The Most Selective Colleges in New Hampshire
Every eligible New Hampshire four-year that reports an admission rate, ranked hardest to get into first and easiest last — not a prestige Top 25. Selectivity here is the published rate, not a magazine composite.
Ranked by acceptance rate · 10 of 13 New Hampshire institutions in this universe qualify for this ranking · Compiled 2026-09-01
Chase these schools
Top schools on this list that also show up elsewhere — hop lists without leaving the trail.
- 1Dartmouth CollegeHanover, NH · Private6.2%Compare nearby
Also on 12 other lists
- Philosophy & Religious Studies#1
- Physical Sciences#1
- Mathematics & Statistics#3
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#9
- History#11
- Most Selective Colleges in America#12
- Computer Science#14
- English Language & Literature#14
- the Highest SAT Averages#16
- Most Expensive Colleges by Sticker Price#17
- the Highest ACT Scores#19
- Are Least Likely to Leave#25
- 2Saint Anselm CollegeManchester, NH · Private78.3%Compare nearby
- 3Rivier UniversityNashua, NH · Private81.8%Compare nearby
- 4University of New Hampshire-Main CampusDurham, NH · Public86.9%Compare nearby
- 5Keene State CollegeKeene, NH · Public89.1%Compare nearby
- 6Colby-Sawyer CollegeNew London, NH · Private90.0%Compare nearby
- 7Franklin Pierce UniversityRindge, NH · Private90.2%Compare nearby
- 8Plymouth State UniversityPlymouth, NH · Public91.0%Compare nearby
- 9New England CollegeHenniker, NH · Private95.7%Compare nearby
- 10Southern New Hampshire UniversityManchester, NH · Private96.1%Compare nearby
How this list was built
- Measure
- Acceptance rate — sorted lowest to highest
- Source variable
ADM_RATE- Dataset
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most-Recent-Cohorts-Institution (05-19-2025 release)
- New Hampshire institutions in this universe (13 schools).
- New Hampshire four-year main campuses only. Rank order is published admission rate; on an exact tie, higher SAT average ranks above, and missing SAT does not drop a school. SAT is not shown because it is not the ranked measure. Schools without a published ADM_RATE are omitted rather than estimated.
- Institutions enrolling fewer than 500 undergraduates are excluded — the same size floor as the national selectivity list — even when they report an admission rate. That cut is not a median-stability adjustment.
- 10 of 13 New Hampshire institutions in this universe qualify for this ranking (report the measure and pass any enrollment floor); the rest are omitted rather than estimated.
A single measure is a narrow way to judge a college. Read this alongside the others, and see the methodology for what these figures do and do not capture.
Keep exploring
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Keep going
The Most Selective Colleges in America
Lowest share of applicants admitted. Selectivity measures demand and class size, not teaching quality.
Colleges with the Highest SAT Averages
Average SAT score of enrolled students. Reported by fewer than half of institutions as test-optional admissions has spread.
Colleges That Admit Nearly Everyone
Open and near-open admission four-year institutions, ranked by the share of applicants accepted.