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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in South Dakota (With Aid)

8 Ranked Colleges
321 Degrees Awarded
$19,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor's in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 for a Bachelor’s in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

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 South Dakota, there were 386 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 321 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 8 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 a Bachelor’s in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college 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 for a Bachelor’s in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for south dakota bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in South Dakota (With Aid)

#1

South Dakota State University

Brookings, South Dakota
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, South Dakota State University landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Brookings, South Dakota, this fairly large public school awarded 50 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

South Dakota State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in South Dakota” list. The yearly cost to attend South Dakota State University is $19,252 for South Dakota Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 3.8% 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, & Fitness Studies at South Dakota State

#2

Northern State University

Aberdeen, South Dakota
#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern State University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Aberdeen, South Dakota, this small public school awarded 24 degrees to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our south dakota bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid list, NSU has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in South Dakota” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for NSU is $15,851 for South Dakota Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students with aid.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at NSU

#3

University of South Dakota

Vermillion, South Dakota
#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of South Dakota. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid list. University of South Dakota is a public institution located in Vermillion, South Dakota. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 91 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

USD not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in South Dakota” list. The yearly cost to attend USD is $18,555 for south dakota bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of South Dakota

#4

Dakota State University

Madison, South Dakota
#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Dakota State University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid list. Dakota State University is located in Madison, South Dakota and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 11 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

Dakota State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in South Dakota” list. The estimated yearly cost for Dakota State is $17,691 for south dakota bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid.

Full Dakota State University Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#5

Augustana University

Sioux Falls, South Dakota
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Augustana University landed the #5 spot on the list. Augustana University is a small school located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota that handed out 38 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Augustana Sioux Falls, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in South Dakota” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Augustana Sioux Falls is $24,072 for South Dakota Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 1.8% 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, & Fitness Studies at Augustana Sioux Falls

#6

Black Hills State University

Spearfish, South Dakota
#7 in overall quality

Black Hills State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid list. BHSU is located in Spearfish, South Dakota and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 44 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our south dakota bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid list, BHSU has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in South Dakota” ranking. The yearly cost to attend BHSU is $16,641 for South Dakota Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students with aid.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Black Hills State University

#7

Dakota Wesleyan University

Mitchell, South Dakota
#6 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, Dakota Wesleyan University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid list. Dakota Wesleyan University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Mitchell, South Dakota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 15 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Dakota Wesleyan University also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in South Dakota” list, coming in at #6. The estimated yearly cost for Dakota Wesleyan University is $21,574 for South Dakota Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students with aid.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Dakota Wesleyan University

#8

University of Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls, South Dakota
#8 in overall quality

University of Sioux Falls ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid list. University of Sioux Falls is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It awarded 28 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at University of Sioux Falls, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in South Dakota” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Sioux Falls is $19,893 for south dakota bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Sioux Falls Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

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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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