Calvin University
Private College in Grand Rapids, MI. Six-year graduation rate 74%. Median 10-year earnings $58,375.
Ten years after entry, the median Calvin University student earns $58,375 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate of 74% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Graduates carry a median of $23,250 in debt — in line with the national norm.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 1.0 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
71% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. 5,723 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. About 21% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range. The score bands below rest on the 39% of enrolled first-years who submitted an SAT score — a self-selected group, and not a cutoff.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 550–660 | 338 (39%) |
| SAT Math | 533–670 | |
| ACT Composite | 24–30 | 75 (9%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Calvin University →Academics
A 74% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. Retention is strong at 87%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. A 16% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. At 13:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,921 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $25,231 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Net price varies modestly by income — $19,281 at $0–30k against $26,713 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 96% of students get grant aid averaging $26,748, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. About 35% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 725 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $19,281 |
| $30–48k | $18,330 |
| $48–75k | $19,447 |
| $75–110k | $21,128 |
| $110k+ | $26,713 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,020 of these 2,921 students, totalling $6,648,485 — an average of $6,518 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Kent County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)