College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Sacred Heart University

CTMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #1118 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Overall, the university sits in Azimuth’s 24th percentile.

Who it’s a good fit for

Sacred Heart University is a private nonprofit university in Fairfield, Connecticut, whose degree mix is led by Business and Health Professions, with return, its strongest , well above average. Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them.

The model attributes the gap to the factors it measures, which add, while the remainder it cannot explain subtracts. The typical graduate also earns above the median at comparable schools, so the raw and adjusted results point the same way.

Affordability is below the levels seen at many peers. The net price for the lowest income band sits well below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it.

Pell students complete at a rate below the overall cohort, and mobility is modestly below average. The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools, and the largest programs are in business and health fields. Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study.

Sacred Heart University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
65.4%
Six-year completion[2]
73.5%
Four-year earnings[3]
$79,431

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$41,647
Median student debt[4]
$25,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$45,486

Sacred Heart University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Sacred Heart University is a private nonprofit university in Fairfield, Connecticut, enrolling 7,087 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the lower quarter of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions, with a strong return pillar and a very weak affordability pillar.

The university admits 65.4% of applicants, a rate that is somewhat below the 71.2% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 83.1% return for a second year and 73.5% finish within six years.

Peer medians for retention and completion are 83.4% and 68.8%, respectively. An estimated 6.6% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes a large majority of the student body.

The four pillars sit far apart. Return is the strongest (82nd percentile), while affordability is the weakest (2nd percentile).

Access and mobility sit in between (39th and 36th percentiles), creating a profile where strong graduate outcomes coexist with a high net price.

Return is the clearest positive in Sacred Heart University’s profile, but affordability is the part that most needs cost scrutiny. Azimuth places the university’s return pillar in the 82nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, its strongest pillar.

Azimuth puts access in the 39th percentile and mobility in the 36th percentile among the same cohort. Affordability, the weakest pillar, is in the 2nd percentile.

Strong return and a very low affordability standing point in opposite directions.

The share of undergraduates receiving Pell Grants, a measure of financial access, is 15.8% at Sacred Heart University, a private nonprofit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. For access, Azimuth ranks the university #893 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients finish at 56.7%, which sits below the overall six-year graduation rate (73.5%) by 16.8 percentage points. Azimuth ranks Sacred Heart University #933 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $1,756 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that coincides with the mobility pillar's standing.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Sacred Heart University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#1,118

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 36
Access & reach
National percentile: 39
Affordability
National percentile: 2
Return on investment
National percentile: 82

01 / Sacred Heart University briefing

Sacred Heart University cost & financial aid[6][7]

At Sacred Heart University, the published price remains high even after aid, a pattern consistent with its weak affordability standing. For aid recipients, average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $46,174.

Published cost of attendance is $69,289, an average across living arrangements. Published tuition and fees are $50,404 and room and board is $19,140.

Average aid savings amount to $23,115 against the sticker price. That average stands $18,803 above the peer median of $27,371 at comparable institutions with the same type and size.

Azimuth places the university in the 2nd percentile for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. The above-peer net price and low affordability placement point in the same direction: this is a comparatively expensive option after aid.

The published cost of attendance at Sacred Heart University is $69,289 (an average across living arrangements), so affordability depends heavily on aid. Average net price is $38,691 for the low-income family band, $40,517 for the lower-middle-income family band, $41,647 for the middle-income family band, $46,348 for the upper-middle-income family band, and $48,217 for the high-income family band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $9,526. Azimuth ranks the university #1,386 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 33% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The , what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $46,174, with average aid savings of $23,115.

Tuition and fees are $50,404, and room and board are $19,140. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $27,371, making Sacred Heart's average net price $18,803 above that figure.

The sticker price and peer comparison both point to a higher-cost picture. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $25,000.

The peer median debt for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $24,199, and Sacred Heart's figure is $801 above it; 96.5% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $45,486 for parent borrowers.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$41,647

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Sacred Heart University

Federal borrowing is common at Sacred Heart University, where 96.5% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, making loan terms part of the cost picture. Among borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt at completion is $25,000.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median federal debt is $24,199; Sacred Heart’s median is $801 above it. For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $45,486.

