Quad

Head-to-head

Providence
Fairfield

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    Providence has 7 pts more Pell recipients than Fairfield (13% vs. 7%)

    Pell Grant recipients
  2. 2

    Fairfield is 1.5× more selective than Providence

    Acceptance rate
  3. 3

    Fairfield's yield is 5 pts higher than Providence's

    Yield rate
  4. 4

    Fairfield is a bit larger (5,373 vs. 4,229)

    Undergrads
  5. 5

    Fairfield costs about $2.4K less per year on average than Providence ($51,728 vs. $54,092, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  6. 6

    Fairfield has 2 pts more first-gen students than Providence (17% vs. 15%)

    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

Who's hardest to get into

Fairfield admits 33%, Providence 51%; Fairfield's yield is higher, at 24%.

Acceptance rate
Providence51%
Fairfield33%
Quad's selectivity
  • ProvidenceVery selective
  • FairfieldVery selective
SAT middle 50%Axis 1100–1600
Providence
1250–1390
Fairfield
1260–1390
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • ProvidenceGPA, school record, and prep program required
  • FairfieldRigor and GPA very important54%

Who's on each campus

Fairfield is a bit larger than Providence (5,373 vs. 4,229 undergrads); Providence has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
Providence4.2K
Fairfield5.4K
Pell Grant share
Providence13%
Fairfield7%

Majors and faculty

Finance leads at both; Providence has 11 students per faculty member to Fairfield's 12.

Students per faculty member
Providence11 to 1
Fairfield12 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • ProvidenceFinance, General17%
  • FairfieldFinance, General18%

What each costs

Fairfield costs about $2.4K less a year than Providence on average; grants cover the same share of the price at both, 33%.

Average cost, all students
Providence$54.1K
Fairfield$51.7K
Aid generosity
Providence33%
Fairfield33%

What each pays off

Fairfield's former students earn more, a median $88.8K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 80% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
Providence$87.1K
Fairfield$88.8K
Graduation rate
Providence86%
Fairfield84%

How each has changed

Applications grew at both; both got more selective.

Applications, 10-year change
  • ProvidenceGrowing+39%
  • FairfieldGrowing+86%
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;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 2018;Fairfield University Common Data Set 2022–23, Fall 2022About 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