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Cost & financial aid brief

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# Berea College Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid

Updated October 1, 2026

[Overview](/school/berea-college/)Cost & aid[Outcomes](/school/berea-college/outcomes/)[Admissions](/school/berea-college/admissions/)[Majors](/school/berea-college/majors/)[Similar schools](/school/berea-college/similar/)

**On this page**+

## How much does Berea College cost after financial aid?

Azimuth ranks Berea College #1 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Tuition and fees run $51,658, room and board add $8,208, and the total published cost of attendance is $60,718.

Grants and scholarships reduce that sticker price by $54,612 for the average aid recipient, leaving an average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/) of $6,106. Aid covers about 90% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

The resulting net price sits $16,241 below the $22,347 median among comparable institutions (same type and size). That places the college in the 99th percentile.

Families at Berea College pay far less than the sticker price suggests. The affordability pillar sits at the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For aid recipients, average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/) is the cost after grants and scholarships. The average is $6,106, $16,241 below the median for comparable institutions (same type and size) of $22,347.

The lowest income band averages $5,428; the highest averages $13,700. The median federal debt for borrowers who complete is $3,591, $21,409 below the median for comparable institutions (same type and size) of $25,000.

Average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/)s by family-income band are: $5,428 for families earning under $30,000; $4,598 for the $30,001–$48,000 band; $8,132 for the $48,001–$75,000 band; $7,570 for the $75,001–$110,000 band; and $13,700 for families earning over $110,000. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $8,272.

Average net price by family income

**$0–30K**
$5,428

**$30–48K**
$4,598

**$48–75K**
$8,132

**$75–110K**
$7,570

**$110K+**
$13,700

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Overall average annual net price: **$6,106**. After grants and scholarships, including living costs. [Source and coverage](#cost-data-notes).

Aid covers about 90% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, a sticker-to-net gap of $54,612. The pricing pattern is unusually flat across the income scale.

The lowest band averages $5,428 and the highest $13,700, a difference of $8,272 that keeps costs low even for families well above the Pell threshold.

The published cost of attendance is $60,718, but the average aid recipient pays far less. Azimuth ranks Berea College #1 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, the average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/) for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $5,428. For those earning $48,001 to $75,000, it is $8,132, and for those earning over $110,000, it is $13,700.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $8,272. Aid covers about 90% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

The average net price across all aid recipients is $6,106, which is $16,241 below the $22,347 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Borrowers who finish carry a median of $3,591 in federal student loans, $21,409 below the $25,000 peer median.

15.3% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $41 a month if repaid over ten years.

## Student loans: what does repayment look like?

Federal borrowing is light at Berea College. 15.3% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, and those who finish carry a median of $3,591 in federal student debt.

The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $25,000, making the university's median $21,409 below. If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $41 a month.

Berea College asks families to weigh a striking affordability profile against a modest earnings picture. The median federal debt at graduation is $3,591, $21,409 below the $25,000 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $41 a month. Four years after completion, graduates earn a median of $42,924.

That figure is $12,991 below the $55,915 peer median, and it sits at the 7th percentile nationally. Graduates earn about $7,963 less than the model expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 25th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from a downside of $35,478 to an upside of $76,518.

The return picture is mixed: the debt load is light, but the raw earnings and the gap against the model's expectation both run below the national norm.

For borrowers with median federal student debt, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $41 a month if repaid over ten years.

[Repayment figures](#combined-borrowing) are in the Financial GPS card below. [Borrowing populations and model assumptions](#cost-data-notes).

## Student loans: the monthly payment

Financial GPS

### What does repayment look like?

**Institution median student debt**
$3,591

**Institution Parent PLUS debt**
No federal loan data

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

**Estimated student payment · monthly**
$41/mo

**Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly**
No federal loan data

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

#### Student payment as a share of available income

At median graduate earnings of $42,924, with a $22,590 annual allowance for basic expenses:

**2.4%** of income above the allowance · Excellent

1.  Excellent Under 8% · selected scenario
2.  Good 8–under 12%
3.  Concerning 12–20%
4.  High risk Over 20%

How this estimate works

These are modeled earnings scenarios, not observed earnings percentiles. Annual student payments ÷ (earnings − basic-expense allowance). The starting allowance, $22,590, uses the published framework’s 2024 baseline; it is not a current local living-cost estimate. Change it for your budget, including taxes and other obligations. This combines school-level figures for illustration, not a typical individual’s budget or an official school rating. Parent PLUS is separate.

[Read the framework and its limits](/analysis/financial-gps-framework/).

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

[Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS](/financial-gps/?tool=student&school=berea-college#student-tool)

## Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: [methodology](/methodology/).

Analysis and methodology by [Daniel Rogers](/about/#founder), founder of College Azimuth.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Figure notes link to sources and limitations. [About College Azimuth](/about/).

**Net price and borrowing.** The 2023–24 income-band averages include living costs and cover eligible first-time, full-time aid recipients; public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. They are not individual aid offers. Peer matching supplies overall net prices, not matched income-band averages. [College Scorecard data and documentation](https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/data/).

A personal student-risk assessment also needs your major and borrowing plan; these school-level illustrations do not assign you a personal risk zone.

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates. Private-loan figures from the Common Data Set are separate from these federal repayment illustrations.