Fairfield University

Date: Sep 03 2008
Major: Other (This Major's Salary over time)
I graduated more than 10 years ago, so things may have changed. I was not a typical student at Fairfield and I still had a good time.

Student body. Most students fit the following description: wealthy, catholic, preppy, career-oriented, smart, into drinking and from L.I., NJ, MA. As time went by, though, different people seemed to emerge. By my 2nd sem. I had a substantial group of friends that consisted of international students, geeks, artists and sexual and racial/ethnic minorities. We were one of the most close-knit groups.

Social Life: Every weekend there was a very large choice of keg-based theme parties at the townhouses or at the beach. My friends and I grew very tired of these after about the 2nd time we went, but the majority of students' social lives revolved around them. Much of the weekend meal-time conversations dealt with exploits at these parties. While cops and RAs were busting up parties and students, my friends and I were usually left alone in our smaller, quieter, more conversation-based and more psychotropically enhanced get-togethers. Having said all that, the now defunct Clam Jam and some of the "unofficial" class-organized parties were a BLAST. Best of all, NYC is less than an hour away and everyone should take more advantage of that.

Academics: Again, can't complain. Most students were intellectually aloof and career-oriented and sometimes you wanted to smack those ultra-competitive business students who took themselves way too seriously. However a good portion of students were quite academically oriented. The faculty was outstanding. There were a few who were perhaps too lenient, but in my experience professors really did everything possible to make sure you learned if you showed interest. Departments were uneven. Soc was the best on all levels (wish I had taken more classes earlier and majored in Soc). Art History was great too. English and History were uneven while philosophy was filled with crazy profs who were only occasionally interesting. Some rel. profs were pretty mean while some comm. profs partied with students. There has been a lot of turnover since I graduated so it may have changed, but if you are academically oriented, Fairfield offers many opportunities.

Conclusion: When I started at Fairfield, I hated and wanted to transfer. After a while though I relized how lucky I was to be in a beautiful campus (despite some ugly buildings, there are few places more beautiful than Bellarmine Hill on a cold autumn dawn), surrounded by mostly interesting people with academic opportunities that most people in the world only dream of having. It is fun to complain when you are 18, but I think that those who do so ad nauseam are spoiled and have no idea how good they have it. My four years at Fairfield were a privilege, not a right and anyone could have a good experience at Fairfield if they make the best of it.