2023 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Colleges for Veterans in the Plains States Region
12
Ranked Colleges
444
Degrees Awarded
$24,900
Avg Cost*
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for veterans. 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 Plains States Region for Parks & Rec” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies is the 218th most popular major in the country with 3,106 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.
Across the Plains States region, there were 444 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Parks & Rec” ranking analyzed 12 colleges that offered a degree 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Parks & Rec” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
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.
Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Parks & Rec
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Parks & Rec”.
Top 12 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Colleges for Veterans in the Plains States Region
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Iowa. The school came in at #1 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Parks & Rec. Located in Iowa City, Iowa, this large public school handed out 53 diplomas to qualified ’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.
Iowa also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Of the 30,318 students enrolled at Iowa, 1 were 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 funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read More…
Out of the 12 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Parks & Rec that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Missouri - Columbia landed the #2 spot on the list. Mizzou is a large school located in Columbia, Missouri that handed out 116 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Mizzou 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, University of Missouri - Columbia supports 31,089 students, and 5 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 5 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $3,384. During this same period, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. University of Missouri - Columbia does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Mizzou]](/colleges/university-of-missouri-columbia/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Northern Iowa. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Parks & Rec list. University of Northern Iowa is a medium-sized public school situated in Cedar Falls, Iowa. It awarded 60 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our plains states region vets studying parks & rec list, UNI has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Of the 9,507 students enrolled at UNI, 251 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 99 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $6,033. During this same period, 1 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 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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 UNI Veteran Student Life Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Parks & Rec list. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a public institution located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school has a large population, and it awarded 11 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our plains states region vets studying parks & rec list, UMN Twin Cities has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Among the 52,017 students enrolled at UMN Twin Cities, 752 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 436 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $13,020. During this same period, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. UMN Twin Cities does offer 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.
Full UMN Twin Cities Veteran Student Life Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Nebraska at Kearney. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Parks & Rec list. Kearney, Nebraska is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 60 students in 2020-2021.
UNK also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, UNK supports 6,225 students, and 183 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 71 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $3,539. In addition to receiving other benefits, 12 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
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 University of Nebraska at Kearney]](/colleges/university-of-nebraska-at-kearney/student-life/veterans/)
Winona State University did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Parks & Rec ranking, coming in at #6. Winona State University is a medium-sized public school situated in Winona, Minnesota. It awarded 32 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Winona State 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 7,106 students enrolled at Winona State University, 142 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 69 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $4,645. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
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 Winona State]](/colleges/winona-state-university/student-life/veterans/)
Northwest Missouri State University ranked #7 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Parks & Rec list. Maryville, Missouri is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 29 students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our plains states region vets studying parks & rec list, Northwest has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Of the 7,267 students enrolled at Northwest, 168 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 68 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $6,773. 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.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Northwest Missouri State University]](/colleges/northwest-missouri-state-university/student-life/veterans/)
With a ranking of #8, Pittsburg State University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Parks & Rec list. Pitt State is a medium-sized school located in Pittsburg, Kansas that handed out 19 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our plains states region vets studying parks & rec list, Pitt State has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 204 of the 6,398 students enrolled at Pittsburg State University were GI Bill® students, of which 123 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $5,125. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Pittsburg State University offers credit for military training for eligible students.
Full Pittsburg State University Veteran Student Life Report
With a ranking of #9, University of Minnesota - Duluth did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Parks & Rec list. UMN Duluth is located in Duluth, Minnesota and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 21 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
UMN Duluth also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Of the 10,275 students enrolled at UMN Duluth, 249 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 88 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,883. During this same period, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
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 More…
Missouri State University - Springfield landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Parks & Rec ranking. Missouri State University - Springfield is a large public school situated in Springfield, Missouri. It awarded 13 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our plains states region vets studying parks & rec list, Missouri State has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, Missouri State University - Springfield supports 23,505 students, and 5 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 4 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $2,830. 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.
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 More…
Southeast Missouri State University did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Parks & Rec ranking, coming in at #11. Southeast Missouri State University is a medium-sized school located in Cape Girardeau, Missouri that handed out 11 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Southeast Missouri State University, 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, Southeast Missouri State University supports 10,001 students, and 344 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 143 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $4,052. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
Full Southeast Missouri State University Veteran Student Life Report
With a ranking of #12, Emporia State University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Plains States Region for Parks & Rec list. ESU is located in Emporia, Kansas and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 8 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
ESU also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, Emporia State University supports 5,828 students, and 127 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 54 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $3,878. During this same period, 1 students qualified for 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%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at ESU]](/colleges/emporia-state-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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