Photo: Mojo Hand · CC BY-SA 4.0Brightpoint Community College is 4.4 miles from Bellwood
No college sits inside Bellwood’s boundary, but Brightpoint Community College’s campus in Chester, with 6,289 students on campus, is 4.4 miles from the center of town. About 4% of Bellwood’s residents are enrolled in college, below Virginia (7%).
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 Bellwood. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Bellwood
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Bellwood
Six private colleges within 13.1 miles, two public colleges within 11.9 miles, and Brightpoint Community College 4.4 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 $30–48k, where Bellwood’s median household income ($47,781) 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 Bellwood: 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: Fortis College-Richmond (3).
Questions about college near Bellwood
Is Bellwood a college town?
No. About 4 of every 100 Bellwood residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below Virginia (7). The nearest campus, Brightpoint Community College, is 4.4 miles away in Chester.
What colleges are near Bellwood?
9 colleges are within 15 miles. The largest: Virginia Commonwealth University (10 miles, 25,603 students on campus), Brightpoint Community College (4.4 miles, 6,289) and Virginia State University (11.9 miles, 5,107).
What is the closest community college to Bellwood, and what does it cost?
Brightpoint Community College in Chester, 4.4 miles away. Tuition and fees are $5,082 a year for Virginia residents; the federal net price, $5,490, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does Virginia Commonwealth University cost if we live in Virginia?
Tuition and fees are $16,945 a year in-state and $40,109 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $17,512 (under $30,000 income) to $32,739 (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 Bellwood. 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 →