2022 Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in Illinois (With Aid)

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 in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” 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.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great parks, recreation and leisure studies programs and 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

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 Illinois 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois parks & rec students with aid.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in Illinois (With Aid)

#1

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$15,880 Average Net Price

$49,122 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois 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. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 130 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for UIUC is $15,880 for illinois parks & rec students with aid.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

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

#2

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Carbondale, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$16,945 Average Net Price

$38,710 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 in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Carbondale, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 29 students in 2019-2020.

SIUC also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $16,945 for illinois parks & rec students with aid per year to attend SIUC.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at SIUC

#3

Aurora University

Aurora, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$17,215 Average Net Price

$43,032 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Aurora University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. Aurora University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Aurora, Illinois. It awarded 4 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois parks & rec students with aid list, Aurora has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $17,215 for illinois parks & rec students with aid per year to attend Aurora.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Aurora University

#4

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$20,195 Average Net Price

$46,385 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Olivet Nazarene University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. Olivet Nazarene is located in Bourbonnais, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 4 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

Olivet Nazarene did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $20,195 for illinois parks & rec students with aid per year to attend Olivet Nazarene.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Olivet Nazarene University

• Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (With Aid)

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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