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

10 Ranked Colleges
951 Degrees Awarded
$15,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Arkansas For Those Getting Aid

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Arkansas For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 Arkansas, there were 951 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $28,422 and $21,178 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Arkansas For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 10 colleges that offered 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. 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 in Arkansas 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. 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 in Arkansas For Those Getting Aid

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

Top 10 Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in Arkansas (With Aid)

#1

University of Arkansas

Fayetteville, Arkansas

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Arkansas. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Arkansas For Those Getting Aid list. UARK is a large public school situated in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It awarded 316 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

UARK also took the #1 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Arkansas” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Arkansas is $16,381 for Arkansas Parks & Rec students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at UARK

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Arkansas For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Arkansas at Monticello landed the #2 spot on the list. Monticello, Arkansas is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 45 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UAM, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Arkansas” ranking. It costs about $12,136 for Arkansas Parks & Rec students with aid per year to attend University of Arkansas at Monticello.

Full UAM Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Arkansas For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Arkansas State University - Main Campus landed the #3 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and it awarded 245 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

A-State also took the #3 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Arkansas” ranking. It costs about $13,406 for arkansas parks & rec students with aid per year to attend A-State.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at A-State

#4

Arkansas Tech University

Russellville, Arkansas

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Arkansas Tech University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Arkansas For Those Getting Aid. Russellville, Arkansas is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 18 students in 2019-2020.

ATU also took the #9 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Arkansas” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Arkansas Tech University is $10,772 for arkansas parks & rec students with aid.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Arkansas Tech University

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Arkansas For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Central Arkansas landed the #5 spot on the list. UCA is located in Conway, Arkansas and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 89 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCA, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Arkansas” ranking. It costs about $15,376 for arkansas parks & rec students with aid per year to attend University of Central Arkansas.

Full University of Central Arkansas Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#6

Henderson State University

Arkadelphia, Arkansas

Henderson State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Arkansas For Those Getting Aid list. Henderson State University is a public institution located in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. The school has a small population, and it awarded 46 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Henderson State University also took the #6 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Arkansas” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Henderson State University is $10,270 for Arkansas Parks & Rec students with aid.

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

With a ranking of #7, Southern Arkansas University Main Campus did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Arkansas For Those Getting Aid list. Magnolia, Arkansas is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 38 students in 2019-2020.

Southern Arkansas University Main Campus also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Arkansas” list, coming in at #8. It costs about $14,270 for Arkansas Parks & Rec students with aid per year to attend Southern Arkansas University Main Campus.

Full Southern Arkansas University Main Campus Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#8

Harding University

Searcy, Arkansas

Harding University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Arkansas For Those Getting Aid ranking. Harding University is a small school located in Searcy, Arkansas that handed out 42 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Harding did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Arkansas” list. The yearly cost to attend Harding is $19,375 for arkansas parks & rec students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.

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

#9

Ouachita Baptist University

Arkadelphia, Arkansas

Ouachita Baptist University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Arkansas For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #9. Ouachita Baptist is located in Arkadelphia, Arkansas and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 17 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

Ouachita Baptist also took the #5 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Arkansas” ranking. It costs about $19,815 for Arkansas Parks & Rec students with aid per year to attend Ouachita Baptist University.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Ouachita Baptist

#10

Bryan University

Rogers, Arkansas

Bryan University landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Arkansas For Those Getting Aid ranking. This small school is located in Rogers, Arkansas, and it awarded 1 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Bryan University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Arkansas” list. The yearly cost to attend Bryan University is $18,646 for arkansas parks & rec students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

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

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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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