UNH Today

The University of New Hampshire is the No. 7 “Best Value” public university in the country according to the 2024 U.S. News & World Report Best College rankings. UNH moved up two spots from last year and maintained its position as the No. 1 best value public college in New England for the third consecutive year.

“In 2019, UNH committed to becoming a top-25 public university based on the data that best indicates student success. For us, this meant attention to on-time graduation rates, participation in high-impact learning experiences, and of course, providing access to quality public higher education by focusing on value,” said James W. Dean Jr., president of UNH. “By emphasizing data demonstrating student success and social mobility, this year’s U.S. News & World Report rankings help students and families focus on schools that will best prepare them for successful careers. The new rankings better reflect UNH’s unique commitment to serving our students and we’re proud to see the work reflected through our improvement in several categories.” 

In addition to moving up as a Best Value public university, UNH strengthened its position as a National Best College (No. 115, up from 137 last year) and Best National Public University (No. 58, up from 64 last year). UNH was also ranked No. 76 as the best national college for veterans.

U.S. News made refinements to its rankings formula this year – eliminating five longstanding categories, adjusting weights of others and introducing several new ones – and the updated methodology resulted in more emphasis on certain categories in which UNH excels, including a greater focus on outcomes measures and new ranking factors for national universities around first-generation student graduation rates and faculty research.

For UNH, the ascent in the U.S. News rankings comes on the heels of being selected to the Best Colleges in America 2023 list by Money earlier this summer, as well, a selection based on quality of education, affordability and student outcomes.

UNH indeed continues to excel in those areas, most notably with the arrival this fall of the highest-achieving undergraduate class it has ever welcomed. The incoming group features the highest average GPA of any incoming undergraduate class in UNH history, as well as the highest percentage of merit scholarships received and the highest number of students ranked among the top 10% in their high school classes.

As of May, the Class of 2027 boasted a 3.66 average GPA and included 259 honors students and seven valedictorians, with students representing 43 states and 14 countries.

Students that graduate UNH continue to be prepared to succeed right away, as well, with 94% of recent graduates employed, volunteering or furthering their education within six months of graduation as reported in 2022.