Five New Hampshire colleges have ranked in Forbes Magazine's 2012 list of top 650 undergraduate institutions.

Dartmouth College in Hanover makes the first Granite State appearance on the list coming in at number 34.

Saint Anselm College in Manchester came in at number 160, Colby-Sawyer College in New London ranked 536, the University of New Hampshire in Durham ranked 309 and Franklin Pierce College in Rindge ranked 634.

Princeton University, Williams College and Stanford are named the top three

Forbes uses a calculation of five general categories to rank the colleges including graduate success, student satisfaction, student debt, graduation rate and competitive awards.

The rankings are compiled exclusively for Forbes by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for College Affordably and Productivity. The focus is on “things that matter the most to students: quality of teaching, great career prospects, high graduation rates and low-levels of debt,” according to Forbes. “They do not attempt to assess a school's reputation, nor are they a measure of academic selectivity and we pointedly ignore any metrics that would encourage schools to engage in wasteful spending.”

In a world where college is “outrageously expensive,” the list is a guide of sorts to help students discern how they can get the biggest bang for their buck.

Though low on the list, the small Franklin Pierce University, with an undergraduate population of 1,696 students, was honored by the nod.

Franklin Pierce's tagline of “an education that matters” is in direct alignment with the criteria that Forbes used to rank the colleges, Franklin Pierce said in a press release, “the practical rewards of a college education that students and their families increasingly value in today's economy.”

“Recognition by Forbes as one of the nation's top undergraduate institutions and one of the top five in New Hampshire is gratifying,” said Dr. Kim Mooney, provost of Franklin Pierce. “We are celebrating our 50th anniversary this year, and as a university, Franklin Pierce continues to commit to the breadth and quality of its educational offerings and to its academic and co-curricular support for students.”