<p>How "religious" are these two schools, and would they be comparable? Would the student body differ much from one school to the other? Grand Rapids vs Holland? Any other insights would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Anyone??????</p>
<p>Holland is more conservative than GR. For example, cutting the lawn on Sunday is not common in Holland. GR is still pretty conservative by Michigan standards, but less so than Holland. That said, both are wonderful places. Neither has a stifling religious climate ... it's more just the way things have always been. </p>
<p>I know kids who have gone to both schools. There is not much partying at either school (although I am sure those who want a party will find one). I know Methodists & Catholics who have attended both schools, and they weren't turned off by the religious atmosphere. </p>
<p>GR has Grand Valley State, which is a large, fun school. Holland is a bit more removed from the action (but has beautiful Lake Michigan's shore!). I don't think the student body is much different between the two schools, although I think I would give the nod to Hope for academics (just my opinion, though). Take a look at the OOS population for each school ... you might be able to get an idea of how many kids stick around on weekends by that figure. More OOS often means more kids on campus on weekends & more things to do as a result.</p>
<p>Very limited knowledge - but I know 2 people from Calvin who moved on to music degrees at North Texas. Neither seems to have abandoned her roots.</p>
<p>My parents are Calvin alums, and several of my aunts / uncles / cousins attended Calvin and Hope, so I'll see what little tidbits I can provide.</p>
<p>Calvin and Hope are both of the Christian Reformed faith, and if you aren't Christian Reformed Dutch, you might feel a little odd on campus. That said, the campus has gotten more diverse over the years in that there are more denominations of Christianity on campus these days. From what I've heard, Hope is more liberal than Calvin, although both have students that span from liberal to conservative in views. Overall, given the religious focus and area of the country (Western Michigan is very conservative overall), both schools are more conservative than a typical four-year college.</p>
<p>Calvin and Hope are both strong intellectual institutions that are willing to give a chance to less-than-exceptional students who are committed to a college education and the Christian faith. Their acceptance rates are deceptive (Calvin accepts something like 99% of students, Hope I believe is 85%); the quality of education is much higher than those statistics would suggest. Both my parents felt they got a great education at Calvin. After Calvin, my mom went on to a top-10 law school, and my dad attended a top-ranked IR program. One difference between Calvin (and presumably Hope?) is that religion is a large part of everyday intellectual teachings in the classroom, not just the religion department. My grandfather is a retired professor of philosophy at Calvin, and his classes always had a strong Christian / religious bent.</p>
<p>As for Grand Rapids vs. Holland, Holland is a small town and Grand Rapids is a small to medium sized city. Holland is heavily Dutch and retains a quaint, Dutch cultural feel, with a lot of windmills, Dutch candy, and a Tulip festival and parade every May. Pretty much everything closes down on Sundays. Grand Rapids still has some of the Dutch cultural influence, but it has more of a city feel - less of the quaintness, more of the typical things you find in a city. Holland and Grand Rapids are relatively near Lake Michigan for a fun day trip.</p>
<p>Calvin and Hope are similar schools, but I've always gotten the impression they have some key differences - for one, Calvin is Christian Reformed and Hope is Reformed. I'd visit both and see which you like better, since they're close together and can be visited in one weekend. No matter which you prefer, the Calvin vs. Hope sports rivalry is huge!</p>
<p>My husband is a Calvin grad, and has served on their alum board. S, 20, considered applying to Calvin, so visited it. </p>
<p>Calvin is less conservative than is Hope, In fact, Calvin is considered among the most liberal of the Christian colleges. There are, for instance, some Christian colleges in which dancing isn't allowed. </p>
<p>However, when S -- who has not affiliated with any religion -- visited it, he said that it was too religious for him in that the fact that it is a Christian college was evident, and he preferred going to a place that was secular.</p>
<p>Many in my husband's family went or go to Calvin as well as Dordt in Sioux Center, Iowa and are successul. They are all Dutch. As mentioned in a previous post, Calvin is a Christian Reformed College and very "Dutch." </p>
