Fairfield Univ vs. Providence College? How are they different?

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Thanks in advance if you have some familiarity with these two schools. Our son got accepted to both for Fall 2026. We’re aware of the many ways these two schools and their students are similar. But what are some ways in which they’re clearly different (other than one is Jesuit/progressive and one Dominican/traditional), to help us with this choice?

More context: He plans to study business, has gone to Catholic schools for 12 years because of the community service focus, and doesn’t care about frats (or lack thereof) or certain sports (because he won’t be playing any of them). He will be moving thousands of miles from home to attend either school, something he specifically sought out, and is equally happy to live and work in Boston or NYC after graduation.

Is one of these two campuses known to be more “cliquey” then the other, given that many of these kids understandably arrive on campus knowing others from, say, their suburban hometown in New England and NY? He’ll arrive knowing no one on campus or in the area, so the more friendly and genuinely welcoming campus helps tip the scales. Someone at one of these schools said, “I have never had this much difficulty making friends in my life, as I like to meet new people, am outgoing, and kind to everyone.”

What would you want a family know about the location of the two schools? A student at Providence said the nearby area “everyone knows is a bit sketchy” (to be fair, people say the same of the Univ of Southern Calif that has a 90% rejection rate) A student at Fairfield said the “seniors living at the beach” dynamic is over hyped because limited access and the parties are exclusive, etc.

Is one of these two schools considered to be more rigorous or prestigious than the other? Admit rates for Fairfield for some reason seem to have changed a lot in the past few years (Why is that that? Maybe recruiting more nationally instead of just regionally?) Given that the cost for either school is comparable to, say, Villanova but without the cachet thereof, which school is more apt to be described by parents or kids post-graduation as “worth every penny”?

If you’re not excited about getting drunk Thurs-Sat nights, which campus setting is more apt to have a lot of great things for you to do on those weekend nights instead of sitting alone in your dorm room?

Which of the school’s current student body considered to be marginally more conservative or liberal than the other school? If so, how so? What are some examples of how that is evident in the day to day?

Appreciate any first-hand perspective you can offer on this.

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You might read Niche comments. They have 88 surveys for Fairfield and the top 3 comments are -

  1. White, smart, rich, good looking, friendly
  2. White, clean cut, well off,smart, athletic, fun
  3. White, wealthy, cliquey

Per the CDS, it’s 78% white p is 79%.

In niche, they say about P in 76 responses

  1. Preppy rich kids but friendly
  2. Kind, genuine
  3. Preppy, rich private school kids

If you get no feedback here, have the school set your student up with a student admissions ambassador that he can talk to.

Finally, your student will find employment where they apply. That’s how it works in the era of the internet. My SEC kid is out West. My Charleston kid took a job in Denver.

Here is some career info for each but you can ask for updated reports or in the case of Fairfield a complete report.

I hope someone can give you the direct info you are looking for but I recommend your student talk to a student ambassador or they can set you up with someone in the major of interest so they can learn first hand.

Good luck.

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I can speak a bit about Fairfield. The town of Fairfield is great—I lived there for ten years and loved living there. The beach, Fairfield Center, and being close to NYC by train were all aspects I loved. Fairfield’s campus is gorgeous and they’ve made a lot of renovations in recent years. It is definitely a school that’s ascending and becoming more selective. Every once in a while, the men’s and women’s basketball teams are good and the lacrosse teams are usually good, but I wouldn’t describe it as a big sports school (there’s no football team). I can’t speak much about social life at Fairfield since everyone I know who went there graduated a long time ago. It would be accessible by train to the NYC airports (the train is close to campus) or a drive from Westchester airport which is a nice small airport.

We toured Providence two years ago and I was impressed by the school spirit. It was a basketball game day and we could see everyone getting on the busses to go to the game. Everyone I know of who has gone there, like Fairfield, has seemed to have enjoyed their time there—I think both schools have a loyal alumni base.

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Can you visit the two schools?

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Visiting would be great if possible.

A gross generalization- a kid can have fun with less money at Providence than at Fairfield. And not just because the kids seem to come from less affluent homes– although that’s my impression. But also because Providence is a real city with a wide range of residents at all income levels, and Fairfield is a VERY upscale suburb. Other than the section of Fairfield which borders Bridgeport (a diverse city with a large low-income population) the stores and restaurants in Fairfield are targeted to affluent suburbanites and wealthy students. And telling students “you can just take the train to NY for your social life” which is easy to do from Fairfield and harder to do from Providence just suggests that the affluent live lives different than other people. Yes, there are free and cheap things to do in NYC but once you’ve spent $25-$35 on the train from Fairfield, round trip, you’ve wacked into your “fun money” pretty quickly.

I think talking with a couple of students will help if you can’t visit?

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People I know who have gone to Fairfield have been raised Catholic, but could not give one hoot that it was a Jesuit/Catholic school and only care about its business school and proximity to NYC FWIW. They basically are like, “I will it suck it up.” and take the 1-2 “religion” courses. If your kid is looking for more of a religious vibe, I think Providence may be more their place. This is obviously an anecdote, but I do know several recent grads, and my kid seriously considered applying recently. We visited (aren’t Catholic) and my kid from a not hugely diverse wealthy suburb thought Fairfield students all looked the same and was turned off by it :person_shrugging: . Mainly as they were all DRESSED the same…They were like all the girls look identical which is not the case at their own HS. YMMV

I also have a close relative who is a Fairfield grad (from a while ago) who had a great experience, so I’m not trying to make it sound awful it at all, especially the education - seemed amazing. It is a specific vibe IMO though.

