Calvin College Admission
Calvin College Undergraduate Program
Calvin College Application

The Facts

Calvin College is a moderately-sized, private liberal arts college located in the town of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The school is home to over 4,085 undergraduate students and approximately 34 graduate and part-time students. The school is affiliated with the Reformed Christian Church, and the school is actually named after John Calvin, the founder of the Reformed Church in the 16th century. The college places an emphasis on preparing its students to enter into the real world, and offers a wide range of internship options that are quite popular with students. There are over 90 majors offered at the college; some of the most popular choices are elementary education, nursing, English, psychology, and business.

Admission to the school is not terrifically competitive, as the applicant pool is not very large; however, those who do apply tend to have been quite driven and academically successful in the past. Last year, over 2,000 students applied for admission and approximately 1,900 were accepted; of those, about 1,400 of the accepted students enrolled for the coming Fall semester. The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 1080 to 1320, and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 23 to 28.

Additionally, over 53% of those admitted were ranked in the top 25% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of about 3.54.

The school has a very manageable student to faculty ratio of 13:1, and students say that their teachers are always concerned with their students well-being and academic success. Students also remark that they don't really feel much unhealthy competition at the school, and that everyone is very eager to support each other and help them get through their collegiate years.

The Social Scene

The town of Grand Rapids is on the verge of becoming a city, and it does offer some nice options to keep students occupied. There are plenty of shops, malls, restaurants, concerts, cafes, bars, and clubs to keep students nice and busy on the weekends. However, students do say that although there is a public transportation system, it is limited and not efficient in the least, so most students own cars to help them get around.

There are no fraternities or sororities at Calvin College, and students really could not care less. The Calvin campus is also officially dry, so you won't really be finding any rowdy parties. Drinking off-campus is also not very popular, as students are usually more interested in hanging out in small groups or doing work with one of the college's many student-run clubs and organizations, many of which are service-oriented with a distinct emphasis on Christian values.

The dating scene here is pretty chaste; expect a very traditional wooing, flowers and all.

What’s Good

“People here are some of the most friendly folks I have ever met, and want nothing more than to bring people into their lives.”

“The teachers are so caring here, and they really work to provide the most nurturing environment possible.”

“The campus is great, and it's just small enough so it really feels like a community.”

What’s Bad

“There are a lot of people here that try to corner you and talk to you about God. It's kind of suffocating sometimes.”

“It's impossible to get anywhere without a car, and even when you do go places in Grand Rapids, there isn't much to see.”

“There is no school spirit here, and the sports teams really suck.”

Let the Penn Group help you apply to college.

• View our services
• Send a request now
• Read articles about applying to college