Quad

Head-to-head

Fairfield
U. Tampa

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    Fairfield grads earn $29.4K more ten years out than U. Tampa's ($88,794 vs. $59,436)

    Median earnings, 10 yrs
  2. 2

    Fairfield graduates 19 pts more of its students than U. Tampa (84% vs. 64%)

    Graduation rate
  3. 3

    U. Tampa costs about $14.4K less per year on average than Fairfield ($37,326 vs. $51,728, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  4. 4

    U. Tampa is more diverse (index 0.48 vs. 0.36)

    Diversity index
  5. 5

    U. Tampa has 2.0× as many undergrads as Fairfield

    Undergrads
  6. 6

    U. Tampa has 9 pts more first-gen students than Fairfield (25% vs. 17%)

    First-generation students

The shape of each school

Each axis is a national rank among 4-year colleges; further out = more of it.

SelectivityTest scoresSizePell shareFirst-genDiversity

Hollow dots at the center mean that measure isn't reported.

Who's hardest to get into

Fairfield admits 33%, U. Tampa 40%; Fairfield's yield is higher, at 24%.

Acceptance rate
Fairfield33%
U. Tampa40%
Quad's selectivity
  • FairfieldVery selective
  • U. TampaVery selective
SAT middle 50%Axis 1200–1600
Fairfield
1260–1390
U. TampaTest-blind
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • FairfieldRigor and GPA very important54%
  • U. TampaGPA, school record, and prep program required

Who's on each campus

U. Tampa is twice Fairfield's size and has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
Fairfield5.4K
U. Tampa10.6K
Pell Grant share
Fairfield7%
U. Tampa15%

Majors and faculty

Finance leads at both; Fairfield has 12 students per faculty member to U. Tampa's 17.

Students per faculty member
Fairfield12 to 1
U. Tampa17 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • FairfieldFinance, General18%
  • U. TampaFinance, General10%

What each costs

U. Tampa costs about $14.4K less a year than Fairfield on average; Fairfield's grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
Fairfield$51.7K
U. Tampa$37.3K
Aid generosity
Fairfield33%
U. Tampa28%

What each pays off

Fairfield's former students earn more, a median $88.8K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 60% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
Fairfield$88.8K
U. Tampa$59.4K
Graduation rate
Fairfield84%
U. Tampa64%

How each has changed

Applications grew at both; both got more selective.

Applications, 10-year change
  • FairfieldGrowing+86%
  • U. TampaGrowing+121%
All the numbersEvery figure for these colleges in one table, with differences highlighted.
Sources for this comparisonEvery dataset and year behind the numbers in this comparison; tap any ⓘ for one number's source

Sources:IPEDS Admissions survey, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, most recent release;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2023–24;IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, 2023–24;Fairfield University Common Data Set 2022–23, Fall 2022;College Scorecard, Entered fall 2023;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (part D), Fall 2024;IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2024–25 graduates;College Scorecard, 2023–24;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)

Figures are the newest each college has published; years can differ between colleges. Each value's ⓘ shows its source and year. Why