Bethel College's mission is to create opportunities for members of the learning community to develop to their highest potential as whole persons – intellectually, spiritually, socially and physically – in a Christian environment.
By the words, “create opportunities,” it means that it will offer the means for you to have choices and options, and we help you develop the confidence and maturity to choose appropriately among those options.
By the term, “learning community,” it means that it will extend its mission to anyone who seeks development of his or her whole person. Bethel’s learning community includes undergraduate students in traditional and non-traditional programs, graduate students, faculty, staff, the local community and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
By the term, “whole persons,” it means that it intends that, in the true spirit of the liberal arts education, the undergraduate education encompass all dimensions of the human being, which are in reality inseparable.
Bethel College is a Cumberland Presbyterian college in McKenzie, Tennessee. It was founded in 1842 in McLemoresville, Tennessee as Bethel Seminary, becoming Bethel College in 1850, and given a state charter in 1847, making it one of the oldest colleges to use the name "Bethel College." There was a brief time during the American Civil War that the college was closed but it was reopened as a co-educational institution in 1865 under the leadership of Dr. Benjamin Wilburn McDonnold. The college relocated in 1872 to its current campus in McKenzie. In 1906 when the Union (a church governing body) closed all ten Cumberland Presbyterian colleges, only Bethel reopened, becoming, as it remains, the only Cumberland Presbyterian college. Bachelors and Masters degrees are available through Bethel College. The sports teams are nicknamed the Wildcats and the Lady Wildcats. They participate in the NAIA's TranSouth and Mid-South Conferences. The school also maintains a center in Nashville known as the "Success Program", aimed at the "non-traditional" student (employed adults aged over 24).
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| Percent of Students International: | 4% |
| On-Campus Housing Available: | Yes |
| Percent of Students Living On-Campus: | 41% |
| Freshman Students Required to Live on Campus: | Yes |
| Member of: | NAA, NAIA |
| Sports Include: |
Football (Mid-South Conference) Basketball (Kentucky Intercollegiate Ath Conf) Baseball (Kentucky Intercollegiate Ath Conf) Track (Kentucky Intercollegiate Ath Conf) |
| Tuition & Fees (undergraduate) | Expenses | ||
Average Tuition for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 10,016 | ||
Required Fees for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 290 | ||
| Financial Aid | Avg. Amount Received | % of Students Receiving Aid | |
Federal Grants: |
$ 3,671 | 43% | |
State and Local Grants: |
$ 2,627 | 32% | |
Institutional Grants: |
$ 8,017 | 100% | |
Student Loans: |
$ 2,811 | 69% | |
Any Aid: |
100% |
| Acceptance Rate: | 60% (Selective) |
| Test Scores | |
| SAT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting SAT Scores: | 5% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Verbal: 350, Math: 380 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Verbal: 540, Math: 520 |
| ACT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting ACT Scores: | 92% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Composite: 17, Verbal: 16, Math: 15 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Composite: 21, Verbal: 20, Math: 22 |
| Application Fee: | $ 30.00 |
| Formal Demonstration of Competencies: | Not Required |
| High School Diploma or Equivalent: | Recommended |
| High School GPA: | Required |
| High School Rank: | Required |
| High School Record: | Required |
| Recommendations: | Recommended |
| TOEFL: | Required |
| Test Scores: | Required |
