2022 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies (Income $48-$75k) in the Southeast Region

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 for an Associate in the Southeast Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 72,122 people earned their degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies, making the major the 15th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $29,823 and had an average of $24,576 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Southeast region, there were 19,063 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $28,950 and $25,504 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 280 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,631 and $18,547 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in the Southeast Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness 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, leisure, and fitness studies program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in the Southeast Region For Those Making $48-$75k” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in the Southeast Region For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for southeast region associate degree parks & rec students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 4 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies (Income $48-$75k) in the Southeast Region

#1

Bob Jones University

Greenville, South Carolina

#2 in overall quality

$12,572 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Bob Jones University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in the Southeast Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Bob Jones University is located in Greenville, South Carolina and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 5 associates’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Bob Jones University, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Bob Jones University is $12,572 for Southeast Region Associate Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make $48-$75k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Bob Jones University

#2

Wake Technical Community College

Raleigh, North Carolina

#4 in overall quality

$7,247 Average Net Price

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in the Southeast Region For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Wake Technical Community College landed the #2 spot on the list. Wake Technical Community College is a large school located in Raleigh, North Carolina that handed out 4 associates’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Wake Technical Community College, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. It costs about $7,247 for Southeast Region Associate Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Wake Technical Community College.

Full Wake Technical Community College Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#3

Webber International University

Babson Park, Florida

#3 in overall quality

$26,304 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Webber International University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in the Southeast Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. This small school is located in Babson Park, Florida, and it awarded 2 associates’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Webber International University also took the #3 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. It costs about $26,304 for Southeast Region Associate Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Webber International University.

Full Webber International University Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#4

Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

#1 in overall quality

$33,223 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in the Southeast Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 96 associates’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our southeast region associate degree parks & rec students whose families make $48-$75k list, Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale is $33,223 for southeast region associate degree parks & rec students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale

• Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies (Income $48-$75k)

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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to NPS Photo/Zurbuch.

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