room & board
$8.2k
Books & supplies
$750

How students pay for it.

Pell grants84%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans8%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$4k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $3k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes

Do people finish? Do they land?

1-yr retention83%
Solid.
Graduation · 6 yr58%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$36k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$43k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out24%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity

Setting, size, and who this school is.

Setting
Town
Control
Private nonprofit
Undergrad size
1,513
Location
Berea, KY
Region
Southeast (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
Carnegie class
Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus
Size & setting
Four-year · small · highly residential
Undergrad program
Four-year · full-time, selective, lower transfer-in
Accreditor
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
§ · Who studies here

The student body at a glance.

  • White42%
  • Black20%
  • Hispanic18%
  • International9%
  • Two or more races7%
  • Asian4%
  • Unknown1%
First-gen students41%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time0%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$23k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 36

What you can study.