Sacred Heart University
Private College in Fairfield, CT. Six-year graduation rate 73%. Median 10-year earnings $75,059.
Ten-year median earnings of $75,059 are the headline number here, and they are strong ones. 74% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $25,000, neither a bargain nor a burden.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.33 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 65% puts Sacred Heart University on the accessible end — a realistic target for a broad range of applicants. With 16,495 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. A 18% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering class.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Sacred Heart University →Academics
A 74% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. 83% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. A 15:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions. The undergraduate population is 6,960 — big enough for a real range of programs, small enough to navigate.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 6,904 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price averages $47,848 annually, so cost is the first thing to weigh here. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $38,691 at the $0–30k band to $48,217 at $110k+. Grant aid is widespread — 96% of students receive it, averaging $21,631. Most students borrow — 58% take federal loans to cover the gap.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 1,903 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $38,691 |
| $30–48k | $40,517 |
| $48–75k | $41,647 |
| $75–110k | $46,348 |
| $110k+ | $48,217 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 3,979 of these 6,904 students, totalling $25,720,823 — an average of $6,464 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Greater Bridgeport Planning Region) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)