2023 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New Jersey
8
Ranked Colleges
1,113
Degrees Awarded
$19,300
Avg Net Price*
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. 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 New Jersey” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2020-2021, 73,813 people earned their degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies, making the major the 15th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $31,423 and had an average of $24,388 in loans still to pay off.
Across New Jersey, there were 1,113 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,053 and $26,605 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New Jersey” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered a degree 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.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New Jersey” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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. 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 Jersey
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New Jersey.
Top 8 Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in New Jersey
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Rutgers University - New Brunswick. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New Jersey list. Rutgers New Brunswick is a large public school situated in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It awarded 456 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Rutgers New Brunswick did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in New Jersey” list. The yearly cost to attend Rutgers New Brunswick is $23,035 for New Jersey Parks & Rec students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Rutgers New Brunswick
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend William Paterson University of New Jersey. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New Jersey. Located in Wayne, New Jersey, this medium-sized public school handed out 107 diplomas to qualified ’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.
William Paterson University also took the #3 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in New Jersey” ranking. It costs about $18,498 for New Jersey Parks & Rec students per year to attend William Paterson University.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at William Paterson University of New Jersey
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Montclair State University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New Jersey list. Montclair, New Jersey is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 120 students in 2020-2021.
Montclair State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in New Jersey” list. It costs about $17,381 for new jersey parks & rec students per year to attend Montclair State University.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Montclair State
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New Jersey that were part of this year’s ranking, Kean University landed the #4 spot on the list. Union, New Jersey is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 48 students in 2020-2021.
Kean did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in New Jersey” list. The estimated yearly cost for Kean University is $18,191 for new jersey parks & rec students.
Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Kean University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Fairleigh Dickinson University - Metropolitan Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New Jersey list. FDU is a medium-sized school located in Teaneck, New Jersey that handed out 19 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our new jersey parks & rec students list, FDU has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in New Jersey” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Fairleigh Dickinson University - Metropolitan Campus is $12,069 for New Jersey Parks & Rec students.
Full FDU Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report
With a ranking of #6, Georgian Court University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New Jersey list. Georgian Court University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Lakewood, New Jersey. It awarded 19 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our new jersey parks & rec students list, Georgian Court has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in New Jersey” ranking. It costs about $20,312 for New Jersey Parks & Rec students per year to attend Georgian Court.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Georgian Court University Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report
With a ranking of #7, Seton Hall University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New Jersey list. Seton Hall is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in South Orange, New Jersey. It awarded 46 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
Seton Hall not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in New Jersey” list. It costs about $32,634 for new jersey parks & rec students per year to attend Seton Hall University.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Seton Hall
Saint Peter’s University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New Jersey list. This small school is located in Jersey City, New Jersey, and it awarded 25 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Saint Peter’s College, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in New Jersey” ranking. It costs about $12,470 for new jersey parks & rec students per year to attend Saint Peter’s University.
Full Saint Peter’s College Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report
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Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in New Jersey
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies students in the state of New Jersey
Most Focused Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in New Jersey
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies students in New Jersey
Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in New Jersey (With Aid)
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies students getting aid in New Jersey
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Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies students with family income $30-$48k in New Jersey
Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies (Income $75-$110k) in New Jersey
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies students with family income $75-$110k in New Jersey
Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in New Jersey
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies students in New Jersey
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Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies students in New Jersey
Most Popular Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in New Jersey
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies students in New Jersey
Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies (Income $0-$30k) in New Jersey
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies students with family income less than $30k in New Jersey
Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies (Income $48-$75k) in New Jersey
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies students with family income $48-$75k in New Jersey
Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies (Income Over $110k) in New Jersey
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies students with family income exceeding $110k in New Jersey
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
- *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
