Private colleges, unlike large public institutions, can be a great option for students wanting a more intimate campus experience, more personal attention from excellent professors, and more immediate access to support services. Here is our list of the best private colleges in New Hampshire.
New Hampshire is also home to 21 public and private higher learning institutions, including the Ivy League school Dartmouth. Dartmouth has a 97% graduation rate, a student population of about 6,000, and a tuition rate of $55,000. Students can major in fields like English, creative writing, engineering, physics, and neuroscience. Dinesh D’Souza, Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers
), and Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss
) are all noteworthy alumni of this school. The largest public institution, the University of New Hampshire, has its main campus in Durham.
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With a student body of almost 16,000, and a tuition rate of $18,000, UNH offers degrees in areas such as economics, biology, and social work. Those looking to earn an associate degree in fields such as early childhood education, cybersecurity networking, or aviation technology can choose from five community colleges that have tuition rates of $8,000. New Hampshire also offers three religiously affiliated colleges, ranging from $22,000 to $41,000 in tuition. Southern New Hampshire University is one of the fastest-growing universities in the United States. With its open enrollment policy, over 138,000 students attend classes both online and in person.
If maple sundaes and cider donuts sound appetizing to you, New Hampshire may be a great destination for your higher education. Take the Mount Washington Cog Railway for a scenic ride up to the 6,288-foot summit, or check out Strawberry Banke in Portsmouth, the state’s first settlement.
Whether you’re looking to earn an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree, New Hampshire has a variety of institutions to choose from. Check out the program that best fits you.
Public and private colleges and universities operate under different business models — one is a private company with private funding; the other is owned by the state and receives both state and federal funding to operate. If you’re weighing the pros and cons of private vs. public college, consider that many public colleges provide diverse course offerings, influential professors, and an excellent return on your investment.
Public colleges are schools that receive most of their funding from tax revenues. As a result, the cost of a four-year degree at a public university is often lower than the equivalent cost at a private college — especially for students attending a public school in their home state. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, the average annual cost (tuition, fees, room and board for full-time students) at a four-year public university was slightly over $20,000. In contrast, private universities cost, on average, nearly $43,000 annually.
The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great. This is why, at the undergraduate level, we rank the best colleges and universities based on what we call “Concentrated Influence”. Concentrated Influence takes the combined influence score of a college or university’s top academic influencers (including faculty and alums) and divides it by the school’s total number of undergraduates.
Using concentrated influence gives small and mid-sized schools an opportunity to shine by taking away the size advantage of larger universities. A small school with proportionately more influential faculty than a large school, whose influence in absolute terms may be bigger, will nonetheless score higher in a concentrated influence ranking. Our approach highlights undergraduate schools that truly rank for excellence, regardless of size.
If you are serious about finding the best colleges and universities for a bachelor’s degree, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching and whether their graduates are themselves advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence.
Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence provides a ranking that is free from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.
This list is composed entirely of private colleges and universities that offer four-year undergraduate degrees. We’ve identified 8 private universities in New Hampshire; 6 of which satisfy our criteria. The list below of best private universities in the state satisfies the following four conditions:
Tuition + fees
$59K
Acceptance
9%
Graduation
95%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
1500/33
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Dartmouth College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$43K
Acceptance
76%
Graduation
84%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1220/26
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Saint Anselm College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$44K
Acceptance
91%
Graduation
65%
Student body
<1K
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Colby–Sawyer College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$35K
Acceptance
76%
Graduation
56%
Student body
2K
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Rivier University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
94%
Graduation
37%
Student body
84K
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Southern New Hampshire University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$25K
Acceptance
90%
Graduation
76%
Student body
<1K
View profile
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College Strategist
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