Calvin Distinctives

5. Remarkable Investment

The Princeton Review: America's Best Value Colleges
Calvin College ranks as one of America's Best Value Colleges and the Best 351 Colleges by the Princeton Review

Calvin's life-changing education provides lifelong dividends.

A Calvin education yields a return on investment that far outweighs tuition, as noted by independent endorsements and as demonstrated by the lives of alumni.

  • Calvin is regularly rated by national publications such as U.S. News & World Report, The Fiske Guide to Colleges as a "Best Value," and Barron's Best Buys in College Education.

  • Calvin provides university-caliber research opportunities at an undergraduate institution. Students connect with outstanding faculty, participate in research projects and access state-of-the-art equipment and facilities. Through a recent grant awarded to the biology department, students will have access to a state-of-the-art DNA sequencer, which will offer increased technological resources for performing research.

  • Calvin receives numerous grants awarded by foundations, corporations and government agencies. These gifts provide invaluable support for excellence in education, enabling Calvin to offer exceptional resources that do not require tuition dollars. A recent grant for $205,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) will allow a computer science professor to rebuild a supercomputer that was built by professors and students six years ago with money from the same source.

  • Calvin's Career Development Office assists students in preparing for careers after graduation through workshops, job fairs, internships and on-campus interviews. The office helps seniors find jobs and works with alumni in developing meaningful, lifelong careers.

  • The value of a Calvin education goes beyond a mere job or even a career. The value is in the preparation for all the challenges [pdf] that life holds.

  • Calvin is committed to making this academically excellent Christian higher education affordable to all qualified students. Calvin students receive almost $43 million in aid each year from all sources: federal, state and college funds. Over 90 percent of the student body benefits from some form of financial aid.

  • Over 61 percent of Calvin students receive need-based financial aid, and the average amount of aid to students with need exceeds $12,500.

  • A Calvin education is not only an investment in character development but also excellent academic preparation for life. In "Educating for Shalom: Our Calling as a Christian College," the question of "How do my education and work make for shalom?" is addressed.

  • Career networking and lifelong education are provided by the Calvin network of more than 50,000 alumni around the world. These alumni share a worldview and values, nurtured by an active alumni association in 35 chapters from coast to coast, which keeps graduates connected to Calvin and to each other.

  • A Calvin education can "shape minds for intentional participation in the renewal of all things." Because of this, Calvin alumni live out their kingdom calling in their chosen vocations. Here are even more profiles of Calvin alumni.

  • Calvin receives strong financial support and other resources from alumni and friends — and from its affiliation with the Christian Reformed Church.