Affordable Private Colleges in West Virginia
Private nonprofit four-year colleges, ranked by net price after aid. Their sticker prices are the highest and their discounts are the deepest, so the published tuition tells you very little.
5 private colleges in West Virginia are listed here, 5 of them reporting a net price. They run from $18,083 a year at West Virginia Wesleyan College to $22,107 at University of Charleston, with a middle of about $18,605.
The cheapest are West Virginia Wesleyan College, Davis & Elkins College and Bethany College. A low average is not a low bill for everyone — aid depends on your family's income — but it is where to start.
Private colleges in West Virginia, cheapest first · 5
Average net price per year after grants and scholarships, with the share of students on federal Pell grants where reported. Schools publishing no net price are listed last.
- West Virginia Wesleyan College
- Davis & Elkins College
- Bethany College
- Wheeling University
- University of Charleston
← All colleges in West Virginia
Questions families ask
- What is the most affordable private college in West Virginia?
- By average net price — what students actually pay per year after grants and scholarships — it is West Virginia Wesleyan College at about $18,083 a year. That is an average across all students there; your own cost depends on your family's income, so check the school's net price calculator.
- What is the difference between sticker price and net price?
- Sticker price is the published tuition before any aid. Net price is what students actually pay after grants and scholarships are subtracted — not loans, which you pay back. Net price is usually far lower, and at expensive private colleges the gap can be tens of thousands a year, which is why every figure on this page is net price rather than tuition.
- How much do private colleges in West Virginia cost on average?
- Across the 5 private colleges in West Virginia that report a figure, the middle of the range is about $18,605 a year after aid, running from $18,083 to $22,107.
- What does the Pell grant percentage mean?
- It is the share of undergraduates at that school receiving a federal Pell grant — need-based aid that does not have to be repaid. A higher share usually means the school enrols more students from lower-income families. Across the private colleges listed here it runs from 31% to 51%, with a middle of about 38%. It is the only aid figure the Department of Education publishes per school, so it is the only one shown.
Which of these actually fits you?
A list is a starting point, not an answer. Two minutes of questions gives you a shortlist ranked on cost, academics, size and location — with the reaches labelled honestly.
Find your match — free