Berea College vs Bethany College

Berea College and Bethany College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. Berea College, located in Berea, Kentucky, stands out with its commitment to providing tuition-free education, making it an attractive option for cost-conscious students. Bethany College, situated in Bethany, West Virginia, boasts a strong liberal arts tradition and a focus on experiential learning. While both colleges share a dedication to academic excellence, they differ in their acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to discover which college aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Berea College	Bethany College
Overview
Location	Berea, Kentucky	Bethany, West Virginia
Campus setting	Town: Distant	Rural: Fringe
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	84.0%	65.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation		Protestant

Admission
Acceptance rate	33.0%	73.6%
Application fees
SAT range	1118 - 1268	870 - 1110
ACT range	23 - 28	18 - 26
Students submitting SAT score	8.0%	10.0%
Students submitting ACT score	46.0%	13.0%
Total number of applicants	1,736	2,522
Total number of admissions given out	573	1,855
Admitted students who chose to enroll	338	167
Yield rate	59.0%	9.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$54,396	$45,980
Average net price	$3,354	$14,848
Tuition	$42,900	$29,680
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $3,886 Meal plan: $3,598	Room/dormitory: $5,580 Meal plan: $5,910
Available payment plans		Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $52,253	100.0% Average amount $30,912
Students receiving federal student loan	4.0% Average amount $3,016	76.0% Average amount $6,230
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $758	6.0% Average amount $10,052

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,468 Men 40.7% Women 59.3%	545 Men 52.5% Women 47.5%
Graduate students	N/A	14 Men 71.4% Women 28.6%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	7.8%	N/A
Campus local/setting	Town: Distant	Rural: Fringe
Dormitory capacity	1,653	750
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Tennessee Alabama Georgia Ohio	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Business Social Sciences Visual & Performing Arts Biological and Biomedical Sciences Family and Consumer Sciences	Education Psychology Business Communication and Journalism Physical Science
Students to faculty ratio	9:1	12:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	65.6%	43.2%
Dropout rate	13.7%	56.8%
Transferred out	19.8%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,226 Year 2: $50,856 Year 3: $57,402 Engineering Technology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,355 Year 2: $26,353 Year 3: $42,731 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $32,950 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $42,254 Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,670 Year 2: $27,590 Year 3: $36,495 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,658 Year 3: $31,668 Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $21,939 Year 2: $19,455 Year 3: $28,681 Agriculture, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $21,131 Year 2: $18,315 Year 3: $26,792 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $18,315 Year 3: $24,639 Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $17,023 Year 2: $20,687 Year 3: $24,324 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $24,035 Year 3: N/A	Communication and Media Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,530 Year 2: $29,141 Year 3: $35,825 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $24,035 Year 3: $27,179 Education, General (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $36,606 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: N/A Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,468 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Social Work (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: N/A

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