2023 Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in New York (With Aid)

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New York For Those Getting Aid” ranking.

Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies is the 166th most popular major in the country with 3,106 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. 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 New York, there were 135 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,560 and $27,000 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New York For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 3 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools

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 in New York For Those Getting Aid”.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. 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 in New York For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New York For Those Getting Aid.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in New York (With Aid)

1

Lehman College
Bronx, New York

#2 in overall quality

$2,614 Average Net Price

$46,448 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New York For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Lehman College landed the #1 spot on the list. Lehman is a fairly large school located in Bronx, New York that handed out 26 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

Lehman also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in New York” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $2,614 for New York Parks & Rec students with aid per year to attend Lehman College.

Full Lehman College Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

2

SUNY Cortland
Cortland, New York

#1 in overall quality

$19,273 Average Net Price

$38,027 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New York For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, SUNY Cortland landed the #2 spot on the list. SUNY Cortland is located in Cortland, New York and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 23 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

SUNY Cortland also took the #1 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in New York” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for SUNY Cortland is $19,273 for new york parks & rec students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.5% 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 SUNY Cortland

3

Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science
Paul Smiths, New York

#3 in overall quality

$22,515 Average Net Price

$29,863 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New York For Those Getting Aid list. Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science is a small school located in Paul Smiths, New York that handed out 9 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Paul Smith’s College, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in New York” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science is $22,515 for new york parks & rec students with aid.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science

• Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in the Middle Atlantic 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.