A Kentucky college was just named best in the US for ‘tuition and tax dollars’
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- Berea College ranked No. 1 nationally by Washington Monthly for value and impact.
- The college serves mostly Pell Grant recipients, charging no tuition and low fees.
- Washington Monthly prioritized access, affordability, outcomes and service in rankings.
A small Kentucky college that doesn’t charge its students tuition has been named the No. 1 school in America by Washington Monthly magazine.
Looking at more than 1,400 institutions nationwide, Washington Monthly placed Berea College at the top of its list of the Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars. The magazine assessed colleges based on how much they help students of limited means earn degrees that pay off — without saddling them with massive debt.
“There’s simply no school that does as well by non-wealthy students as Berea College,” Washington Monthly said of the school in a profile. “96% of students—an incredibly high proportion—qualify for Pell Grants, federal financial assistance that is given to qualifying low- and middle-income students. Those students pay just $3,395 a year, factoring in aid. And they outperform expectations in every major way: graduation rate, debt, and earnings.”
This year, Berea College is celebrating its 170th anniversary. As the first racially integrated co-ed college in the South, it is known for its tuition-free work program, where students work for 10 hours a week at shops and galleries on campus to pay their way through school. Berea College does not charge students tuition, and most attend at zero cost.
In a news release, Berea College President Cheryl Nixon called the recognition “a powerful affirmation of Berea’s founding mission.”
“At Berea, we believe every student deserves the chance to learn, serve and lead without the burden of crushing debt,” Nixon said. “We strive to prove that higher education can be both excellent and accessible, both inspirational and affordable. This ranking celebrates the transformative impact of our students and alumni—we are deeply proud that our emphasis on opportunity and service is being recognized as a model for the nation.”
Berea College often receives positive reviews for its beautiful campus situated in the Appalachian foothills of Kentucky, which recently drew a popular Amazon Prime series. Its location in Berea, the folk arts and crafts capital of the state, also recently drew praise from Smithsonian Magazine, which called it a top place to visit in 2025.
How does Washington Monthly rank colleges?
In compiling its rankings, Washington Monthly aims to counter a popular narrative: that the best colleges are the wealthiest and most exclusive.
“That leaves the vast majority of prospective students—whose SAT scores and family income aren’t in the upper 1% — to navigate one of the most consequential decisions of their lives armed with a deeply skewed picture of what ‘best’ really means,” the magazine said.
For the first time with this year’s ranking, Washington Monthly combined more than 1,400 four-year colleges and universities into one master list, and tweaked its methodology to zero in on schools that offer the best return on investment for students.
As part of its methodology, Washington Monthly’s rankings assess schools on four equally-weighted measures: access, affordability, outcomes and community and national service. The highest rated colleges needed an excellent score across all four measures, rather than just one, according to Washington Monthly.
The magazine looked at the number of Pell Grant recipients and Pell enrollment performance, net price, median student loan debt of graduates, graduation rates and other factors for its analysis.
What are Washington Monthly’s top 25 colleges in 2025?
According to Washington Monthly, the following colleges rank among the top 25 in the country for exceptional performance in the areas of access, affordability, outcomes and service:
1. Berea College
2. California State University, Fresno
3. California State University, Northridge
4. California State University, Los Angeles
5. Princeton University (New Jersey)
6. California State University, Sacramento
7. University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley
8. Florida International University
9. California State University, Long Beach
10. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
11. California State University, San Bernardino
12. California State University, Fullerton
13. Stanford University (California)
14. California State University, Dominguez Hills
15. University of Pennsylvania
16. Duke University (North Carolina)
17. University of Central Florida
18. Williams College (Massachusetts)
19. Haverford College (Pennsylvania)
20. Macalester College (Minnesota)
21. Cornell University (New York)
22. Brigham Young University (Utah)
23. California State University, Stanislaus
24. Washington and Lee University (Virginia)
25. New College of Florida
Correction: The above list was corrected Sept. 4, 2025, to accurately reflect Washington Monthly’s 2025 Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars.
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This story was originally published August 27, 2025 at 10:52 AM.