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2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Rocky Mountains Region for Parks & Rec

5 Ranked Colleges
273 Degrees Awarded
$23,400 Avg Cost*
Most Veteran Friendly in the Rocky Mountains Region for Parks & Rec

When it comes to choosing a college, veterans have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Most Veteran Friendly in the Rocky Mountains Region for Parks & Rec” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 Rocky Mountains region, there were 273 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in the Rocky Mountains Region for Parks & Rec” ranking looked at 5 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in parks, recreation and leisure studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent parks, recreation and leisure studies programs, but they also offer a lot of support to veterans and active service members.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as veteran satisfaction, veteran affordability, and overall quality of the parks, recreation and leisure studies program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools

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More Parks & Rec Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Most Veteran Friendly in the Rocky Mountains Region for Parks & Rec” 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Most Veteran Friendly in the Rocky Mountains Region for Parks & Rec

The colleges and universities below are the best for rocky mountains region vets studying parks & rec.

Top 5 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Colleges for Veterans in the Rocky Mountains Region

1
U of U crest
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Utah. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Rocky Mountains Region for Parks & Rec list. U of U is located in Salt Lake City, Utah and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 76 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

U of U also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Among the 33,081 students enrolled at University of Utah, 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. During this same period, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. 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%.

Full University of Utah Veteran Student Life Report

2
Southern Utah University crest
Southern Utah University
Cedar City, Utah

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Utah University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Rocky Mountains Region for Parks & Rec list. Cedar City, Utah 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.

Southern Utah University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Of the 12,582 students enrolled at Southern Utah University, 534 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 378 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $24,076. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Southern Utah University offers credit for military training for eligible students.

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%.

Full Southern Utah University Veteran Student Life Report

3

Out of the 5 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in the Rocky Mountains Region for Parks & Rec that were part of this year’s ranking, Brigham Young University - Provo landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Provo, Utah, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 110 degrees to qualified ’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.

BYU also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 368 of the 36,461 students enrolled at BYU were GI Bill® students, of which 220 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $3,856. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.

[Read full report on veteran student life at Brigham Young University - Provo]](/colleges/brigham-young-university-provo/student-life/veterans/)

4

Out of the 5 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in the Rocky Mountains Region for Parks & Rec that were part of this year’s ranking, Metropolitan State University of Denver landed the #4 spot on the list. Metropolitan State University of Denver is a fairly large school located in Denver, Colorado that handed out 14 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our rocky mountains region vets studying parks & rec list, MSU Denver has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Among the 19,086 students enrolled at MSU Denver, 1,222 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 867 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,619. On top of their other funding sources, 7 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.

Full MSU Denver Veteran Student Life Report

5
Western crest
Western Colorado University
Gunnison, Colorado

Out of the 5 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in the Rocky Mountains Region for Parks & Rec that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Colorado University landed the #5 spot on the list. Western is a small school located in Gunnison, Colorado that handed out 31 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Western, the school also landed the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, Western Colorado University supports 3,203 students, and 75 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 46 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $7,543. 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.

Full Western Colorado University Veteran Student Life Report

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

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