2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $75-$110k) in Illinois

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” 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 152nd most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $29,957 and had an average of $22,487 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 167 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,733 and $24,414 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 128 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking analyzed 4 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 cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the parks, recreation and leisure studies program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The parks & rec school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k”.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $75-$110k.

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $75-$110k) in Illinois

#1

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$21,998 Average Net Price

$38,751 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 for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 99 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $75-$110k list, UIUC has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UIUC is $21,998 for illinois bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $75-$110k.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 2.4% 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 full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at UIUC

#2

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Carbondale, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$20,698 Average Net Price

$28,960 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. This fairly large school is located in Carbondale, Illinois, and it awarded 21 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $20,698 for illinois bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#3

Aurora University

Aurora, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$19,609 Average Net Price

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Aurora University landed the #3 spot on the list. Aurora University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Aurora, Illinois. It awarded 4 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $75-$110k list, Aurora has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $19,609 for illinois bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend Aurora University.

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%.

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

#4

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$21,306 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Olivet Nazarene University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. Olivet Nazarene University is located in Bourbonnais, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 4 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $75-$110k list, Olivet Nazarene has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Olivet Nazarene University is $21,306 for illinois bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $75-$110k.

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 University Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $75-$110k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $75-$110k)

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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