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Incredibly helpful and kind of you to share these thoughts and links. Much appreciated.

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Thanks for making the time to share this input!

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Great perspective and appreciate you helping us!

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Good to know and lots to consider, thank you for chiming in here!

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Three members of my immediate family (2 daughters and a son-in-law) went to Providence and I have a friend who is faculty at Fairfield. I live about half way between the two and am very familiar with the 2 campuses and their surrounding areas. I will address your questions one at a time.

Cliquey? Both schools are very much regional schools, drawing their student bodies from the same Boston-New Jersey corridor. I can only comment on Providence in this regard from personal, albeit 2nd hand, experience. Kids absolutely love their 4 years at Providence. Hate to leave. At the end of 4 years, when it was time to pack up and leave, kids were in tears, absolutely sobbing. It is a very friendly campus. Even though we’re only a couple of hours away in the next state and coming from a public high school in a small town, neither of my daughters knew anyone else before they got there and neither had any trouble making friends. Having said that, there were definitely groups who came from big Catholic high schools in the Boston area where the kids knew each other from high school. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they liked each other; it just means that they had histories and some prior friendships. I would expect that it would be similar at Fairfield but a little more slanted toward New York than Boston. Neither campus is especially liberal nor extremely conservative.

With regard to the immediate area around the colleges, the sketchy area near PC is a non-issue. In fact one of my daughters worked in an after school community rec center in that neighborhood during her junior year. It was never an issue in terms of safety. On the other side of campus is a lovely residential neighborhood. A street bisects the PC a campus although traffic has been limited there with recent upgrades. The student population sprawls out into the neighborhood as most students live off campus in junior year. Eaton Street is almost like a continuation of the campus with so many off campus apartments. The campus itself is lovely and nicely landscaped with a number of newer additions. Fairfield is a beautiful, self-contained campus (about 200 acres) with about twice the acreage of PC (about 100 acres). Spacious but also longer walks to get around campus. It sits in a beautiful residential area in a town that would be considered suburban and affluent. There is more to do in Providence, which is a city in its own right and in fact the capital city. It has a vibrant downtown area and interesting neighborhoods. Brown Univerity and neighboring Rhode Island School of Design sit on the East Side and PC kids will go over there sometimes because it’s an interesting neighborhood, places to eat, and more college kids. The Providence River runs through the heart of the city and has become something of a tourist attraction with the introduction of “water Fire” festivities during the warmer months. There are also the . The city sits on Narragansett Bay which has its own attractions. The Providence Pavilion indoor mall is in the city and Amica Mutual Pavilion (Civic Center) hosts sports and concerts. Big East basketball is big time. Ocean beaches, Newport, and Boston are all additional attractions which take longer to get to but are within reach. TF Green Airport makes it an easy place to fly in and out of. Fairfield has lots of the same but on a smaller scale. There is live music but you have to know where to look for it. There is a smaller arena with smaller events. New Haven, Yale, and New York are within reach but farther away. Less of the ethnic neighborhoods which make Providence attractive. But the other students are from the region and will know how to get around and to get to places. There is commuter rail to take you to either New Haven or NYC and that’s cheaper than Amtrak. At Fairfield beaches for swimming are closer. There are some nice biking trails.

My friend who teaches at Fairfield says that the reason for the increased selectivity at Fairfield is the Business School. The university has invested in it and emphasizes it. The proximity to NYC offers access for those who see themselves headed in that direction and Fairfield County itself has its own share of corporate headquarters - especially in Stamford & Greenwich. Providence also has many students who are interested in business and go on to successful careers from there. There is access to the business community in Providence itself and Boston is within reach, actually a little closer than NYC is to Fairfield. Both schools have their own alumni networks. 47% of last year’s graduating class at Fairfield were business majors. 43% of those at PC were business majors, so at both schools that’s where the action is. I don’t know that either is more prestigious, but if I were picking a school strictly for its business program and without a preference for NY or Boston, I would pick Fairfield. They’re a little bigger, so the business school is a little bigger and they offer a few more majors. Both offer the basic accounting, management, marketing, and finance majors, but Fairfield also offers Business Analytics, Quantitative Economics, a straight Economics major in the business school, International Business, and a Sport Management minor. Having said that, these two schools are more alike than they are different. And if I were to choose based on where there was more to do, I’d probably choose Providence although it’s not like Fairfield is lacking for things to do. I think if I were to pick based on ease of travel from the West Coast, I’d pick Providence although that probably involves connecting flights. Direct flights are probably only into Boston. Fairfield involves a flight into NYC and then NY traffic to get to the college although there might be access through Tweed Airport in New Haven or a Westchester County Airport. Some people in Fairfield even fly in and out of Bradley Airport north of Hartford to avoid NY and lower Fairfield County traffic, which is gruesome.

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Wow, this is exactly the kind of compare/contrast I was looking for, thank you very much!

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I hope it helps. I’ll be happy to answer any additional questions either here on the forum or on private message.

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