College Tour: Covenant College

This summer, my family and I visited seven small, private colleges, most of which were Christian. In this post, I want to walk you through our tour of Covenant College.  

The Basics 

First, Covenant is a very small, private Christian college, located on top of Lookout Mountain on the border of Georgia and Tennessee. They are affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), and they are the official college of the PCA. There are a little over 800 total undergraduate students on campus, with an 11:1 student-to-faculty ratio.  

The Christian Aspect 

Covenant’s motto is “In all things, Christ preeminent”. From what I could tell during our visit, they seem very committed to their Christian faith. Covenant’s chapel meets every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning at 11:00 am. During this time they do not hold any classes. Students are required to attend at least 80% of the chapel meetings, allowing for some time to be sick or to study. Covenant is also a covenantal school, so all faculty and all students are required to sign a statement of faith at Covenant.  

Covenant Dining Hall

Academics 

Covenant has about 22 departments, each having at least one (usually more) major and minor. For instance, the Business Department offers a general business degree, as well as business with accounting concentration, finance concentration, marketing concentration, or sports management. It also offers two minors: business and sports management. Covenant also offers a variety of academic certifications. They accept CLEP and AP credits, as well as dual enrollment. The only classes that are guaranteed not to transfer are the Christian core classes, such as Old and New Testament, Doctrine, Cultural Heritage of the West, and Christ and Culture.  

Student Life 

Covenant offers seven men’s and seven women’s sports in the NCAA Division III, and they are known as the Scots. They also seem to have a wide variety of dorm and campus events for students to participate in on the weekends and in the evenings. All students are required to live on campus until their senior year. The school has a couple of different styles of dorm rooms. The style we saw on tour included a three-person room with a study room and bathroom adjoined. I believe the more common option for that style was two bedrooms with two students each joined by the study room and shared bathroom. Covenant also requires all freshman students to opt for the unlimited meal plan that offers 99 swipes per day. There is free tutoring for all students. Covenant’s professors also have an open-door policy. There are study rooms outside the professors’ offices. If you are struggling with a concept or have a question, you can walk into the office and ask your professor.  

Study Room in an example Dorm

Scholarships and Admissions 

Covenant offers merit scholarships, institutional grants, competitive scholarships, need-based grants, and government aid. Their merit scholarships are based on GPA and test scores while their competitive scholarships also require a separate application and may or may not consider test scores. Covenant accepts ACT, SAT, and CLT scores, and it is very homeschool-friendly. The merit scholarships range from $10,000 (the Tartan scholarship with an average ACT requirement of 20) to $20,000 (the Trustees’ Scholarship with an average ACT requirement of 33). When you complete your application to the college, you are automatically taken into consideration for a merit scholarship. However, to be considered for competitive scholarships, you must complete a scholarship application after applying to the college. If you are chosen as a finalist for the Maclellan Scholars Program, the Presidential Scholarship, or the Visual Arts and Theatre Scholarships, you will be invited to compete in the Scholarship Weekend. The Maclellan Scholars Program is full-tuition and has GPA and test score requirements (3.85 GPA and 28 ACT). Covenant also offers a competitive scholarship based on hometown (Wilberforce Scholars Program), as well as music scholarships (these require an audition). The average cost of tuition for a full-time, traditional, on-campus student (including room and board and the student fee) is about $50,548 per year. However, the average cost after aid (not including loans) is $24,305. 

I had a great experience while visiting Covenant. The staff we met with were very friendly, and the campus was beautiful. I loved how committed they seemed to be to their Christian faith. After I got home, I even received a handwritten note from our tour guide to follow up our visit, which was a very thoughtful, personalized touch.  

This post is not a comprehensive guide to Covenant College, but I hope this overview helped you in your college search!