The ratings on Connecticut Health and Education Facilities Authority's bonds, issued for Fairfield University, reflect: * A modestly improving demand profile characterized by improving student quality, a growing applicant pool, and steadily rising enrollments, * Stable financial condition, with moderate surpluses and investment gains contributing to rising liquidity levels, although liquidity remains below average for the rating, and * A moderate debt burden. Offsetting factors include high tuition dependence and low endowment per student. Freshman applicants rose 13% to 5,494 in fiscal 1998 from fiscal 1996. The larger applicant pool allowed the university to accept a bigger freshman class without impacting student quality. In fiscal 1998, the acceptance rate of 68% is 3% lower than 1997, while average SAT scores
