2023 Most Veteran Friendly for Other Parks & Rec
7
Ranked Colleges
174
Degrees Awarded
$26,800
Avg Cost*
When it comes to choosing a college, veterans have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Most Veteran Friendly for Other Parks & Rec” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2020-2021, 174 people earned their degree in other parks, recreation and leisure studies, making the major the 323rd most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, other parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $27,065 and had an average of $23,516 in loans still to pay off.
This year’s “Most Veteran Friendly for Other Parks & Rec” ranking looked at 7 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in other parks, recreation and leisure studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great other parks, recreation and leisure studies programs and a strong support system for veterans and active service members.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the other parks, recreation and leisure studies program at the school, veteran affordability, and veteran population. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
One Size Does Not Fit All
The other parks & rec school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Most Veteran Friendly for Other Parks & Rec”.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Most Veteran Friendly for Other Parks & Rec
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Veteran Friendly for Other Parks & Rec”.
Top 7 Best Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Colleges for Veterans
Out of the 7 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly for Other Parks & Rec that were part of this year’s ranking, Indiana University - Bloomington landed the #1 spot on the list. This large school is located in Bloomington, Indiana, and it awarded 11 ’s other parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our vets studying other parks & rec list, IU Bloomington has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, IU Bloomington supports 43,064 students, and 1 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 0 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $0. To help with additional expenses, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Indiana University - Bloomington Veteran Student Life Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Dayton. The school came in at #2 for the Most Veteran Friendly for Other Parks & Rec. UDayton is located in Dayton, Ohio and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 16 ’s other parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
UDayton also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Of the 11,650 students enrolled at UDayton, 197 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 142 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $15,930. On top of their other funding sources, 40 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. UDayton offers credit for military training for eligible students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at UDayton]](/colleges/university-of-dayton/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Chadron State College. The school came in at #3 for the Most Veteran Friendly for Other Parks & Rec. Chadron State College is a small public school situated in Chadron, Nebraska. It awarded 7 ’s other parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Chadron State College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Among the 2,330 students enrolled at Chadron State College, 61 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 32 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $4,999. During this same period, 1 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
Full Chadron State College Veteran Student Life Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northwestern Oklahoma State University. The school came in at #4 for the Most Veteran Friendly for Other Parks & Rec. Northwestern Oklahoma State University is a small public school situated in Alva, Oklahoma. It awarded 34 ’s other parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
NWOSU also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 65 of the 1,833 students enrolled at NWOSU were GI Bill® students, of which 17 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $4,291. During this same period, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
Full Northwestern Oklahoma State University Veteran Student Life Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Plymouth State University. The school came in at #5 for the Most Veteran Friendly for Other Parks & Rec. Plymouth, New Hampshire is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s other parks and rec degrees to 6 students in 2020-2021.
Plymouth State also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].According to our most recent data, Plymouth State University supports 4,491 students, and 124 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 53 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $6,351. To help with additional expenses, 3 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Plymouth State]](/colleges/plymouth-state-university/student-life/veterans/)
Southern Wesleyan University did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly for Other Parks & Rec ranking, coming in at #6. This small school is located in Central, South Carolina, and it awarded 4 ’s other parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
SWU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.According to our most recent data, SWU supports 1,345 students, and 40 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 28 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $9,857. To help with additional expenses, 7 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. SWU offers credit for military training for eligible students.
Read More…
Howard University did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly for Other Parks & Rec ranking, coming in at #7. Washington, District of Columbia is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s other parks and rec degrees to 13 students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Howard, the school also landed the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 342 of the 10,859 students enrolled at Howard were GI Bill® students, of which 136 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $13,339. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Howard University]](/colleges/howard-university/student-life/veterans/)
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Notes and References
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Veteran-specific data can be found at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- **GI Bill® student total includes all chapters of the GI Bill® program (e.g., Post-9/11, Montgomery GI Bill, Reserve Education Assistance Program, and Veteran Readiness and Employment)
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
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