shadycha_di

I recently graduated.
The campus is beautiful, the artists' community around the college is wonderful, the community is small and safe.
The programs are not spectacular, but you will work hard.
Every student receives a full-tuition scholarship and pays virtually nil for room and board. As a part of that, every student must work at least 10 hours for an on-campus labor position, most of which serve fellow students. You are assigned a job your freshman year and may not change until the start of your sophomore year. From there, you're allowed to change jobs as often as you like.
To be accepted, academic requirements and financial requirements are a bit fluid, but generally, you must be from a low-income household.
Each student is assigned to an academic adviser with whom they are FORCED to meet each semester.
This college is liberal. Nevermind the "Christian" logo--it's a college "founded on Christian principles", meaning that the college is chiefly Christian but more or less tolerant. Unfortunately, the Christian stigma attracts students who ARE NOT ALWAYS tolerant of anything.
The college was rounded on the notion of racial equality. This is a fact that you will be reminded of over and over again.
There is a large gay community at this college.
Some of the dorms have been recently renovated and are in great shape. Most are long overdue for renovation.
The college has a zero tolerance alcohol and drug policy. Three strikes you're out on alcohol violations, two strikes you're out on drugs.
The college has barbaric visitation policies. Seriously.
There are no Greek programs at Berea. They believe it's a caste system.
Classes require oodles of busy work, papers and generally terrible work. It's rough, but only if you can't keep up with deadlines or squeeze out papers naturally. There are programs on campus to help you work on both.
You do get a free laptop. Every single student. You get a used laptop when you come in (used by 1 or two users previously, only 2-5 years old) and a new one at the start of your junior year that is your's to keep forever upon graduation. If you leave the college early, the laptop must be returned.
You must either be able to demonstrate the ability to swim or learn to swim by the time you graduate. Yes, I am serious.

In summary, you will often curse this college for trying to mother you. You will curse this college for ridiculous bureaucracy and you will curse this school for all sorts of weird reasons. But in the end, you will leave with some of the best friends you've ever known, a quality education, four years of work experience and the tools you need to enter life. Is it worth the headaches? Yes, I suppose.

Mary13

Thank you for taking the time to post. That was very informative. I have a relative who is interested in Berea. If you exceed the low-income threshold, does that mean it is not possible to be accepted, or is there a full (or at least partial) pay option? Can I ask what you majored in, and if Berea steered you toward your current occupation?

Yutakatsumi

Hi shadycha_di. It was nice to talk to you. Thanks very much for your info.

Pwinkl

We are mentoring a young man who was accepted to Berea. We are happy for him but wonder how an urban young man will find Berea to be? Do you have any suggestions? What do students do for fun? Is there any basketball playing? How diverse is the school? Is there racial, cultural diversity? Are the faculty attentive? How do students entertain themselves on the week-end?

BB012

@ Pwinkl
I hope it is not too late. I would advise you to join the Berea Class of 2013 group on Facebook. You will find some current students over there who will be willing to answer all your questions. I am an admitted international student. As far as I know, the faculty members are very friendly and attentive and so is the student body. But since it is a work college mostly consisting of students from lower-income families, you should not expect as much entertertain as you would in other private colleges, such as Gettysburg or Lafayette. Berea is, indeed, a racially and culturally diverse campus with students from around 60 foreign countries, and 8% of the student body is international. I hope this helps.