Students within the small New Hampshire city of Portsmouth have limited school options, as there is only one public institution -- a community college -- located within the city limits. However, there are a number of colleges and universities located in the vicinity that we have compared using data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to help students find the right one for their education goals.
Closest Schools to Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Since Portsmouth is a rather small urban area, prospective students who live here may have to extend their search radius a bit to find a greater number of colleges and universities nearby. The following schools have the closest campuses to Portsmouth:
- Great Bay Community College (located in downtown Portsmouth)
- University of New Hampshire - Main Campus (9.1 miles away)
- Southern New Hampshire University (33.7 miles away)
- Mount Washington College (33.8 miles away)
- University of New Hampshire at Manchester (35 miles away)
Largest Schools near Portsmouth, New Hampshire
The Portsmouth area features a mix of both 4-year and 2-year institutions with different student populations. These schools range in size from a few thousand to over 145,000. The NCES lists the following five schools as having the largest student bodies in the Portsmouth area:
- Southern New Hampshire University (145,533 students)
- University of New Hampshire-Main Campus (14,001 students)
- NHTI-Concord's Community College (2,887 students)
- Rivier University (2,424 students)
- Manchester Community College (2,133 students)
Schools with Lowest Net Price
When calculating a school's net price, the NCES looks at the average financial aid amount given to full-time undergrads, and subtracts it from the average cost of attendance. In the 2020-2021 academic year, the schools near Portsmouth with the lowest net prices were:
- Granite State College ($11,704)
- Nashua Community College ($12,851)
- Lakes Region Community College ($13,027)
- Manchester Community College ($13,252)
- Great Bay Community College ($15,875)
Schools with Highest Graduation Rates
When looking at the success rates of different schools, you can think of the graduation rate as the percentage of that school's full-time undergraduate population who complete their degree programs in at least 150% of the normal amount of time for that degree. In 2021, these schools had the highest graduation rates in the Portsmouth area:
- University of New Hampshire-Main Campus (78% graduation rate)
- Saint Anselm College (77% graduation rate)
- University of New Hampshire at Manchester (60% graduation rate)
- Rivier University (60% graduation rate)
Portsmouth and its surrounding area have a number of schools to choose from in terms of size, location, net price and graduate rate, so it's quite important for prospective students to compare and contrast these schools in order to make informed decisions when figuring out where to apply.
