Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI: Opinions??

[Helen in OH]

Hello.

 

I was wondering if anyone on this board has had any experience with Calvin College. I am just starting to look at potential colleges for my children. I was trying to decide if it should be included.

 

Thanks-a-bunch,

 

Helen in OH

[CJinVA]

but have many friends who did. Have been on the campus in the past, and my eldest son (named Calvin) has a Calvin Knights sweatshirt. (Probably too small at this point. I'll have to order him another.)

 

You might start with this web site if you haven't already looked here: http://www.isi.org/college_guide/sample/aac/calvin.pdf

 

What specifically did you want to know? My oldest is 13. I'd consider Calvin for him, but it's rather far for us (14-15 hour drive, I think), so I doubt it will make our list. Calvin has a liberal element I wouldn't have expected, but most (all?) of the alums I know are pretty conservative theologically and politically. It is affilitated with the Christian Reformed Church. We were CRC members for a number of years (now live in a place with no local CRC congregation) and noticed that the CRC places a lot of emphasis on education. The Calvin alums I know include writers, business owners, military officers, nurses, lawyers, and yes, homeschooling moms.

[CactusPair]

I live in Michigan. Calvin College has an excellent reputation and if I wanted my dc to go to a protestant Christian school this one would be high on my list. I did not go there, but I knew a few people who did.

 

One girl transferred to my alma mater (a *top* school) from Calvin bec. she wanted to study an area not offered at the smaller school. She was a lovely girl, modest, funny, kind and very bright. Her brother graduated from Calvin.

I also had an literature instructor who was a Calvin alum. He as very smart, passionate about his subject, and had a quiet demeanor and humility that was rare on campus. He was young, conservative and married, which was also unusual among graduate instructors.

 

I probably knew other Calvin alums, but can't think of them now. I know someone from my sil's church chose Calvin over my alma mater bec. he wanted a conservative environment more instep with his own values.

 

Oh, and my dh's former boss is a Calvin alum. He was a quiet, classy guy, also remarkably intelligent and known for his religious faith.

 

You might also want to look into Hope College. It's in Holland, MI near Lake Michigan, not that far from Calvin. I believe Hope College is associated with the Reformed Church, but don't quote me on that. Hope also has an excellent reputation. I have heard of a few people who have gone on to medical school after graduating from there. Hope would also be high on my list of protestant Christian colleges.

 

HTH

[CactusPair]

Oh, you might want to look into Hillsdale College, too, in Hillsdale, MI. I don't think they are known as a religious school, though they may have a Christian background. They do a reputation for being ultra-conservative and academically strong.

 

Choose a college in Michigan!!!:)

 

Our economy needs a boost and we have great schools!:001_smile:

[lunchlady]

It's a very pretty campus. There were a couple of neat things about their program that I liked. They had a special series in January that is 4 weeks (or 6 weeks??) long where you don't take regular class load. Instead you can take an intensive class, attend their free lecture series or take trips abroad. Something like more than 50% of their students take advantage of this and study abroad for those weeks.

 

They also had a service-learning center that helps Calvin students engage with the community, volunteering their services and in turn learning from those they're helping.

 

We enjoyed a tour. Our guide didn't talk about the religious aspects of campus life other than the 20 minute daily chapel time that is offered.

 

Lisa

[Helen in OH]

Thank-you for the advice for Calvin.

[Pat in MI]

Calvin is a very good school with a conservative nature. Very costly though if that is a factor in your decision.

Blessings,

Pat

[Anna]

Hi Helen,

 

I never went there and neither do my kids so I have no personal experience to share. However, we live 5-10 minutes from the campus and I have met many people who go there or who have gone there.

 

I'll share a few [disjointed] thoughts----

 

Reformed teachings are strong so if that is your religious preference, you may appreciate that. If you are of another Faith, this would be a bad fit because CC's reputation is that they aggressively attempt to "reform" all their students. We considered them for dd#1 but changed our minds because our Christian flavor is other than "Reformed".

 

CC is a large campus and it's common knowledge around here that a good percentage of their Reformed students do not practice their Faith.

 

My next-door neighbor's dd is a student there. Another neighbor works in food service there and a few weeks ago she told me that one of their seminary students recently caused an incident on campus involving a gun. I realize that can happen at any school but thought you'd want to know.

 

Around here, CC is considered one of the strongest colleges in academics, if that's your main goal.

 

Just this past year, when another Christian college near us canceled a group of speakers from a gay rights group, the group was invited and did speak at Calvin College. This was much to the dismay of many CC parents. Locally, the whole incident was a big stink in the news. Again, just thought you'd like to know.

 

CC is on the skimpy side for scholarships and I'm sure you know they are not cheap. My dd was offered both full and partial scholarships from several schools around here, including Hillsdale. CC was NOT one of them; they offered her nothing.

 

My personal thoughts--- When our dd#1 was choosing between colleges in this area, she MUCH preferred the reputation of Hillsdale over CC and so did her father and I. Hillsdale offered a scholarship but room/board would have forced her to take out a huge student loan and she didn't want that to pay back later. Instead, she choose her second choice college in our area (Aquinas) where she could live home.

 

Probably more than you wanted to know.