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A PUBLIC UNIVERSITY. THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. DIVISION III.

Plymouth State University

Plymouth State is a public university of about 3,200 undergraduates in Plymouth, New Hampshire, at the southern edge of the White Mountains and two hours from Boston. Its alpine team trains at Mittersill at Cannon Mountain, 35 minutes from campus, and races the EISA carnival circuit against Dartmouth, Vermont, Middlebury and the other eastern schools. Athletics are NCAA Division III, so there is no athletic aid, but admission is test-blind, the in-house application is free, and billed costs are low for New England.

Plymouth, NH

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  • NCAA · Division III institution
  • NCAA skiing
  • EISA
  • Men & women
Plymouth StatePanthers · Ski team

Photo: Magicpiano, CC BY-SA 4.0

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NCAA divisionEISA · NCAA skiing
D3
UndergraduatesFall 2024
3,182
Acceptance rateFall 2024 entering class
87.5%
Billed cost, out-of-state (tuition, fees, room, meals)2026-27
$40,925
Drive to Mittersill at Cannon MountainAthletics facility page
35 min
Student-faculty ratio2024-25
15:1
Roster athletes2025-26
22
NCAA power rankscore 46.12
#13

Why Plymouth State?

Why racerslook here.

The case for Plymouth State is logistical and financial rather than academic prestige: a U.S. Ski Team training venue half an hour away, a public-university price, and a conference schedule that puts a Division III team on the same hills as the East's Division I programs.

  • Cannon Mountain in Franconia Notch, New Hampshire, home of the Mittersill race venue

    Mittersill is 35 minutes away

    The team trains and competes at Mittersill at Cannon Mountain, an official U.S. Ski Team training site that hosted the 2017 NCAA Championships. The athletics department describes weekday morning and afternoon training there.(athletics.plymouth.edu)

  • Cannon Mountain in winter, seen from Franconia Notch

    EISA carnivals against Division I

    Plymouth State is one of 14 EISA members and raced six carnival weekends in 2026, from Sugarloaf and Whiteface to the EISA Championships at Middlebury Snow Bowl. In the 2026 championship GS both the men and the women placed fifth of 13 teams.(athletics.plymouth.edu)

  • Rounds Hall, the clock-tower building at Plymouth State University

    Test-blind and a free application

    Plymouth State does not use SAT or ACT scores for admission or scholarships. The university's own Panther Application has no fee; the Common Application costs $50.(plymouth.edu)

  • The town oval in downtown Plymouth, New Hampshire

    Public-university pricing

    Billed costs for 2026-27 are $29,497 for New Hampshire residents, $37,214 under the NEBHE regional program and $40,925 for other out-of-state students, before merit scholarships that are awarded automatically by high-school GPA.(plymouth.edu)

About the school

The honest version.

What the school is, what it is known for, and what a family should weigh before committing.

Plymouth State is a public university of about 3,200 undergraduates in Plymouth, New Hampshire, a small town at the southern edge of the White Mountains, two hours north of Boston. Founded in 1871 and part of the University System of New Hampshire, it teaches through a Cluster Learning model built around applied, project-based majors, and it is test-blind, meaning SAT and ACT scores are never used. It is not selective (about 87% of applicants are admitted) and it is inexpensive by New England standards, especially for New Hampshire residents and NEBHE-eligible students. For a ski racer the logistics are unusually good: the team trains at Mittersill at Cannon Mountain, 35 minutes from campus, a U.S. Ski Team training site that hosted the 2017 NCAA Championships, and races on the EISA carnival circuit against the Division I eastern schools. Athletics are NCAA Division III (Little East Conference), so there are no athletic scholarships. The academic menu is narrower than at a liberal arts college, and the university has been through state funding cuts and a contested plan to shrink its humanities departments since 2025.

