Calvin Named One of Nation's Best
Calvin College has again been named one of the top colleges in the country by The Princeton Review.Â
The 2008 edition of The Princeton Review's annual college guide "Best 366 Colleges" includes seven schools from the state of Michigan: Albion, Calvin, Hillsdale, Kalamazoo, Michigan State, Michigan and Michigan Tech. Only about 15 percent of the nation's four-year colleges are included in the guide which was first published in 1992.Â
The Princeton Review's annual guide depends heavily on student surveys to both form the two-page profiles of each of the 366 schools included and to create a series of unusual secondary lists. Calvin's profile leads with what the college's undergrads told the Princeton Review.
"The greatest strength of Calvin is the emphasis on becoming a better person," the guide notes, adding: "every accredited college or university offers education, but not every school prepares students for the real world in the way that Calvin does."
The book notes too that "students appreciate Calvin's demanding core curriculum," which "ensures that graduates are well rounded and well prepared for the real world." And, says the guide, "Best of all, perhaps, Calvin provides a fantastic Christian education for little money, compared to other private schools."
As for the always-popular, and often quirky, lists, Calvin made seven for 2008, including Scotch and Soda, Hold the Scotch (#10), Stone-Cold Sober Schools (#12), Got Milk? and Students Pray on a Regular Basis (both #15), Don’t Inhale and Future Rotarians and Daughters of the American Revolution (both #16), and Alternative Lifestyles Not an Alternative (#18).
Other list categories report on campus political leanings, race/class relations, social scene, town-gown relations and more. The book's complete ranking lists will also be posted on www.PrincetonReview.com after 5 pm eastern time on August 20, 2007. The Princeton Review notes, however, that those rankings are not a comparison vs every school in the country, but rather denote where schools fit in when compared only to the other schools in the 2008 guide.
"In our opinion, each school in this book is a 'best' when it comes to academics" says Robert Franek, the book's author at The Princeton Review. "But as anyone visiting colleges can attest, their campus cultures and offerings differ greatly. We compile rankings in multiple categories to give college applicants and their parents – particularly those who can't visit these schools – a wide range of information to decide which of these academically outstanding colleges will be best for them. It's all about the fit."