Question: What do Harvard, Duke, Stanford, Princeton and Berea have in common?
Answer: They were all named as the top five elite universities that also are the most affordable for low-income families.
Skyler Lucci, CEO of HeyTutor, says that with need-blind admissions and generous financial aid programs, “America’s most elite universities are also the most affordable for low-income families while also providing an excellent education.” Berea College is among the top 5.
Using data from research conducted by The Hamilton Project, an economic policy initiative at the Brookings Institution, Lucci’s article, published by T74 (the74million.org) states that sometimes students and parents don’t fully understand the financial aid process or the difference between the published and net prices. As a result, low-income students may (wrongly) assume elite schools will be too expensive for them, when in fact, substantial financial resources are available to them. For example, Lucci points out that “Unlike most colleges in the U.S., Berea does not charge tuition in the traditional sense. Instead, it covers costs through endowment income, funds from donations and other sources of financial aid.” The article also states that Berea is an “. . . excellent institution of higher education for students with limited economic means.”
Berea College, widely known for its no-tuition policy, is one of the nation’s best colleges for students seeking a superb education with great career preparation at an affordable price, according to The Princeton Review®.
Once again Berea College’s distinctive model of not charging students for tuition has gained national attention. Americans have more student debt than ever before, but CNBC, a national media network for consumer news and business, recently published two articles by Abigail Hess citing Berea for its affordability and its top spot for students with the lowest average amount of debt. 
On September 13th, 2016, a U.S. House Ways and Means subcommittee held a hearing to look at how colleges use their tax-exempt endowments and control the rising cost of tuition. Of course, in Berea College’s case, students do not pay any tuition. Berea’s Vice President for Finance, Jeff Amburgey, was among a select panel of higher-ed leaders invited to provide testimony. Amburgey discussed how Berea makes college affordable to those who can least-afford it, the very population of students Berea serves in Appalachia and beyond.
Media outlets continue to recognize Berea College’s uncommon mission of keeping higher education affordable. An article entitled College: Admission Possible, by Russell Schaffer for a higher-ed blog produced by Kaplan Test Prep, highlights families’ concerns about rising college costs and increasing debt. The article cites a recent U.S. News & World Report article in which Berea College was named as the college whose 2014 graduates had the least debt. Berea was also ranked number one in U.S. News & World Report’s list of the top 10 most affordable schools.