Financial Aid for International Students
Paying for college is an important investment in your future. We recognize that international students and their families often face financial situations that are extremely challenging. Calvin is committed to partner with students to help clarify how they will pay for their college education.
Grants and Scholarships
Calvin provides generous grants and scholarships to qualified international students, but college assistance will cover only a portion of the educational and personal costs.
- Transcripts, SAT or ACT scores, and admissions essays are used for scholarship consideration.
- Academic scholarships ($1,000-6,000) are awarded as part of the admission process.
- Children of missionaries: check out the Christian Missionary Scholarship.
On-campus Jobs
International students are expected to work on-campus while at Calvin, and these wages are also factored in to Calvin's potential funding of the student's education.
- Students can earn $2,000-$3,500 working on campus for 10-15 hours per week during the school year and full-time during the summer.
- Students granted an F-1 Visa may work up to 20 hours per week on campus during the school year and full-time during vacation periods.
Family Resources
Each student is also required to contribute a significant portion of their college costs through their own resources, sponsors or outside scholarships.
- Calvin has limited grants and scholarships to assist international students.
- Families should document their ability to provide a minimum level of support. Please consult the Declaration of Finances Form to determine the minimum level of support that families can expect to provide if the student does not receive any scholarship awards.
- Someone choosing to sponsor a student's room and board should submit our Sponsor form.
- There are no full-pay grants/scholarships.
Applying for Aid
Each family's situation will be individually assessed through a careful and confidential review of the international application for admission.
Calvin's Declaration of Finances Form requires that students submit supporting documents such as bank statements and verification of income.
All forms are due April 1, and will be reviewed as follows:
Informal review- An informal review of eligibility is done once we receive the Declaration of Finances Form and supporting documents.
- E-mail and FAX are the preferred way for communication at this point in the review.
- After adequate information is received and reviewed, we will either move to the formal review or inform the student that funding is not available.
- This formal review is intended to move towards verification and acceptance of the financial support that has been submitted to Calvin by the family. As final decisions are made on eligibility, the international admissions staff serves as an advocate for the family representing applicant's situations and concerns to the Committee on Scholarships and Financial Aid. (At this point, all FAX documents must be supported by originals or certified copies.)
- If financial support is adequate, the committee will award grants, scholarship and on-campus employment funds to combine with the student's funding in order to meet the total costs for attending Calvin College.
- If financial support is not adequate, the committee will communicate to the family what additional financial resources and/or documentation is needed.
Acceptance to Calvin is granted to international applicants when both the academic and financial credentials of have been reviewed and approved.
Visa & Immigration Papers
Once admission to Calvin is offered, the student is required to confirm their plans to enroll by sending a $4000 enrollment deposit that is placed in the student's Calvin account. Visa and immigration processing will not begin until the enrollment deposit is received.