2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec
5
Ranked Colleges
247
Degrees Awarded
$20,900
Avg Cost*
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, veterans have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec” ranking - to help you make that decision.
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 the Southwest region, there were 247 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,896 and $23,205 respectively.
This year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec” ranking looked at 5 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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 a strong support system for veterans and active service members.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the parks, recreation and leisure studies program at the school, veteran affordability, and veteran population. 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 “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec”.
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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec
The colleges and universities below are the best for southwest region vets studying parks & rec.
Top 5 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Colleges for Veterans in the Southwest Region
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Oklahoma State University - Main Campus. The school came in at #1 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec. This large school is located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and it awarded 35 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our southwest region vets studying parks & rec list, OSU has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Among the 24,535 students enrolled at Oklahoma State University - Main Campus, 1,038 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 439 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $7,226. During this same period, 39 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
Full OSU Veteran Student Life Report
Out of the 5 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Arizona University landed the #2 spot on the list. Northern Arizona University is located in Flagstaff, Arizona and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 59 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
NAU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Of the 29,566 students enrolled at Northern Arizona University, 1,055 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 622 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $6,378. In addition to receiving other benefits, 56 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at NAU]](/colleges/northern-arizona-university/student-life/veterans/)
Out of the 5 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Central Oklahoma landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Central Oklahoma is a fairly large school located in Edmond, Oklahoma that handed out 8 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
UCO did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.According to our most recent data, UCO supports 14,132 students, and 934 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 428 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $6,062. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southeastern Oklahoma State University. The school came in at #4 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec. Southeastern Oklahoma State University is located in Durant, Oklahoma and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 8 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.
Southeastern Oklahoma State University also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 265 of the 5,607 students enrolled at Southeastern Oklahoma State University were GI Bill® students, of which 152 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $3,866. To help with additional expenses, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend MSU Texas. The school came in at #5 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec. This medium-sized school is located in Wichita Falls, Texas, and it awarded 12 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our southwest region vets studying parks & rec list, MSU Texas has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Among the 5,860 students enrolled at MSU Texas, 318 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 137 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $4,829. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
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