He is a notable alumnus of the University of Orléans

One of the interesting facts about John Calvin is that he is a notable alumnus of the University of Orléans. On July 10, 1509, John Calvin was born as Jehan Cauvin in Noyon, Picardy, a province of the Kingdom of France. He was the second of three sons to survive childhood. Jeanne le Franc, his mother, was the daughter of a Cambrai innkeeper. She died of an unknown cause when Calvin was a child, after having given birth to four more children. Gérard Cauvin, Calvin's father, was a successful cathedral notary and registrar to the ecclesiastical court. Gérard wanted his three sons (Charles, Jean, and Antoine) to become priests.

Calvin was a particularly bright young man. By the age of 12, he had been hired as a clerk by the bishop and had received the tonsure, which involved cutting his hair to symbolize his devotion to the Church. He also gained the support of the Montmors, a powerful family. Calvin was able to attend the Collège de la Marche in Paris thanks to their assistance, where he learned Latin from one of the school's greatest teachers, Mathurin Cordier. After finishing the course, he enrolled as a philosophy student at the Collège de Montaigu.

Gérard withdrew his son from the Collège de Montaigu in 1525 or 1526 and enrolled him in the University of Orléans to study law. Gérard believed that Calvin would make more money as a lawyer than as a priest, according to contemporary biographers Theodore Beza and Nicolas Colladon. Calvin enrolled at the University of Bourges in 1529 after a few years of quiet study. Andreas Alciati, a humanist lawyer, piqued his interest. Humanism was an intellectual movement in Europe that emphasized classical studies. Calvin learned Koine Greek during his 18-month stay in Bourges, which was necessary for studying the New Testament.