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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in California (With Aid)

9 Ranked Colleges
566 Degrees Awarded
$12,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Getting Aid

When it comes to choosing a college, students 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 “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies is the 152nd most popular major in the country with 3,224 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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 California, there were 635 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,886 and $18,560 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 566 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 9 colleges that offer a degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality parks, recreation and leisure studies programs that also have a lower cost than 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 for a Bachelor’s in California 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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in California (With Aid)

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fresno landed the #1 spot on the list. California State University - Fresno is a large school located in Fresno, California that handed out 37 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid list, Fresno State has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $5,464 for california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid per year to attend California State University - Fresno.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, 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 87%.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Fresno State

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Long Beach. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. Located in Long Beach, California, this large public school awarded 87 degrees to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

CSULB also took the #3 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California State University - Long Beach is $9,622 for california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full CSULB Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Sacramento. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. California State University - Sacramento is a public institution located in Sacramento, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 121 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Sac State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Sacramento is $9,979 for california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at California State University - Sacramento

#4

San Diego State University

San Diego, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend San Diego State University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 41 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid list, SDSU has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend SDSU is $14,788 for california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national 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 more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at San Diego State University

#5

San Jose State University

San Jose, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Jose State University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. San Jose State is a large school located in San Jose, California that handed out 31 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

San Jose State also took the #1 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend San Jose State is $14,928 for california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full San Jose State University Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

With a ranking of #6, California State University - East Bay did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. Hayward, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 32 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Cal State East Bay, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Cal State East Bay is $11,116 for California Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students with aid.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at California State University - East Bay

California State University - Chico did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #7. Chico State is a fairly large public school situated in Chico, California. It awarded 87 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Chico State also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $15,017 for california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid per year to attend California State University - Chico.

The low student loan default rate of 3.3% 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 about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Chico State

#8

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California

San Francisco State University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. San Francisco State University is a large public school situated in San Francisco, California. It awarded 35 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

SFSU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend SFSU is $15,113 for California Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students with aid.

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

#9

Humboldt State University

Arcata, California
#9 in overall quality

Humboldt State University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Humboldt State University is a medium-sized public school situated in Arcata, California. It awarded 13 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Humboldt State University, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Humboldt State University is $14,692 for california bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Humboldt State University

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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).
  • 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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