What is New England College Known For?

New England College, often abbreviated as NEC, is a private institution with a total undergraduate population of less than 2,000 students. This intimate environment allows New England College to provide each student with a personalized and unique learning environment. Located in Henniker, New Hampshire, New England College is only 20 minutes away from Concord, New Hampshire by car and 90 minutes from Boston. This location offers an attractive blend of laid back rural living on campus combined with easy to access cities and urban areas close by.

Founded in 1946, New England College is a liberal arts school that boasts a rich history and extensive array of possible majors and minors for undergraduate students. These majors range from Business Administration and Criminal Justice to Creative Writing and Theater. Of course, there are many colleges and universities all over the United States that offer attractive options to potential students, so what separates New England College from the rest? Let’s take a look at what New England College is known for.

The great outdoors

New England College prides itself on providing students with a real taste of nature and the amazing natural landscapes that New Hampshire, and New England in general, have to offer. This emphasis on nature and the outdoors is apparent as soon as prospective students set foot on New England College’s sprawling 200+ acre campus, complete with serene and scenic walking trails featuring beautiful New England foliage and a stone bridge. The Contoocook river runs alongside New England College’s campus as well, making for a truly picturesque campus and living experience.

True New England living wouldn’t be complete without a healthy dose of winter, and New England College does not disappoint in that regard. Pats Peak ski area is conveniently located mere minutes away from NEC campus, and regularly offers discounts for college students in the area.

New England College also offers a variety of ways to take advantage of the school’s unique surroundings, one of which being the NEC Adventure Bound Club. Club members are educated on the basics and ideals of outdoor living, such as proper first aid practices, Leave No Trace ideals and ethics, and overall wilderness preparedness. Freshmen can also opt into a wilderness trips orientation program that is intended to introduce students to nature and outdoor living no matter their experience level or background. These programs, combined with unique majors such as Outdoor Education and Environmental Studies and Sustainability, are a major reason why New England College is still growing after 70+ years.

Diversity

New England College was named by TIME Magazine as one of the twenty five colleges in the United States that has seen its undergraduate student population diversify the most between 1990 and 2014. Diversity of faculty and students among colleges and universities in the United States has become a hot button issue over the past few years, and New England College has established itself as a leader in the progression towards a more diverse academic landscape in the United States. For example, in 2014, 3.1 percent of New England College’s student population were international students, no small feat for a relatively small liberal arts school.

Year round courses

New England College has really separated itself from other liberal arts schools by offering an innovative academic calendar that includes five possible semester choices per year. This allows students to save on tuition and housing costs, and accelerate their education. It is possible for a New England College student to earn an undergraduate degree in three years and a master’s degree in four years by taking advantage of this revised academic calendar.

This increased flexibility means that students don’t have to adhere to the traditional fall and spring semester schedules that dictate the lives of so many college students. Students also have an increased opportunity to enjoy all four seasons while living on NEC’s beautiful campus.