2023 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Colleges for Veterans in the Great Lakes Region
8
Ranked Colleges
475
Degrees Awarded
$27,600
Avg Cost*
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for veterans. College Factual has developed its “Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Parks & Rec” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2020-2021, 3,106 people earned their degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies, making the major the 218th most popular in the United States.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 475 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
For this year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Parks & Rec” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer a degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality parks, recreation and leisure studies programs as well as strong veteran support.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the parks, recreation and leisure studies program at the school, veteran affordability, and veteran satisfaction. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Parks & Rec” list to help you make the college decision.
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 by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Parks & Rec
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Parks & Rec”.
Top 8 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Colleges for Veterans in the Great Lakes Region
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Parks & Rec list. UIUC is a large school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 142 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Of the 52,679 students enrolled at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 10 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 0 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $0. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at UIUC]](/colleges/university-of-illinois-at-urbana-champaign/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Indiana University - Bloomington. The school came in at #2 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Parks & Rec. This large school is located in Bloomington, Indiana, and it awarded 160 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
IU Bloomington not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Our most recent data shows that 1 of the 43,064 students enrolled at IU Bloomington were GI Bill® students, of which 0 were 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. IU Bloomington offers credit for military training for eligible students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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 full report on veteran student life at IU Bloomington]](/colleges/indiana-university-bloomington/student-life/veterans/)
Out of the 8 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Parks & Rec that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #3 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Carbondale, Illinois, and it awarded 44 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
SIUC also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].Among the 11,366 students enrolled at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 1 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 0 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $0. To help with additional expenses, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
Read More…
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ohio University - Athens Campus. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Parks & Rec list. OHIO Athens is located in Athens, Ohio and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 35 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our great lakes region vets studying parks & rec list, OHIO Athens has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Of the 25,714 students enrolled at OHIO Athens, 726 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 324 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,725. To help with additional expenses, 10 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Ohio University - Athens Campus]](/colleges/ohio-university-main-campus/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Bowling Green State University - Main Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Parks & Rec list. This fairly large school is located in Bowling Green, Ohio, and it awarded 45 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
BGSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.According to our most recent data, Bowling Green State University - Main Campus supports 18,142 students, and 577 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 258 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $6,808. On top of their other funding sources, 3 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Bowling Green State University - Main Campus does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Bowling Green State University - Main Campus]](/colleges/bowling-green-state-university-main-campus/student-life/veterans/)
University of Toledo landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Parks & Rec ranking. Toledo, Ohio is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 14 students in 2020-2021.
University of Toledo did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Our most recent data shows that 510 of the 18,319 students enrolled at University of Toledo were GI Bill® students, of which 232 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,784. During this same period, 11 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
Full University of Toledo Veteran Student Life Report
Northern Michigan University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Parks & Rec ranking. Northern Michigan University is a medium-sized school located in Marquette, Michigan that handed out 16 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Northern Michigan University also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, Northern Michigan University supports 7,368 students, and 337 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 136 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $8,630. 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.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Northern Michigan University]](/colleges/northern-michigan-university/student-life/veterans/)
Olivet Nazarene University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Parks & Rec ranking. Olivet Nazarene is a small school located in Bourbonnais, Illinois that handed out 6 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Olivet Nazarene also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].Among the 3,764 students enrolled at Olivet Nazarene, 57 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 35 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $12,334. During this same period, 11 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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 full report on veteran student life at Olivet Nazarene University]](/colleges/olivet-nazarene-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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