Berea College Receives Kentucky’s Only 5-Star Rating by Money Magazine

July 11, 2023

BEREA, Ky. – Berea College is the only Kentucky college to receive a 5-Star Rating by Money Magazine in the magazine’s 2023 Best Colleges list.

Nationwide, Money chose only 34 college to be part of the elite 5-Star Rating group.

Now in its ninth year, Money’s Best Colleges includes an analysis of 736 choices for applicants looking for the best school for its value. New this year is a complete overhaul of how the list is presented. Instead of a numerical ranking, Money’s Best Colleges presents itself in a 2.5-star to 5-star rating, giving users a more useful consumer tool. The new rating system is based on the philosophy that there is not one, singular best college for every student. Instead, there’s a variety of outstanding, high-value colleges across the country.

“With Money’s new Best Colleges list, readers will have the opportunity to evaluate schools with more context and avoid being distracted by where something falls compared to hundreds of other schools,” said Executive Editor Mike Ayers. “We hope this will help those looking to make an educated choice around one of the most important financial decisions of their lifetime.”

With a focus on above-average graduation rates, Money scored more than 700 colleges in three areas: quality, affordability and future-earning potential. These data points consider important factors like the net price of a degree, loan repayment rates, median earnings and four “value add” calculations measuring a school’s actual performance against its predicted performance based on its student body.

Find Money’s complete list of Best Colleges here.

Money’s Best Colleges uses this methodology.