wfn.org | CRC NEWS: Calvin College among 'Best' in Princeton Review

["Henry Hess" <hessh@crcna.ca>]

Aug. 23, 2005 - Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. has been ranked by
the Princeton Review as one of the best institutions in the United
States for undergraduate education.

The New York-based education services company features Calvin in "The
Best 361
Colleges, the new 2006 edition of its annual "best colleges" guide.

Only about 15 percent of the nation's four-year colleges are included in
the
book which has both two-page profiles of the schools and student
survey-based
ranking lists of top 20 colleges in the book in various categories.

Calvin's profile includes a summary of the school's Christian mission,
as stated by Calvin students.

The Princeton Review says Calvin has an emphasis on taking ownership of
one's faith which encourages students to think about how their faith
integrates
with all other parts of their life, including academics.  One student
notes
that Calvin "provides a fantastic Christian education for little money,
compared to other private schools."

Says Robert Franek, a vice president with The Princeton Review:  "The
main
factor in our selection of schools in the book was our high regard for
their
academic programs.   We evaluated them based on institutional data we
collect
about the schools, feedback from students at them and visits to schools
over
the years.  We also considered the opinions of independent college
counselors,
students and parents we talk to and survey."

The ranking lists in The Best 361 Colleges are based on The Princeton
Review's
survey of 110,000 students attending the colleges in the book.	Students
rated
their schools on several topics and reported on their campus experiences
at
them.

Ranking list categories range from best professors, administration and
campus
food to lists based on student body political leanings, interests in
sports and
other aspects of campus life such as party schools and non-party
schools.

Calvin appears in six lists for 2006, including:

# 9 - Scotch & soda, hold the scotch (hard liquor usage reported low)
#11 - Stone-cold sober schools
#14 - Students pray on a regular basis (most religious students)
#15 - Don't inhale (marijuana usage reported low)
#15 - Future Rotarians and Daughters of the American Revolution
#15 - Got milk? (beer usage reported low)

Calvin vice president Tom McWhertor said the rankings are not a
comparison with every school in the country, but show where the schools
fit when compared to the 357 schools in the 2005 guide.

Calvin director of admissions Dale Kuiper adds that rankings guides, in
general, provide a helpful service if they are not taken too seriously.

"The data the guides provide can be helpful to high school students,
parents,
guidance counselors and others," he says.  "Some of them provides a
convenient
collection of criteria like graduation rates, first-year retention
rates, size
of classes and student-faculty ratio. But those are only a few of the
many ways
that should be used to measure whether a student will fit well with a
particular college."

The Princeton Review posts the book's ranking lists on its website at
www.PrincetonReview.com

Calvin College is one of the largest Christian colleges in North America
and is recognized as a center for faith-based liberal arts teaching and
scholarship. It is affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church in
North America.

For more information contact Tom McWhertor at 616-526-6650 or Dale
Kuiper at 526-6110

---------------------------------
Henry Hess
Director of Communications
Christian Reformed Church
905-336-2920 ext.236
hessh@crcna.ca

To learn more about the Christian Reformed Church, visit www.crcna.org