In response to overenrollment the last two years, Fairfield is switching up housing options to accommodate students on campus. Sophomore Give Back, a service-oriented residential program will now be exclusively housed in Bowman Hall, as Meditz Hall is set to return to junior and senior housing in the fall.
“I think Sophomores Give Back being only in Bowman has its ups and downs,” said Bowman RA Luke James. “It’s good because it makes the building more competitive and requires students to really stay active in their community and the program to be able to stay here. On the other hand, only having one building in the program instead of two takes away a lot of opportunities for Sophomores to ‘Give Back’, since fewer students will be in the program, meaning less participation in community service, programming, and mentoring, all of which I think are really important in Fairfield’s community.”
The push for more space follows a noticeable increase in triple-occupancy rooms across campus. Over the summer, first year students were informed that more than 40% of this year’s freshman rooms are triples, which is an increase from 33% last year.
Applications for priority housing programs such as Sophomores Give Back, Ignatian Residential College, and Build A House are currently open. These programs are expected to remain competitive as students seek guaranteed placements amid limited availability and uncertainty with housing rounds.
Junior Caitlyn Shanley ‘27 has experienced many issues with housing. When told that the freshman and sophomores are nervous she said, “They should be.”
The changes come as Fairfield continues to tighten its admissions process. With a goal of maintaining an incoming first-year class of approximately 1450 students, the university’s overall admit rate has fallen to 25%, according to Fairfield Universitys released message after the class acceptance of ‘29 came out. Making this admissions cycle the most selective in recent history.
