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Am I Eligible

Limited Means. Unlimited Potential.

Berea College was founded on a bold principle, opening the doors of higher education to students with unlimited potential and limited financial means. Today, we proudly stand as the only college in America that exclusively serves students with high financial need and strong academic promise. If this describes you, Berea may be where you belong.

Financial Eligibility

The financial eligibility requirement is unique to Berea and is a direct response to our mission to serve students from limited financial means. We carefully assess each applicant’s financial eligibility to ensure we are admitting the students we are designed to serve. Estimating your financial eligibility is an important first step in discovering if Berea is your right match.

Do I Qualify?

Academic Eligibility

Berea’s competitive admissions process ensure that admitted students are well prepared for success and a rigorous academic environment. We have a limited number of spaces for each entering class, so we are looking for students who have demonstrated academic potential through coursework and grade-point average and ACT/SAT scores, if provided

Am I Eligible?

Admissions Decisions

Berea College is unique in American higher education. Our vibrant and diverse community derives from our mission and scriptural motto ‘God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth’ (Acts 17:26). It has been both the foundation on which we stand and shining light that guides us to a more perfect future.

Our mission and size are such that we can consider every aspect of each prospective student’s personal journey, their perseverance, their commitment, and ability to take advantage of every opportunity that Berea can offer. When we review your application, we’ll consider more than just numbers on a piece of paper—we will consider the person you are and hope to become.

You can count on our team of dedicated professionals to complete a holistic review of each applicant. Many factors are considered in the selection of an applicant, including a properly completed application, official academic records, test scores (if submitted), and financial eligibility. In addition to these components, we value and assess recommendations, Admissions Specialist conversations, extracurricular and co-curricular activities (e.g. music ensembles, athletics, theatre), community service, character and leadership qualities, social maturity and demonstrated interest in the College.

We encourage all students to, as appropriate, use their resources in brainstorming, proofreading and editing their optional electives. Optional electives are evaluated based upon their content and minor grammatical errors will not be penalized. The optional electives should help us better understand the applicant as an individual, so use of outside resources should not distract from a submitted elective that displays the student's authentic voice.