So, you're thinking about attending a college or university in New Hampshire?

The state of New Hampshire, located in the New England region of the northeastern U.S., was one of the original Thirteen Colonies. It was the ninth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution and the first state in the nation to have its own constitution. Mount Washington, the tallest mountain in the northeastern United States, lies in New Hampshire and is known to have the "worst weather on earth," with hurricane-force winds, on average, every third day. New Hampshire is bordered by Canada to the north, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Massachusetts to the south, and Vermont to the west.

New Hampshire is the second-most-forested state in the nation, second only to Maine, in terms of percentage of land covered by woods. The entire state is fairly mountainous, though the southwest corner of New Hampshire is flatter, in general, then the rest. With a length of only 18 miles total, the state also has the shortest ocean coastline of any state in the U.S.

The population of New Hampshire, as of 2005, was estimated at 1,309,940. This includes around 64,000 foreign-born citizens, or 4.9% of the total population, according to 2004 numbers. The state boasts the highest percentage of residents of French/French-Canadian ancestry of any other U.S. state. Also, the southern border, which is closest to Boston and Massachusetts in general, is the fastest growing area within New Hampshire.

Although, traditionally, New Hampshire had been a strong Republican state, in recent years, it has become a swing state. It was the only state in the nation to give its electoral votes to George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election but then switch to the Democratic candidate, John Kerry, in 2004. John Kerry won the state's votes in 2004 with 50.2% of the total votes.

Currently, the political allegiance of New Hampshire residents has seemed to switch over to the Democrats. In the 2006 midterm elections, both Congressional seats were won by Democrats, the Democratic Governor was re-elected in a landslide, earning 74% of the vote, and Democrats managed to take control of both houses in the State Legislature for the first time since 1911. While Republicans still hold both of New Hampshire's U.S. Senate seats, they weren't up for election in the 2006 campaign.

The majority of New Hampshire residents, 80%, are Christian, with 43% being Protestant, 35% Roman Catholic, and 2% following other Christian beliefs. Less than 1% of the population are Jewish or Muslim while another 1% hold other religious beliefs. Approximately 19% of New Hampshire citizens have no religious affiliation.

The state of New Hampshire has no general sales tax and no personal income tax, though it does impose a 5% tax on income from dividends and interest. While this might seem like a good thing for residents, to make up for the lack of income from other sources, the state has some of the nation's highest property taxes.

There are several colleges and universities to choose from in New Hampshire. Some of these are:

• The University of New Hampshire

• Plymouth State University

To find more information about universities and colleges in this area, visit the Online College Degrees page on this website.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "New Hampshire".

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