Inside Colleges: Sacred Heart University

In late September, I set off to Fairfield, Connecticut to visit a private Catholic college, Sacred Heart University. 

First, I had a tasty lunch in the McMahon Commons Food Court with a student I had worked with, who is now a Sacred Heart Sophomore.  He told me, “I fell in love with the school.”  He was looking well and was involved in college life through bowling, the choir, community service, and campus ministry activities. 

Then, off I went to the information session and tour.  Here’s what I learned.

Basics - Sacred Heart was founded in 1963.  It has about 3800 undergraduates with an average class size of 21 and common core classes of between 20 and 30 students.  There are four colleges: Business, Education, Health, and Arts & Sciences.

Extracurriculars - Students can get involved in the over 80 clubs and organizations.  These include athletics, theatre arts, Greek life, community service, and more.

850 students participate in the 31 NCAA Division I teams, including men’s football, women’s basketball, and men’s baseball.  600 students participate in 24 club sports, where they practice two or three times a week and travel to tournaments about once a month.  There are also intramural sports. 

There are four fraternities and six sororities at Sacred Heart.

Students provided over 53,000 hours of community service last year.  Building homes during Spring Break throughout the US, with Habitat for Humanity, is popular.  So are local community service in Bridgeport and Spring Break missionary trips.

Housing - Housing is guaranteed all four years and is required for the first two years.  The dorm rooms include a mini-frig and microwave.  Upper class housing is not on the main campus.  There is shuttle service to upper class housing, the supermarket and the mall. 

Applying and Financial Aid - Sacred Heart is a Common App school.  The average GPA of the high school student who applies is 3.2.  The school is test optional, with an SAT average of 1100 (Critical Reading and Math) and an ACT average of 24.  There is Early Action, Early Decision and Regular admission. 

On the financial aid side, Sacred Heart is a CSS/Profile school.  93% of students get financial aid.

What is your experience with Sacred Heart?