The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) vs Fairfield

The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) and Fairfield University (FU) are two distinct institutions of higher learning with unique offerings and characteristics. TCNJ, a public liberal arts college, boasts a higher acceptance rate (68%) compared to FU's 58%, making it a more accessible option. TCNJ's student body is predominantly female (62%), while FU has a more balanced gender ratio. Both universities offer a diverse range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors at TCNJ including Business, Education, and Health Professions, and popular majors at FU including Business, Engineering, and Nursing. While TCNJ has a slightly higher graduation rate (79%) than FU (76%), both institutions provide students with ample opportunities for academic success and personal growth. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more distinctions between these two esteemed universities and determine which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Fairfield University	The College of New Jersey
Overview
Location	Fairfield, Connecticut	Ewing, New Jersey
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	89.0%	92.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Catholic

Admission
Acceptance rate	55.8%	62.0%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $60 Graduate: $65	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $75
SAT range	1230 - 1380	1170 - 1350
ACT range	27 - 31	25 - 32
Students submitting SAT score	24.0%	42.0%
Students submitting ACT score	7.0%	7.0%
Total number of applicants	12,674	10,393
Total number of admissions given out	7,073	6,442
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,256	1,476
Yield rate	17.8%	22.9%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$71,860	In state: $35,837 Out of state: $48,144
Average net price	$44,723	$13,269
Tuition	$52,070	In state: $13,603 Out of state: $25,910
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $9,850 Meal plan: $6,260	Room/dormitory: $9,706 Meal plan: $4,046
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	94.0% Average amount $24,501	48.0% Average amount $10,531
Students receiving federal student loan	59.0% Average amount $5,418	40.0% Average amount $5,217
Students taking out private loans	9.0% Average amount $26,796	9.0% Average amount $16,857

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	4,603 Men 42.1% Women 57.9%	6,959 Men 43.3% Women 56.7%
Graduate students	1,223 Men 33.1% Women 66.9%	630 Men 20.2% Women 79.8%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Very Low	Low
Out-of-state students	84.3%	5.7%
International students	3.7%	0.8%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	3,467	3,218
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Mississippi New York New Jersey Connecticut Pennsylvania	New Jersey Pennsylvania New York Maryland Delaware

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Education Communication and Journalism Engineering	Education Business Health Professions Engineering Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	12:1	13:1
Institutional accreditation	New England Commission on Higher Education	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	83.9%	86.9%
Dropout rate	9.9%	3.2%
Transferred out	6.1%	9.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $138,401 Year 2: $150,874 Year 3: $145,506 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $112,773 Year 2: $104,749 Year 3: $112,599 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,022 Year 2: $64,608 Year 3: $82,549 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,774 Year 2: $76,749 Year 3: $80,847 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $67,102 Year 2: $68,363 Year 3: $80,620 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $61,421 Year 2: $62,343 Year 3: $76,092 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $75,987 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $66,682 Year 2: $68,666 Year 3: $75,412 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,920 Year 2: $52,607 Year 3: $71,880 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $61,516 Year 3: $70,429	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,094 Year 2: $70,009 Year 3: $84,723 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $72,953 Year 2: $75,946 Year 3: $79,839 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,294 Year 2: $64,581 Year 3: $75,229 Engineering Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $58,866 Year 3: $72,488 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $69,124 Year 2: $68,219 Year 3: $70,528 Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: $70,181 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $50,470 Year 2: $56,797 Year 3: $69,170 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,949 Year 2: $58,402 Year 3: $64,382 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $58,144 Year 2: $62,632 Year 3: $63,542 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $57,154 Year 2: $58,568 Year 3: $60,548

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