Four-year earnings place Sacred Heart University on a favorable return track, though its typical federal borrowing is somewhat higher than that of comparable colleges. The median is $79,431 four years after completion, in the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $1,756 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, stands in the 61st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The downside, typical, and upside earnings scenarios are $55,368, $79,431, and $98,829 four years after completion. Median federal student loan debt at completion is $25,000.

That is $801 above the $24,199 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years. Above-expected earnings and slightly higher debt point in different directions.

For the separate population of Parent PLUS parent borrowers, median borrowing is $45,486. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$25,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$45,486

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$284/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$578/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Sacred Heart University briefing

Sacred Heart University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Return is a clear strength at Sacred Heart University, landing in the 82nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $1,756 more than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations, the model’s gap between graduate earnings and expectations for similar students, falls in the 61st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $7,006.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $5,250. Federally aided completers working and not enrolled earn a median of $79,431 four years after completion, in the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Comparable institutions (same type and size) have a peer median, the middle value, of $68,250; the university is $11,181 above. The earnings percentile and peer comparison point the same way.

Four years after completion, federally aided Sacred Heart University graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $79,431. This is $11,181 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That earnings level falls in the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median reflects a cohort of 2,005 completers.

The program mix yields earnings scenarios that run from $55,368 on the low end to $98,829 on the high end, with $79,431 as the typical case. These are estimates across program clusters, not observed individual paths.

An estimated 31.6% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

At Sacred Heart University, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $79,431 four years after completion. That is $11,181 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $1,756 more than the model expects for similar students, which places that gap at the 61st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks the university #263 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $55,368 and an upside of $98,829, with the typical scenario at $79,431. An estimated 31.6% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $7,006. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $5,250.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $539. The earnings picture here is shaped more by the fields students choose and the local labor market than by what the model cannot account for.

The largest programs are in business and health professions rather than in STEM.

The modeled range indicates that earnings can differ markedly across the university’s program mix. The downside scenario is $55,368 and the upside scenario is $98,829; both are earnings scenarios rather than observed groups.

Four years after completion, median program earnings are $93,209 in Computer and Information Sciences, $91,777 in Accounting, and $80,970 in Economics. These field-level results help explain the spread between the scenarios.

At Sacred Heart University, higher-than-expected earnings coexist with borrowing and aid-recipient costs that run above peer figures. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, are favorable here.

Graduates earn about $1,756 more than the model expects for similar students. Among federal loan borrowers who completed, median student loan debt is $25,000.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median is $24,199, and Sacred Heart’s figure is above it by $801. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years.

Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $46,174, which is above the $27,371 peer median by $18,803. The earnings signal is favorable, but above-peer debt and net price make the financial picture mixed.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$7,006
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$5,250
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$1,756

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Sacred Heart University briefing

Sacred Heart University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Sacred Heart University admitted 65.4% of applicants in the reported entering-class cycle, a rate that describes the share admitted from that year’s applicant pool. This sits below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Applicants should place Sacred Heart University on an application list after comparing their academic record with the university’s published admissions information and considering several school options.

Admissions
Admission rate
65.4%
Read the full admissions brief

04 / Sacred Heart University briefing

What are the largest majors at Sacred Heart University?[12]

At Sacred Heart University, program earnings vary materially across fields four years after completion. Nursing sits at the higher end, with median earnings of $103,244 and 190 degrees awarded.

Finance also posts higher earnings, at $94,733 across 114 degrees awarded. Computer and Information Sciences recorded median earnings of $93,209 four years after completion, alongside 26 degrees awarded.

At a more moderate level, Marketing had median earnings of $73,514 and 105 degrees awarded. The higher figures in nursing, finance, and computing contrast with the more moderate marketing result, showing that earnings differ by field.

Nursing is the largest bachelor’s field at Sacred Heart University, with 190 degrees awarded and median earnings of $103,244 four years after completion. The larger fields span health and business-related study, with different earnings patterns across them.

The bachelor's degrees at Sacred Heart University are concentrated in professional fields, led by Business at 33.2% of degrees awarded and Health Professions at 20.4%. Biological Sciences is the third-largest family, accounting for 13.2%.

The university has 17 programs with published four-year earnings data. The largest program with published earnings is Nursing, with 190 degrees awarded, followed by Business Administration and Management at 148, and Finance at 114.

