2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 3,224 people earned their degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies, making the major the 191st most popular in the United States.

Across Illinois, there were 167 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in parks, recreation and leisure studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality parks, recreation and leisure studies programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the parks, recreation and leisure studies program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois

#1

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$13,351 Average Net Price

$49,122 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 130 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend UIUC is $13,351 for illinois parks & rec students whose families make $48-$75k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at UIUC

#2

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Carbondale, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$14,985 Average Net Price

$38,710 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #2 spot on the list. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a public institution located in Carbondale, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 29 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SIUC, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend SIUC is $14,985 for Illinois Parks & Rec students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#3

Aurora University

Aurora, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$15,881 Average Net Price

$43,032 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Aurora University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. Aurora University is located in Aurora, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 4 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

Aurora also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for Aurora is $15,881 for illinois parks & rec students whose families make $48-$75k.

The low student loan default rate of 4.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Aurora

#4

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$17,841 Average Net Price

$46,385 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Olivet Nazarene University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. Olivet Nazarene University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Bourbonnais, Illinois. It awarded 4 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Olivet Nazarene, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $17,841 for Illinois Parks & Rec students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Olivet Nazarene.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Olivet Nazarene Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

• Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $48-$75k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $48-$75k)

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).
• 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

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• 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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