Photo: Nimbesi · CC BY-SA 4.0Reading Area Community College is 0.6 miles from West Reading
No college sits inside West Reading’s boundary, but Reading Area Community College’s campus in Reading, with 3,588 students on campus, is 0.6 miles from the center of town. About 9% of West Reading’s residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Pennsylvania (6%).
From the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard, June 2026; IPEDS fall 2023 enrollment) and the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 2020–24. Straight-line distances from the center of West Reading. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from West Reading
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of West Reading
Three private colleges within 2.7 miles, one public college within 2.2 miles, and Reading Area Community College 0.6 miles away.
Degree-granting colleges with 100 or more students on campus (fall 2023 enrollment, minus students who study only online). Admitted: share of applicants offered a place. Net price: the average a year after grants, for students on federal aid. Graduate: within 6 years (4-year colleges) or 3 (2-year). Earnings: median, 10 years after starting.
What would your family pay?
The average a year after grants, for families on federal aid, at the colleges within 15 miles. Pick your family’s income.
Starts at $48–75k, where West Reading’s median household income ($65,885) falls.
The average a year after grants and scholarships, for first-time, full-time students on federal aid, from the College Scorecard. Your own price depends on your aid package; every college has a net price calculator. For community colleges the net price counts housing and food at full cost, so tuition is shown beside it. “—”: not reported for that income.
Do students finish, and does it pay?
Each dot is a college within 15 miles of West Reading: across is the share who graduate, up is what they earn ten years after starting.
Graduation: first-time, full-time students within 6 years (4-year colleges) or 3 years (2-year). Earnings: median, 10 years after starting, for students who got federal aid. *Reported for all the campuses that file together: Miller-Motte College-Berks Technical Institute (22); Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Berks (22).
Questions about college near West Reading
Is West Reading a college town?
No. About 9 of every 100 West Reading residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as Pennsylvania (6). The nearest campus, Reading Area Community College, is 0.6 miles away in Reading.
What colleges are near West Reading?
Within 15 miles: Reading Area Community College (0.6 miles, 3,588 students on campus), Alvernia University (1.7 miles, 2,166), Miller-Motte College-Berks Technical Institute (1.8 miles, 452), Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Berks (2.2 miles, 1,934) and Albright College (2.7 miles, 1,315).
What is the closest community college to West Reading, and what does it cost?
Reading Area Community College in Reading, 0.6 miles away. Tuition and fees are $6,480 a year for Pennsylvania residents; the federal net price, $9,228, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Berks cost if we live in Pennsylvania?
Tuition and fees are $15,972 a year in-state and $26,958 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $16,429 (under $30,000 income) to $29,541 (over $110,000), housing and food included.
Neighbors talk college
Students, parents, alumni and the neighbors next door.
Colleges: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS (Scorecard 06/10/2026 · IPEDS 2024 · fall 2023 enrollment). “On campus” is fall enrollment minus students who study only online. Distances are straight-line from the center of West Reading. Residents in college, age, rent and poverty (including poverty without college students, table B14006): U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–24. Colleges are described, not graded; the College town label marks towns where 15% or more of residents are enrolled. How TownRatings describes colleges →