The highest-earning program is also the largest: Nursing graduates earn a median of $103,244 four years after completion, a benchmark ratio of 1.16x against the national median for its field. Finance is the second-highest-earning, with a median of $94,733.

Accounting, a smaller program at 82 degrees awarded, reports a median of $91,777 and a benchmark ratio of 1.21x. Computer and Information Sciences graduates earn $93,209 four years after completion, from 26 degrees awarded.

The pattern is one of strength concentrated in the programs that award the most degrees. The largest program with published earnings, Nursing, is also the highest-earning, and the next two largest, Business Administration and Management and Finance, both sit above the national median for their fields.

For fields where graduate study is common, the four-year earnings figures capture an early-career point that may not reflect later trajectories. 13.3% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 190 degrees awarded
$103,244
Business Administration, Management and Operations 148 degrees awarded
$74,883
Research and Experimental Psychology 134 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report
Finance and Financial Management Services 114 degrees awarded
$94,733
Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences 109 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report
Marketing 105 degrees awarded
$73,514

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Sacred Heart University briefing

How does Sacred Heart University serve students from different backgrounds?

For Sacred Heart University’s first-time full-time cohort, the six-year graduation rate is 73.5%; the Pell recipients’ six-year completion rate is 56.7%, which is below the overall rate by 16.8 percentage points. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth gives the university’s mobility pillar a 36th percentile.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is favorable: graduates earn about $1,756 more than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth places that measure in the 61st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

At Sacred Heart University, a 65.4% admission rate sets the basic access picture for a private nonprofit university with 7,087 undergraduates. Pell Grant recipients represent 15.8% of undergraduates, and an estimated 6.6% arrive as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places the access pillar in the 39th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. These measures describe entry routes and undergraduate composition rather than outcomes.

06 / Sacred Heart University briefing

What colleges are similar to Sacred Heart University?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Sacred Heart University.

Admissions peerAlbertus Magnus College59.3% admitted
Comparison with Sacred Heart University
MeasureSacred Heart UniversityAlbertus Magnus College
Peer earnings · 4 years$79,431$63,088-$16,343 vs Sacred Heart University
Average annual net price$46,174$34,028-$12,146 vs Sacred Heart University · lower cost
Admission rate65.4%59.3%
Higher-admission alternativeSt. John's University-New York83.4% admitted
Comparison with Sacred Heart University
MeasureSacred Heart UniversitySt. John's University-New York
Peer earnings · 4 years$79,431$77,868-$1,563 vs Sacred Heart University
Average annual net price$46,174$29,999-$16,175 vs Sacred Heart University · lower cost
Admission rate65.4%83.4%
Explore St. John's University-New York →
Nearby alternativeFairfield UniversityNearby option · CT
Comparison with Sacred Heart University
MeasureSacred Heart UniversityFairfield University
Peer earnings · 4 years$79,431$91,378+$11,947 vs Sacred Heart University
Average annual net price$46,174$48,095+$1,921 vs Sacred Heart University · higher cost
Admission rate65.4%33.3%
Higher-earnings alternativeYeshiva University$93,796 earnings
Comparison with Sacred Heart University
MeasureSacred Heart UniversityYeshiva University
Peer earnings · 4 years$79,431$93,796+$14,365 vs Sacred Heart University
Average annual net price$46,174$49,965+$3,791 vs Sacred Heart University · higher cost
Admission rate65.4%55.6%
Lower-cost alternativeCUNY Bernard M Baruch College$3,033 average net price
Comparison with Sacred Heart University
MeasureSacred Heart UniversityCUNY Bernard M Baruch College
Peer earnings · 4 years$79,431$82,748+$3,317 vs Sacred Heart University
Average annual net price$46,174$3,033-$43,141 vs Sacred Heart University · lower cost
Admission rate65.4%47.5%
Explore CUNY Bernard M Baruch College →
Similar profilePace UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Sacred Heart University
MeasureSacred Heart UniversityPace University
Peer earnings · 4 years$79,431$80,804+$1,373 vs Sacred Heart University
Average annual net price$46,174$30,892-$15,282 vs Sacred Heart University · lower cost
Admission rate65.4%75.9%
Explore Pace University →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance is 150% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, for the year the API serves. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. The parent table is the 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS as a share of household income above 200% of the guideline for a household of three: under 6% Safe, 6–10% Caution, over 10% High pressure. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings