2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in South Dakota
4
Ranked Colleges
281
Degrees Awarded
$30,930
Avg Salary
With all of the options veterans have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Most Veteran Friendly in South Dakota for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s” 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 South Dakota, there were 344 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,046 and $25,408 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 281 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $41,663 and $32,117 respectively.
This year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in South Dakota for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s” ranking analyzed 4 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 offer a lot of support to veterans and active service members.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies program at the school, veteran affordability, and veteran satisfaction. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Most Veteran Friendly in South Dakota for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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. 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.
Most Veteran Friendly in South Dakota for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Veteran Friendly in South Dakota for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s”.
Top 4 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in South Dakota
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend South Dakota State University. The school came in at #1 for the Most Veteran Friendly in South Dakota for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s. South Dakota State is a public institution located in Brookings, South Dakota. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 41 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at South Dakota State, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in South Dakota” ranking.Of the 11,405 students enrolled at South Dakota State, 369 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 158 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $5,731. To help with additional expenses, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. South Dakota State does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
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%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at South Dakota State]](/colleges/south-dakota-state-university/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Sioux Falls. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in South Dakota for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s list. Sioux Falls, South Dakota is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 38 students in 2020-2021.
University of Sioux Falls also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in South Dakota” list, coming in at #2.Among the 1,628 students enrolled at University of Sioux Falls, 59 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 32 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $9,281. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
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%.
Full University of Sioux Falls Veteran Student Life Report
Out of the 4 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in South Dakota for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Black Hills State University landed the #3 spot on the list. BHSU is a small school located in Spearfish, South Dakota that handed out 39 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our south dakota bachelor’s degree vets studying parks & rec list, BHSU has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in South Dakota” ranking.Among the 3,608 students enrolled at BHSU, 208 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 88 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $3,863. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. BHSU offers credit for military training for eligible students.
Read More…
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern State University. The school came in at #4 for the Most Veteran Friendly in South Dakota for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s. Located in Aberdeen, South Dakota, this small public school awarded 20 degrees to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.
NSU also took the #3 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in South Dakota” ranking.Among the 3,431 students enrolled at Northern State University, 45 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 14 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $5,287. During this same period, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Northern State University does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
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%.
Full Northern State University Veteran Student Life Report
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Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Veterans in North Dakota
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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).
- Veteran-specific data can be found at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
- 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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- **GI Bill® student total includes all chapters of the GI Bill® program (e.g., Post-9/11, Montgomery GI Bill, Reserve Education Assistance Program, and Veteran Readiness and Employment)
- 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
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