Representation among high-achieving, multicultural and first-gen students looks strong

Monday, May 16, 2022
Students walking on campus

The University of New Hampshire will welcome its largest incoming undergraduate class since 2018 this fall, a class that represents significant increases in several key demographics, including high-achieving, multicultural and first-generation students.

The incoming class currently features a 15% increase in students with a GPA of 3.5 or higher and a 39% increase in honors students over last year. It also includes 22% more multicultural students and 20% more first-generation students.

“The talent and drive of this year’s incoming class is remarkable. As leaders in their communities, every new student reflects in their own way what it means to be a Wildcat,” says Kimberly DeRego, associate vice provost for enrollment management and marketing. “I am proud of the partnerships across the university that helped these incredible students see themselves at UNH.”

These statistics are for the Durham campus only (applicant pools are strong for the Graduate School, UNH Manchester and UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law, as well, and final totals for those groups will be released later in the year.) Official statistics representing the Durham class won’t be finalized until several weeks into the fall semester, so all numbers are subject to change. There are currently 3,041 deposited students.

Many of those students have chosen their home state’s flagship university, as the first-year class represents a substantial influx of New Hampshire students, with an increase of 4% over 2021 and a jump of more than 37% since 2020.

There will still be plenty of geographical diversity among first-year students, though. UNH continues to see growth in the mid-Atlantic region of the country, up more than 10% over last year and more than 67% over 2020. In all, 39 states and 18 countries are currently represented in the incoming group.

The average GPA of the class currently stands at 3.62, and it includes 390 honors students.

Photographer: 
Jeremy Gasowski | UNH Marketing | jeremy.gasowski@unh.edu | 603-862-4465