Berea College — admissions, outcomes, merit aid & scholarships

🎯 Parent/student verdict

Strong target

Selective but achievable for strong students. Affordable on average — net price runs around $6,106/yr.

✅ Best for

Solid academic profile (SAT 1156–1335 · ACT 24–27 middle 50% + typically a 3.7+ unweighted GPA in rigorous coursework)
Families wanting a small liberal-arts experience

🎯 The reality

Bottom-quartile academic profile if: SAT below 1156, or ACT below 24, or unweighted GPA below ~3.50 (admitted-class quartiles; GPA floor is a calibrated heuristic where CDS not yet on file)

Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price by income, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.

🏛️ Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification

Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus

Total enrollment

1,513

1,000 - 4,999

In-state tuition

$51,658

sticker, before aid

Tuition

$51,658

flat rate (no in/out-of-state split)

Admit rate

32.7%

Selective

SAT middle 50%

1156–1335

EBRW + Math composite

ACT middle 50%

24–27

composite

Test policy

Test-optional

2023

10-yr earnings

$43,150

median, after entry

Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.

📊 Outcomes & cost

What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.

Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).

Earnings, 6 yrs after entry

$35,676

Earnings, 10 yrs after entry

$43,150

4-year completion

58%

Median debt (completers)

$3,591

Cost of attendance

$60,718

sticker price, not net

Pell-eligible students

84%

💰 True ROI

17.7× return

What families actually pay (after aid) vs. the sticker — and how 10-yr earnings stack against the real cost. Most sites quote sticker; we quote what families really pay.

What families actually pay (4 yrs)

$24,424

$6,106/yr avg net

Aid that hides behind the sticker

$218,448

vs sticker $242,872

10-yr earnings total

$431,500

$43,150/yr median, 10 yrs out

Years to recoup actual cost

0.6 yrs

at the median earnings rate

"True ROI" = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (actual 4-yr net price). The actual net is from Scorecard (average across all families); your family's net price will vary by income — see the breakdown above. Earnings are 10 years after enrollment (Scorecard PP-FOS, all majors combined).

💰 What families actually pay

Net price by family income

Net price = sticker price minus grant aid. This is what families actually pay out-of-pocket after scholarships and need-based aid — the most honest affordability signal there is. At Berea College, the average net price is $6,106/yr across all families.

Family income $0-30k

$5,428/yr

Family income $30-48k

$4,598/yr

Family income $48-75k

$8,132/yr

Family income $75-110k

$7,570/yr

Family income $110k+

$13,700/yr

🔎 Earning over $110K? The federal brackets above lump every family from $110K to $1M+ into one row.

Need-based aid usually phases out somewhere between $200K and $300K at private colleges — but the exact threshold varies a lot. For a precise estimate based on your family's actual income, assets, and your student's academic profile, use Berea College's official Net Price Calculator:

Get your family's estimate from Berea College →

Opens on Berea College's site. Takes about 10–15 minutes; have your most recent tax return handy.

Source: College Scorecard (NPT41-NPT45). Net price = total cost of attendance minus federal, state, institutional, and other grants. Some brackets may be suppressed for student-privacy reasons (small cohorts). Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates only. The $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — Department of Education hasn't refreshed these brackets since the early 2010s.

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at Berea College

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what Berea College actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Business, Management, & Marketing

39 degrees · 27.7%

Typical career outcomes

Financial Analyst $100k Management Analyst (Consultant) $99k Marketing Manager $158k Accountant / Auditor $80k

Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.

2. Computer & Information Sciences

31 degrees · 22.0%

Typical career outcomes

Software Developer $132k Data Scientist $108k Information Security Analyst $120k Web Developer $85k

High-paying tech roles dominate. Median software roles cluster in the $90k-$130k range.

3. Biological & Biomedical Sciences

26 degrees · 18.4%

Typical career outcomes

Biological Scientist $87k Medical & Clinical Lab Tech $61k Pharmaceutical Rep $82k Physician (post-MD) $239k

Many bio majors → med school / grad school. Direct-employment bio roles are lower-paid than that pipeline.

4. Communication, Journalism, & Related

23 degrees · 16.3%

Typical career outcomes

Public Relations Specialist $67k Marketing Manager $158k Writer / Editor $75k Reporter / Journalist $58k

Media, PR, marketing communications. Salary spread is wide.

5. Psychology

22 degrees · 15.6%

Typical career outcomes

HR Specialist $68k Market Research Analyst $75k Clinical Psychologist (post-PhD) $93k Social Worker $58k

Most undergrad psych grads go into non-clinical roles. Clinical/counseling psych requires a master's or doctoral.

Source: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a), bachelor's-level first majors aggregated to 2-digit CIP family. Share is of these top 5 only — not all majors.

💼 Top programs by earnings

Highest-earning majors at Berea College

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major (CIP code). From the federal College Scorecard program-level outcomes.

Major (CIP)	Credential	Cohort	1-yr earnings	4-yr earnings
Computer and Information Sciences, General.	Bachelor's Degree	22	$35,185	$82,491
Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General.	Bachelor's Degree	17	—	$55,830
Business/Commerce, General.	Bachelor's Degree	—	$44,627	$52,456
Communication and Media Studies.	Bachelor's Degree	15	$30,663	$41,723
Psychology, General.	Bachelor's Degree	17	—	$40,768
English Language and Literature, General.	Bachelor's Degree	12	$13,403	$40,722
Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General.	Bachelor's Degree	—	$28,495	$38,352
Education, General.	Bachelor's Degree	8	$21,709	$36,412
Biology, General.	Bachelor's Degree	21	$26,744	$32,729
Fine and Studio Arts.	Bachelor's Degree	6	$20,036	$29,013

For full college-vs-major comparison + ROI leaderboards, see /college-outcomes →

🤖 AI program signal

AI + computing education at Berea College

CS degrees (annual)

31

CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

⚖️ Compare side-by-side

Berea College vs. another college

Type the college you want to compare against. We'll show admit rates, net price by your family income, top majors with career outcomes, and merit aid — all in one side-by-side view.