Fairfield University

For Fall 2025, 21,299 first-year students applied to Fairfield, 5,336 were admitted and 1,513 enrolled: an acceptance rate of 25.1%.

Source: Fairfield Common Data Set 2025-2026 (opens in a new tab), section C1. Read Oct 1, 2026.

By residency, first-year applicants, Fall 2025

Source: Fairfield Common Data Set 2025-2026 (opens in a new tab), section C1, residency table. Read Oct 1, 2026.

By school or major. Fairfield's Common Data Set reports one first-year acceptance rate for the whole university, with no rate by school or major.

Source: Fairfield Common Data Set 2025-2026 (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.

Early decision. The Common Data Set reports Early Decision I and II together. Fairfield also has a nonbinding early action plan, for which it gives no counts.

Early decision, Fall 2025

Source: Fairfield Common Data Set 2025-2026 (opens in a new tab), sections C21 and C22. Read Oct 1, 2026.

For students applying in fall 2026, entering fall 2027

You apply to Fairfield as a whole, through the Common App. The catalog asks for some subject preparation:

• Nursing. Candidates for nursing must have one high school laboratory course in chemistry.
• Math, engineering, business and the sciences. Candidates are urged to take a fourth unit of lab science and of math, preferably precalculus or calculus.

Source: Fairfield Undergraduate Catalog 2026-2027, Admission (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.

56 majors across 5 schools. Every bachelor's major in Fairfield's official 2026-2027 Academic Catalog, by college or school. Minors, certificates, five-year bachelor's/master's programs and graduate programs are left out.

For students applying in fall 2026, entering fall 2027

The FAFSA and CSS Profile are due December 1 for Early Action and Early Decision I, and January 15 for Early Decision II and Regular Decision. Your counselor's transcript, school report and recommendation are accepted up to two weeks after the deadline. The application fee is $65. You can switch from Early Action to Early Decision I until December 1, and from a deferred Early Action or a Regular Decision application to Early Decision II until January 27.

Source: Fairfield Admission, First-Year Applicants (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.

Early Decision I and II are binding: if you are admitted, you withdraw all other college applications and confirm that you will attend Fairfield. Switching to Early Decision means sending Fairfield an Early Decision agreement form.

Source: Fairfield Admission, First-Year Applicants (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.

For students applying in fall 2026, entering fall 2027

Fairfield does not require the SAT or ACT, and students who do not send scores have the same opportunities for admission and merit scholarships. If you want scores considered, you can self-report them on the Common App, add them in your applicant portal, or have them sent by the testing agency; students who enroll send an official report. Homeschooled applicants must still send SAT or ACT results.

Source: Fairfield Admission, First-Year Applicants (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.

The Common Data Set also marks the SAT or ACT as considered if submitted, not required, for fall 2027 applicants, with scores due by January 15.

Source: Fairfield Common Data Set 2025-2026 (opens in a new tab), section C8. Read Oct 1, 2026.

For students applying in fall 2027, entering fall 2028

Not announced yet. When we checked Fairfield's admission pages on October 1, 2026, we found no announced changes for fall 2028 entry. The deadlines and rules above are for fall 2027 entry.

Source: Fairfield Admission, First-Year Applicants (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.

The published cost of a year at Fairfield, 2026-2027:

Fairfield's estimated cost of attendance for a first-year student living on campus. Housing is the average on-campus rate and food is a three-meals-a-day plan. All full-time undergraduates must also carry health insurance, which is not in the total.

Source: Fairfield Tuition and Costs, Undergraduate Tuition (2026-27) (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.

Average net price per year, by family income, 2023-24:

What first-year, full-time students who received federal aid paid after grants and scholarships, by family income, in 2023-24, the latest year the Department of Education publishes. Your own price comes from Fairfield's aid offer.

Source: College Scorecard, U.S. Department of Education (opens in a new tab). Read Oct 1, 2026.

Chosen for how close each is to Fairfield University on acceptance rate, public or private, location and majors offered.

• Skidmore CollegeSaratoga Springs, NY · Private23.8% admitted$32,297 average net price
• Spelman CollegeAtlanta, GA · Private23.8% admitted$38,967 average net price
• University of RichmondRichmond, VA · Private22.2% admitted$31,309 average net price
• Villanova UniversityVillanova, PA · Private28.1% admitted$43,756 average net price
• Macalester CollegeSaint Paul, MN · Private28.1% admitted$32,149 average net price

Admitted: each school's latest first-year acceptance rate, so the year can differ from school to school; each school's page names its year and source. Average net price: what federal aid recipients paid per year after grants, 2023-24, and the in-state figure for a public university.