<p>I am not Dutch and was not raised in that church and feel very "out of it" when we visit family and friends on that side. They all seem very homogeneous to me. Neither of my DDs even considered either one. We didn't raise them in the "Dutch" ways. All of the other nieces and nephews who went to college chose one of the two above.</p>
<p>If your child is a conservative Christian and wants an education with a strong Christian foundation then one of these schools might be the one. Calvin does have a good reputation as a liberal arts college.</p>
<p>It appears that professors at Calvin College are required to belong to a Christian Reformed Church. This past year, Denise Isom, a popular African-American faculty member at Calvin, was unable to obtain a waiver of this requirement in order to continue to worship at the Messiah Missionary Baptist Church in Grand Rapids. The local CRC churches do not seem to have truly multi-cultural congregations. I can't recall where I first read this--might have been the Chronicle of Higher Education. It's easily found on the net, or in the Grand Rapids press.</p>
<p>I can't give a general picture of Hope College, but I can comment on chemistry there, which tends to be strong. Back when the National Science Foundation had a Presidential Young Investigators' program (now transformed into CAREER awards), I served on an evaluation and selection committee for chemistry. The NSF program officers commented that there were as many Hope graduates among the strong nominees as there were graduates of schools that considerably outranked Hope. Hope has a good track record of undergraduate publication in chemistry, and a number of their students have gone on to Ph.D. programs at top 5 schools. Although one of the chief "engineers" of Hope's success in undergraduate chemistry, Michael Doyle, moved to Texas, I think the department is continuing to do well.</p>
<p>Didn't go there & prefer large universities to smaller schools, but if someone were looking for a good small college chemistry department, I'd mention Hope.</p>
<p>A conservative religious student would find plenty to be comfortable with on either campus. Hope is definately more liberal than Calvin though. Professors aren't required to be Christian and there is at least a superficial nod to attempting to promote religious diversity. Hope is a more competitive school and is especially strong in the sciences and in premed. They have good labs and facilities. </p>
<p>West Michigan is pretty with lots of nice shore line. As far as cities Grand Rapids is obviously bigger and would offer more culturally. Holland has a cute and thriving downtown and plenty of the suburban sprawl of chain restaurants, etc. like everywhere else does now. I'd keep in mind though they are half an hour apart so students can always travel to the other twon.</p>
<p>Wait, which is in Holland, Hope or Calvin? And which is on the shores of Lake Michigan?</p>
<p>Calvin is in Grand Rapids.</p>
<p>Hope is in Holland, which is on the shore of Lake Michigan.</p>
<p>I was in Holland last week for a few hours. Holland State Park, on Lake Michigan, has a good beach, a lighthouse, and a pier. Holland has a nice downtown - we ate at the New Holland Brewery. Hope is very close to downtown, although we did not visit it. I got a good impression of the area, although it was July and sunny :)</p>
<p>In general, the perception is that Calvin is more conservative than Hope. For a long time, Calvin could be said to be a Christian college and Hope was perceived more as a college closely affiliated with a Christian denomination.</p>
<p>Calvin is associated with the Christian Reformed Church; Hope is affiliated with the Reformed Church of America.
Hope has changed a lot in the last 10 years. The leadership has steered it more to the Christian college model, though independent thought is tolerated among the faculty.</p>
<p>While much of what has been said about Holland in the posts above was true 20 years ago, the influx of many immigrants and out-of-town business people has changed Holland significantly. However, Holland has a small-town feel and Grand Rapids is the second largest city in Michigan.</p>
<p>I hope this helps.</p>
<p>Thanks for everyone's input, it seems like they are probably similar. My D, while a fairly straight arrow, is not affiliated with either church, and I would consider her a passive Christian. She would benefit from a nurturing academic environment, but I don't know how she would handle one where a specific religion was pushed down her throat. That's my concern. The rest of the schools seem like a very good fit for her. Is the religion enough to be a deal breaker is my question.</p>
<p>father05, feel free to PM</p>
<p>this may be helpful
Hope</a> College | Colleges That Change Lives</p>