Berea College, founded 150 years ago in
Berea, Ky., to educate freed slaves and “poor white mountaineers,” accepts only applicants from low-income families, and it charges no tuition. The education costs are covered by Berea’s $1.1 billion endowment, which puts the college among the nation’s wealthiest. But unlike most well-endowed colleges, Berea has no football team, coed housing, hot tubs or climbing walls. Instead, it has a no-frills budget, with food from the college farm, handmade furniture from the college crafts workshops, and 10-hour-a-week campus jobs for every student.
To read The New York Times article, click here.