A Review of Fairfield University

You're probably thinking: who are you to review Fairfield University?

Well, I am currently a freshman at the university, which is situated in Fairfield, CT, and I just want to give you a short look at what it's like to be at the school. I'm not going to completely bash everything that FU stands for, but I'm not going to sugarcoat reality either. I will try to put down any common misconceptions and give you the truth about FU.

I will discuss four aspects of Fairfield University and those include student community, student life, academics and financial aid--all of which I feel are extremely important in understanding the college.

So, before I came to Fairfield, the things that I heard about the students here were less than attractive. I heard that all students were rich, preppy and snobby kids whose dads paid for everything they wanted. I expected complete "gossip girls" with brand names worn from head to toe and eye-aching "bling" attached to all visible body parts.

Well, there are people who like to possess material items like that, but in general, the clothing that is worn by students here is probably what you would find at the mall, supermarket or any other college campus in the United States. It's the imagination that creates such fictional characterizations for students at Fairfield.

As for the students' personalities, all I can say is that you will meet the good and the bad. I was lucky enough to find a group of friends with similar taste in music and life ambitions.

There's just one thing that is a bit funny to look at and can also be the butt of some student jokes here: the diversity. According to Fairfield University's facts for undergraduate admissions, the student community consists of 19 percent of African American, Hispanic, Asian and Native Students. The school has a goal to attract more diversity, and I am all for it. But I feel like adding diversity to a community that is predominantly Caucasian can, in fact, alienate minority students. It's not that bad here, though. Everyone mixes well somehow, but I still see the African American students hanging around each other more at lunch or the Asians always crowding around their corner.

Fairfield U is about one hour and a half away from NYC by train, and it’s easy to get on the campus shuttle to the train station. If you ever feel like you want to get off-campus, there are options of taxi and Hertz cars.

Fairly often, students party on campus, and boy, do they party. The Department of Public Safety on campus, bless them, works hard and around the clock to make sure the students don’t get too far out of hand. But sometimes, they can’t always catch the drinkers.

It’s common knowledge that drinking is a popular activity on campus. All students and professors silently accept that fact; you won’t hear any berating about alcohol usage at Fairfield. Some people are careful with the games; others are loud and proud. The good thing is that choosing to drink is an individual’s call.

Fairfield has two popular town centers for recreational shopping and dining: Blackrock Turnpike and Fairfield Center. They're small, but they both have places where you can stock up on food and clothing. Marshall's and Stop & Shop are the typical destinations for students. I personally can’t complain about the shopping options.

Fairfield University Student Association (FUSA) comes up with events that try and attract student interest. Sometimes the organization, whose responsibility is to get students involved with university activities, creates great ideas that gather a good crowd. Most recently, FUSA has been getting bad reviews from students. I feel bad because at heart, FUSA consists of students who are placed in a position of authority and consequences. While I don't criticize FUSA too much, I know other students who would feel be more happy without FUSA.

There are plenty of clubs to be found on campus. A list can be found here. Just rest assured: there's no limit to the activities that you can explore here.

Why choose to go to Fairfield University rather than an Ivy university?

I can't answer that, because I never wanted to go to an Ivy university.

But I can tell you: if you're looking at numbers, it's pretty easy. Basically, if you want a school whose faculty that holds the highest degree in their field is 94 percent, who offers 35 different majors and has 36 graduate programs, go to Fairfield.

The educators I've experienced so far are above average--most definitely better than high school teachers. In general, they've been excellent speakers and offer accessible office hours. I'm not the type to go to office hours, but from what I hear, many professors are completely helpful. Yes, I've heard of the boring, useless kind of professors, but you get that everywhere. I believe that Fairfield U has a great team of professors who honestly care about their students' futures.

The student-teacher ratio is 13:1 which is less than what most high school classes have. Now, as for getting the teacher's attention in class, in my experience, it's best to actually make an effort to participate. The professor notices someone who speaks constantly in discussion and contributes his or her best effort in class. If you can present yourself orally, then you'll do fine at Fairfield U.

Connected to academics is the career planning center. They have an excellent track record in getting students into the fields that they major and/or are interested in. The percent of students holding internships nationally and locally at this time is 42 percent. Not bad, right?

Fairfield University's current total tuition for 2010-2011 is $58, 580, and the number will only increase from there.

Good news is that financial aid is pretty generous. The financial aid mission of the university is to provide as much aid as it can to all eligible students. Over 70 percent of Fairfield students receive financial aid through scholarships, work-study, grants and loans.

From what I hear and actually experience, the university certainly does its best to uphold its mission.

There are troubling times ahead for some students due to Gov. Dannel Malloy's plan in grant cuts, but all students can do is wait to see how everything turns out.

Everything I wrote in this article was gathered from my experiences and stories from friends who are also students at Fairfield University. I hope this review was helpful in some ways.