Quad

Head-to-head

St. Mary's
Fairleigh Dickinson

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    St. Mary's costs about $5.3K less per year on average than Fairleigh Dickinson ($24,950 vs. $30,276, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  2. 2

    Fairleigh Dickinson graduates 6 pts more of its students than St. Mary's (64% vs. 58%)

    Graduation rate
  3. 3

    Fairleigh Dickinson is more diverse (index 0.68 vs. 0.64)

    Diversity index
  4. 4

    St. Mary's's grants cover 52% of its full price on average, vs. 48% at Fairleigh Dickinson

    Aid generosity
  5. 5

    Fairleigh Dickinson has 4 pts more first-gen students than St. Mary's (43% vs. 39%)

    First-generation students
  6. 6

    St. Mary's has 2 pts more Pell recipients than Fairleigh Dickinson (39% vs. 36%)

    Pell Grant recipients

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

Fairleigh Dickinson admits 95%, St. Mary's 98%; St. Mary's's yield is higher, at 13%.

Acceptance rate
St. Mary's98%
Fairleigh Dickinson95%
Quad's selectivity
  • St. Mary'sOpen
  • Fairleigh DickinsonOpen
SAT middle 50%Axis 800–1600
St. Mary's
900–1310
Fairleigh DickinsonNot reported
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • St. Mary'sGPA and school record required
  • Fairleigh DickinsonGPA, school record, and prep program required

Who's on each campus

St. Mary's and Fairleigh Dickinson are about the same size; St. Mary's has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
St. Mary's2K
Fairleigh Dickinson2K
Pell Grant share
St. Mary's39%
Fairleigh Dickinson36%

Majors and faculty

Business Administration and Management leads at St. Mary's, and Psychology at Fairleigh Dickinson; both have 11 students per faculty member.

Students per faculty member
St. Mary's11 to 1
Fairleigh Dickinson11 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • St. Mary'sBusiness Administration and Management, General9%
  • Fairleigh DickinsonPsychology, General14%

What each costs

St. Mary's costs about $5.3K less a year than Fairleigh Dickinson on average, and its grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
St. Mary's$25K
Fairleigh Dickinson$30.3K
Aid generosity
St. Mary's52%
Fairleigh Dickinson48%

What each pays off

Fairleigh Dickinson's former students earn more, a median $57.3K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 50% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
St. Mary's$57K
Fairleigh Dickinson$57.3K
Graduation rate
St. Mary's58%
Fairleigh Dickinson64%

How each has changed

Applications grew at both; both got less selective.

Applications, 10-year change
  • St. Mary'sGrowing+10%
  • Fairleigh DickinsonGrowing+48%
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 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