Know before you commit

  • Division III, so no athletic scholarships, and need-based aid is thin: the 2024-25 Common Data Set shows only 64% of demonstrated need met on average for first-year students.(plymouth.edu)
  • Budget turmoil: in February 2025 the administration proposed cutting at least 30 of about 45 faculty positions in English, communications, art, theater, political science and history, folding them into an integrated liberal arts unit, with implementation pushed to January 2026 after union negotiations.(plymouth.edu)
  • State support is under pressure: the 2025 New Hampshire House budget proposal would have cut University System of New Hampshire aid from $95 million to $66.2 million a year, about 29%.(nhpr.org)
  • Completion is weak: the 2024-25 Common Data Set reports a 55% six-year graduation rate for the fall 2018 cohort and 68.3% first-to-second-year retention, and 72% of the 2024 graduating class borrowed, with average debt of $42,900.(plymouth.edu)
  • The men's team is usually at the bottom of the EISA field: in 2026 the men finished 11th to 13th of 13 teams in five of six carnival slaloms, while the women ranged from 5th to 11th.(athletics.plymouth.edu)

Feel the campus

From first tracks to final exams.

Credited archive photographs of the campus, the town and the hill; not current team photography.

5 of 5 photos shown

Ski team experience

Panthers alpineskiing.

Plymouth State fields men's and women's alpine teams (slalom and giant slalom) in the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association, which it joined for the 2012 season; there is no nordic program. Home training is at Mittersill at Cannon Mountain in Franconia, and the 2026 roster of 22 athletes drew heavily from Sweden, Norway, Quebec and Ontario. The rest of Plymouth State's varsity sports compete in the Division III Little East Conference; skiing is listed by the NCAA as independent.

View official roster
Team athletes
22
Men / women
11 / 9
International athletes
17
NCAA All-Americans (2021-2023)
3
Conference
EISA
Alpine disciplines
SL + GS

Where Cashton fits today

Not a selection or admission prediction.

  • SLNo comparison
    — · —

    Scoring line 47.27.

  • GSNo comparison
    — · —

    Scoring line 44.51.

  • SGNo comparison
    — · —

    Scoring line 203.97.

  • DHNo comparison
    — · —

    Scoring line 371.70.

Clear · Back to Cashton's profile

Academics

What you can study.

Plymouth State runs on a semester calendar; spring 2027 classes begin January 26 and end May 14, so the first weeks of the EISA carnival season fall before the semester opens and the rest overlap the first half-term. Majors are organized through the Cluster Learning Model, with a first-year 'Tackling a Wicked Problem' course and an Integrated Capstone in the junior or senior year, which are project-based and can require group time outside class.

  • 3,182
    Undergraduates
  • 15:1
    Student-faculty ratio
  • 55%
    Six-year graduation rate

8 featured fields · full catalog

  • Business AdministrationBusiness
    A general business BS with elective depth in entrepreneurship, analytics, social media marketing and professional selling.
  • Exercise and Sport PhysiologyHealth
    Science-based major in exercise physiology, testing and prescription, and strength and conditioning, with 3+2 MS and 3+3 DPT pathways.
  • MeteorologyScience
    The only meteorology program in New Hampshire, with broadcast, research and internship courses and a 4+1 MS option.
  • Environmental Science and PolicyEnvironment
    Interdisciplinary BS with Science or Policy and Planning tracks and an emphasis on outdoor, lab and project-based work.
  • Adventure EducationEnvironment
    Prepares outdoor-education and wilderness-program leaders through a fall immersion semester, a NOLS semester or an Outdoor Life semester in Norway.
  • NursingHealth
    CCNE-accredited BSN approved by the New Hampshire Board of Nursing; students cover the costs tied to clinical requirements.
  • Computer ScienceQuantitative
    Software design and development BS with electives in mobile apps, cybersecurity, networking and data administration.
  • Tourism and Hospitality ManagementBusiness
    BA focused on tourism trends, planning and hospitality operations, with electives in ecotourism and cultural and heritage tourism.
Explore majors

Source: plymouth.edu

Admissions

Your path here.

Testing
test-blind(plymouth.edu)
GPA
3.21 average high-school GPA (enrolled first-years, fall 2024)(plymouth.edu)
Application deadline
April 1 priority date for fall (rolling admission; December 1 for spring)(coursecatalog.plymouth.edu)
  1. Submit the free Panther Application or the Common Application ($50 fee).
  2. Send official transcripts with at least final junior-year grades, or a GED.
  3. Write the essay on one of the subjects listed on the application.
  4. Provide one academic recommendation; admitted students deposit by May 1 for fall.
Admissions details

Acceptance rate

How selective it is.

