Calvin students surveyed by Princeton Review say it's "easy to get around campus" and they "love Grand Rapids, Michigan."
The Princeton Review ranks Calvin University as one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduates to earn their college degree, as a top 10 school nationwide for its student support and counseling and wellness services, and in the top 20 nationwide for its health services.
The education services company features Calvin in the 2023 edition of its annual college guide, The Best 388 Colleges, which was released today. Only about 14% of America’s 2,700 four-year colleges are profiled in the book, which is one of the Princeton Review’s most popular publications. The company chose the colleges for the book based on data it annually collects from surveys of 2,000 college administrators about their institutions’ academic offerings.
"We salute Calvin University for its outstanding academics, and its many other impressive offerings. We’re delighted to recommend it as an ideal choice for students searching for their ‘best-fit’ college,” said Rob Franek, The Princeton Review's editor-in-chief and lead author of The Best 388 Colleges.
Leader in student wellbeing
While the schools aren’t ranked numerically 1 to 388 overall, there are top 25 lists in the guidebook where institutions are ranked. These rankings are determined by the The Princeton Review’s surveys of 160,000 students at the 388 schools in the book who rate and report on aspects of their campus and community experiences.
Calvin is one of a select few institutions to appear on the “Best Student Support and Counseling Services” list. In fact, Calvin ranks 9th in the nation, which is the top ranking of any institution in the state of Michigan. Calvin's Center for Counseling and Wellness is directed by Dr. Irene Kraegel. She leads a team of mental health professionals in caring well for Calvin students and is also considered a thought leader in the mental health space.
Calvin is also one of a select few institutions, and the only one in Michigan, to appear on the “Best Health Services” list. In 2023, Calvin ranks 16th in the nation in this category. It has appeared on this list each of the last 11 years. A team of health services professionals are led by Dr. Laura Champion, who has more than 25 years of experience and connections in the Grand Rapids area, where Calvin is located.
Discover more about the wellness services offered at Calvin.
The student experience
In the institution’s profile, Calvin students who the Princeton Review surveyed for the book highlighted said their professors have “a desire to share their wealth of experiences and passions with the students” and are “extremely talented, interesting, and connected in their specific fields.” Students add that instructors are “masters at integration of education and Christianity,” making the classes at Calvin less about teaching the requisites for getting a job and “more about how to continue to learn about the field and how Christianity should figure into it.” Students also point out that there is great opportunity to dig into complicated and often controversial topics “in a way that doesn’t ignore culture, science, or social scientific data.”
In a "Survey Says" sidebar in the book's profile on Calvin University, The Princeton Review lists topics that Calvin students were in most agreement about in their answers to The Princeton Review’s survey questions. The list includes: “Students are happy,” “Lab facilities are great,” “Students love Grand Rapids, MI,” “Internships are widely available,” “Recreation facilities are great,” Students are very religious,” “Students [are] environmentally aware” and “Easy to get around campus.”
About Calvin University
Founded in 1876, Calvin University is a top-ranked, liberal arts university that equips its nearly 3,300 students from 49 U.S. states, 56 countries and five Canadian provinces to think deeply, to act justly, and to live wholeheartedly as Christ’s agents of renewal in the world. Calvin offers 100+ majors and programs, including graduate-level offerings in accounting, business administration, data science, education, exercise science, geographic information science, media and strategic communication, public administration, public health, and speech pathology and audiology.
Calvin students engage in intensive internships, community-based service learning, and significant research that results in publishing and presenting alongside world-class faculty. The university’s 400-acre campus is located in the vibrant city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Discover more at calvin.edu.
About Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is a leading tutoring, test prep, and college admissions services company. Every year, it helps millions of college- and graduate school–bound students achieve their education and career goals through online and in-person courses delivered by a network of more than 4,000 teachers and tutors; online resources; more than 150 print and digital books published by Penguin Random House; and dozens of categories of school rankings. Founded in 1981, the Princeton Review is now in its 41st year. The company's
Tutor.com brand is one of the largest online tutoring services in the U.S. It comprises a community of thousands of tutors who have delivered more than 21 million one-to-one tutoring sessions. The Princeton Review is headquartered in New York, NY. The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University. For more information, visit PrincetonReview.com.
