2022 Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in Illinois (With Aid)

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

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 Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great parks, recreation and leisure studies programs and cost less that 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 Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in Illinois (With Aid)

#1

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$15,880 Average Net Price

$49,122 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 130 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UIUC is $15,880 for illinois parks & rec students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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

$16,945 Average Net Price

$38,710 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. SIUC is a public institution located in Carbondale, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 29 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC also took the #2 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale is $16,945 for Illinois Parks & Rec students with aid.

Full Southern Illinois University Carbondale Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

#3

Aurora University

Aurora, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$17,215 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 Getting Aid. Aurora 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.

In addition to being on our illinois parks & rec students with aid list, Aurora has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Aurora University is $17,215 for Illinois Parks & Rec students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Aurora Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

#4

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$20,195 Average Net Price

$46,385 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Olivet Nazarene University landed the #4 spot on the list. 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.

Olivet Nazarene also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for Olivet Nazarene is $20,195 for illinois parks & rec students with aid.

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 in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (With Aid)

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.

Featured Athletic Training Schools

Request Info

Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs ... Learn More >