This fall I will be applying early action to Loyola University Maryland, Providence College, and Fairfield to name a few. I have a 33 on the ACT and a 99.78 weighted GPA from a college prep school. I was looking for any feedback comparing the three schools in business and campus life. Thanks in advance!
For business, PC is best. In terms of campus life I probably also would say PC but it’s really subjective.
Fairfield is in a very suburban environment. Easy access by train (about 75 min) to NYC and near the beach, but not a lot happening in town for college kids. Fairfield and Loyola are similar in terms of types of students, with Loyola having the better location with access to other colleges as well. Providence trumps them for location and having a slightly more diverse student body. You are likely to get nice merit at all and qualify for the honors programs.
All great schools. Below is a link to some recent Payscale info for business major grads. The Jesuit schools and other Catholic school grads tend to do well.
http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report/best-schools-by-majors/business
I would respectfully disagree regarding Providence trumping Fairfield’s location. Fairfield is in an extremely safe, and affluent, residential neighborhood, about an hour from Manhattan by train, and in the vibrant business hub that is Fairfield County, anchored by very prosperous Stamford. Its graduates have a strong alumni network and have done quite well. If you look at the 10 years out average earnings reported on the government’s College Scorecard website, Fairfield’s alumni earn the 4th highest amount of any Catholic school (bested only by the alumni of Georgetown, Villanova and Notre Dame). Loyola was 8th and Providence 14th. Admittedly the Town of Fairfield is a suburban town, quite different from cities like Providence or Baltimore, so people attracted to urban environs might be more at home in those settings, but for economic opportunities, Fairfield’s locale is hard to beat.
Providence is the most conservative of the three. Fairfield and Loyola are Jesuit, so even though they are also Catholic they’re more tolerant of differing viewpoints. All three are excellent schools that will provide a solid education.
People worry about the location of Loyola - heading towards Hopkins the neighborhood is rough, but students quickly learn (like people in any city) where they can safely go and where to avoid. Campus itself is very safe, and even during the riots a few years ago the administration did a great job of keeping everyone informed and keeping students safe, even providing specific driving instructions to get to graduation while avoiding areas where protests were occurring. My kids applied to all three of these schools and I would have been happy for them to attend any of them. D just graduated Loyola and had a fabulous experience there.