Magazine dubs Berea College best U.S. liberal arts school; serves low-income Appalachian students

Berea, Ky. (Sperling's Best Places map)

Washington Monthly has named small-town Kentucky's Berea College the top liberal arts college in the country for the second year in a row. Unlike other college ranking systems, the Monthly "judges schools on how well they serve low-income and first-generation college students, the kinds of jobs graduates get, and how much public service they perform," Linda Blackford reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader. "Berea wins in two categories: best liberal arts college in the nation and best 'bang for the buck' college in the South."

It's easy to see why Berea is considered a good value: It doesn't charge tuition. That's crucial to its goal of educating low-income rural Appalachian students, who make up 80 to 90 percent of the student body. Nearly half of Berea graduates pursue advanced degrees, and half work in service-related occupations, President Lyle Roelofs told Blackford. To help cut costs and build character, "All students work at least 10 hours per week in campus and service jobs in more than 130 departments," according to the college website. Student jobs can be anything from janitorial work to loom-weaving to canning vegetables.

The city of Berea lies in the knobby hills at the southeast corner of the Bluegrass region, at the base of the Cumberland Plateau to the east and the Pennyroyal Plateau to the south. Its population has grown to 14,000, but its character remains fundamentally rural—and more progressive than most small towns. Founded in 1855 as the first interracial and co-ed college in the South, today Berea encourages students to embrace "plain living" and choose sustainable practices in their lives and professions.