87.5%Fall 2024 (6,021 admitted of 6,878 first-year applicants)
  • Admitted
  • Not admitted

Plymouth State admits most applicants on a rolling basis and never looks at SAT or ACT scores. Being a recruited skier does not change the academic review; the counselor page tells athletes to fill out the recruit form and email the head coach directly.

Source: plymouth.edu

Cost & financial aid

What a year costs.

2026-27 published figures.

Published costs
Tuition and mandatory fees (NH resident)$15,444
Tuition and mandatory fees (NEBHE regional)$23,872
Tuition and mandatory fees (out-of-state)$26,872
Room and meals$14,008
Total billed cost (NH resident)$29,497
Total billed cost (NEBHE regional)$37,214
Total billed cost (out-of-state)$40,925

Billed costs only: tuition, mandatory fees, room and meals for a full-time student taking 12-18 credits. Books, travel and personal expenses are extra (the 2024-25 Common Data Set budgets $1,400 for books). No athletic scholarships (Division III; the CDS reports $0 in athletic aid). Merit scholarships are automatic by high-school GPA: for fall 2026, $7,000 in-state or $14,000 out-of-state/NEBHE at 3.75-4.00, down to $1,000 below 2.24, plus a $2,000 on-campus housing scholarship; NEBHE students also get a $3,000 tuition waiver. The 2024-25 CDS shows 64% of demonstrated need met on average for first-year students.(plymouth.edu)

Financial aid information

Location

Campus, hill, airport.

Plymouth State University

A 170-acre campus in the town of Plymouth, New Hampshire, where the university says 97% of students live on campus or within a mile.

Open in Maps · source

The town oval in downtown Plymouth, New Hampshire
The town oval in Plymouth, New Hampshire, a short walk from campus (July 2018)

Student life

Beyond the hill.

  • Two years in the halls

    All full-time matriculated students are required to live on campus if space is available, and first-years are placed in the traditional halls (Blair, Belknap, Grafton, Pemigewasset, Geneva Smith and some Mary Lyon rooms) as part of the First-Year Residential Experience.(plymouth.edu)

  • Free gear and a climbing wall

    The Outdoor Center lends skis, snowshoes, climbing, paddling and camping equipment to students at no rental charge, runs an indoor bouldering and sport-climbing wall, and leads peer-guided Outdoor Experiences trips that require no prior experience.(plymouth.edu)

  • Ski Day and a student-voted pass

    Each mid-February classes are cancelled for Ski Day at a local mountain (Tenney in 2026) with free passes and buses, and area mountains bid each year for a discounted student season pass that students vote on.(plymouth.edu)

Athlete voices

Real stories.

  • “Our training venue is very close to campus. It's an $8 million facility that we partner with, and because it's so close, I'm able to offer practices two times a day with the facilities only 30 minutes away.”
    Trevor Hamilton, head alpine coach · source
  • “Some majors have to skip some practices to accommodate their busy schedules and coach is very flexible about that.”
    Tindra Bergstrand, alpine skier · source
  • “Being named as an All-American in skiing is an incredible accomplishment. You need to be one of the top ten in the NCAA Championships against the best collegiate athletes in the country.”
    Trevor Hamilton, head alpine coach · source

Alumni & outcomes

What came next.

NCAA All-Americans since joining NCAA skiing (2021-2023)(athletics.plymouth.edu)
3
NCAA Championship qualifications by 11 skiers under the current head coach(athletics.plymouth.edu)
16
Graduates placed within one year (university figure)(plymouth.edu)
94%
Six-year graduation rate, fall 2018 cohort(plymouth.edu)
55%

Related programs

You might also look at.

Sources, rights and updates

Where this comes from.

Every figure carries its reporting period and a link. Rosters and points come from official rosters and FIS or USCSA results. Photographs are Wikimedia Commons archive images under open licences, credited on each image.

46 source pages across 9 sites

Your future in skiing starts here

Ready to learn more about Plymouth State?

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