Choosing between Bryant, Fairfield or Sacred Heart for business major. Any guidance?
The big factor in my eyes is cost. They are all fairly comparable with a slight edge to Bryant in my opinion for business academics. Full Disclosure, my son is close to committing to Bryant so I could be bias. He has a classmate who is considering Sacred Heart and that is a fine school also.
Which one do you feel more comfortable at? I have heard the Fairfield campus is not in the best location but I could be mistaken. I have never visited Fairfield.
How have the aid packages fallen out? Are they all affordable?
Unless big difference in cost, Bryant is significantly better.
I would respectfully disagree with the assessment above. Unless there is a cost differential, I’d probably take Sacred Heart out of the mix and decide between Fairfield and Bryant.
Some things I would consider are:
–Try to re-visit your top choices, possibly during accepted student day. Don’t discount your gut feel.
–Do you like the idea of a more well-rounded student body (Fairfield) or do you like the idea of a college that is more (not solely) business oriented (Bryant)?
–Do you like the thought of a Jesuit education with its large core curriculum in the liberal arts? Do you want a religious school?
–Where do you ultimately want to work (I think Fairfield would get the nod for NY/CT, Bryant for Boston)? You can talk to career placement and get a sense of where graduates get hired.
@MassDaD68 I have visited Fairfield on multiple occasions with both of my kids and I can say from this first-hand experience as well as the experience of people I know whose kids have attended the school that the campus is in a safe and in a very lovely area of CT.
I agree, the real choices are Fairfield and Bryant in terms of academics.
However,cost is always a deal breaker.
Can you calculate
(tuition, fees, room board) - (scholarships,grants) =
and list the result (called “net cost”) for each?
DO NOT subtract any loan.
What is your parents’ budget?
And I would agree with some of what happy1 says. Fairfield would provide a Jesuit education with perhaps more focus on liberal arts, while Bryant is more business oriented. Which one is more important to you? I don’t agree that Fairfield has any advantage with jobs in NY/CT. Bryant is well respected in the business community. I personally know several highly successful Bryant grads in NY/CT and elsewhere.
@happy1 Thanks for that. I have not been to that college so maybe it not fair to Fairfeild (no pun intended) for me to mention that. I just remembered a thread about someone being surprised about the surrounding area. Your first hand knowledge is most appropriate. thank you for clarifying.
I am surprised that Sacred Heart is not getting more approvals. I guess I have a rosier image of the school than is warranted.
Always good to hear complementary comments on Bryant. I am not sure where my son will end up but I would be happy to see him there. I got a good vibe from the school.
@chardo In my experience (30+ years in business in NY) I’ve found many more Fairfield alums as compared to Bryant alums. This absolutely does not suggest that once cannot be equally successful in the NY area from both fine schools. Note that I recommended that the OP talk to career placement at both schools to get a better idea of where graduates end up working as I recognize that my comment is based solely on my personal experiences/business contacts.
@MassDaD68 I hope things would our for your S at Bryant. You have been very positive about the school and it sounds like a great fit for him!
Bryant may not be the right fit for everyone, but they do pump out a lot of successful business grads. I am one. I can tell you that my group of friends are currently:
VP of tax for Fortune 500 company in CT
VP of investment firm in CT
CEO of aircraft parts distributor in CT
VP of sales for private jet manufacturer in CT
VP of sales for furniture manufacturer in GA
Bond analyst in NY
VP of major airline in GA
Tax attorney in MA
Financial planner in NJ
GM of Hyatt hotel in FL
Commercial realtor in NY
Bond trader in FL
Agree that, given fit and affordability, both Bryant and Fairfield would be excellent choices for the OP. If cost at Sacred Heart is considerably less then that should be a factor as well.
Congrats to the OP on having these choices!
@Chardo Even better! Great list. 
@happy1 that’s good to know. In my 30+ years in business in NY, I haven’t come across many Fairfield grads. If I did, I would be more interested in what they can do instead of than where they went.
@chardo I think we are in basic agreement…it just seems we work with different people!
@1967Parent Please let us know where you end up.
Fairfield will provide a real “university” education with its broad core curriculum requirements in the arts and sciences. A Fairfield education seeks to prepare you for life, not just a career. Once you graduate your fellow alumni will include people in nursing, IT, media, medicine, law, etc as well as business. Fairfield alumni include a past president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and, as of June 2017, the new CEO of General Electric. The Town of Fairfield is an extremely beautiful, and wealthy, residential town with a lively downtown. It is located in a very nice residential neighborhood in the south central part of town. Sacred Heart is on the eastern edge of the Town of Fairfield, bordering Bridgeport, and is also a very attractive campus.
@CTDadof2 The OP would have had to decide by May 1.