Bethany College
Private College in Bethany, WV. Six-year graduation rate 47%. Median 10-year earnings $44,512.
Ten years after entry, the median Bethany College student earns $44,512 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. 47% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Graduates leave owing a median of $27,000 — a substantial load to service on these earnings. Mobility is where this school separates itself: 2.0% of students move from the bottom income quintile to the top.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.61 — elevated (above 0.60)
Admissions
Selectivity is real here: only 59% of applicants are offered a place. With 1,359 applicants, admissions statistics here move a lot on small changes. Yield sits at 27% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Bethany College →Academics
Completion is middling: 47% finish inside six years. Just 54% of first-years come back — most of the completion gap opens in year one. The 12:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor. The undergraduate body is just 645, which shapes everything from class size to how often a required course is offered.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 642 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $19,035 annually once grants are applied. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $14,315 at the $0–30k band to $27,214 at $110k+. Grant aid is widespread — 99% of students receive it, averaging $33,617. 75% of students borrow federally, so debt is the norm rather than the exception.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 240 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $14,315 |
| $30–48k | $15,239 |
| $48–75k | $17,641 |
| $75–110k | $22,434 |
| $110k+ | $27,214 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 482 of these 642 students, totalling $5,161,132 — an average of $10,708 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Brooke County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
Heightened Cash Monitoring (Financial Responsibility); School placed on Heightened Cash Monitoring
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)