2023 Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)
8
Ranked Colleges
475
Degrees Awarded
$17,500
Avg Net Price*
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” 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 166th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $31,801 and had an average of $23,333 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 475 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,140 and $23,596 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer 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.
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 picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid.
Top 8 Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #1 spot on the list. UIUC is located in Champaign, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 142 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $14,321 for great lakes region parks & rec students with aid.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full UIUC Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Indiana University - Bloomington. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. Bloomington, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 160 students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our great lakes region parks & rec students with aid list, IU Bloomington has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Indiana University - Bloomington is $14,619 for great lakes region parks & rec students with aid.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.4% 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%.
Full IU Bloomington Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Carbondale, Illinois, this fairly large public school awarded 44 diplomas to qualified ’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at SIUC, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend SIUC is $16,285 for great lakes region parks & rec students with aid.
Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at SIUC
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern Michigan University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid. Located in Marquette, Michigan, this medium-sized public school handed out 16 degrees to qualified ’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northern Michigan University, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $15,214 for Great Lakes Region Parks & Rec students with aid per year to attend Northern Michigan University.
Full Northern Michigan University Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ohio University - Athens Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. Ohio University - Athens Campus 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.
OHIO Athens did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $23,831 for Great Lakes Region Parks & Rec students with aid per year to attend OHIO Athens.
Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Ohio University - Athens Campus
With a ranking of #6, Bowling Green State University - Main Campus did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. Bowling Green State University - Main Campus is a public institution located in Bowling Green, Ohio. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 45 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
BGSU also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #5. The yearly cost to attend BGSU is $18,558 for great lakes region parks & rec students with aid.
Full Bowling Green State University - Main Campus Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
University of Toledo came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. University of Toledo is a public institution located in Toledo, Ohio. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 14 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
University of Toledo did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Toledo is $17,312 for Great Lakes Region Parks & Rec students with aid.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at University of Toledo
Olivet Nazarene University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Bourbonnais, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 6 diplomas to qualified ’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.
Olivet Nazarene also took the #8 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $19,470 for Great Lakes Region Parks & Rec students with aid per year to attend Olivet Nazarene.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Olivet Nazarene Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
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Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies students in the Great Lakes Region
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Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies students with family income $48-$75k in the Great Lakes Region
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Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies students with family income exceeding $110k in the Great Lakes Region
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Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies students in the Great Lakes Region
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Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies students in the Great Lakes Region
Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies students getting aid in the Great Lakes Region
Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region
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Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $75-$110k) in the Great Lakes Region
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Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in the Great Lakes Region
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies students in the Great Lakes Region
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
- *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.
