2023 Best Natural Resources/Conservation, General Associate Degree Colleges for Veterans

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 for Natural Resources/Conservation, General for an Associate” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2020-2021, 2,834 people earned their degree in natural resources/conservation, general, making the major the 245th most popular in the United States.

At the associate degree level specifically, there were 262 natural resources/conservation, general graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,806 and $19,336 respectively.

This year’s “Most Veteran Friendly for Natural Resources/Conservation, General for an Associate” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in natural resources/conservation, general. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent natural resources/conservation, general programs, but they also offer a lot of support to veterans and active service members.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as veteran satisfaction, veteran affordability, and overall quality of the natural resources/conservation, general program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Natural Resources/Conservation, General 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 “Most Veteran Friendly for Natural Resources/Conservation, General for an Associate” 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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Most Veteran Friendly for Natural Resources/Conservation, General for an Associate

The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Veteran Friendly for Natural Resources/Conservation, General for an Associate”.

Top 3 Best Natural Resources/Conservation, General Associate Degree Colleges for Veterans

1

SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Syracuse, New York

42 GI Bill® Students**

#1 in overall quality

$4,672 Average GI Bill® Award

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly for Natural Resources/Conservation, General for an Associate list. SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry is located in Syracuse, New York and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 22 associates’s natural resources/conservation, general degrees to qualified students.

ESF not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Natural Resources/Conservation, General Associate Degree Schools” list.Among the 2,127 students enrolled at ESF, 42 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 16 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $4,672. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. ESF does offer credit for military training for eligible students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. 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 ESF Veteran Student Life Report

2

Vincennes University
Vincennes, Indiana

9 GI Bill® Students**

#2 in overall quality

$4,454 Average GI Bill® Award

Out of the 3 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly for Natural Resources/Conservation, General for an Associate that were part of this year’s ranking, Vincennes University landed the #2 spot on the list. Vincennes, Indiana is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out associates’s natural resources/conservation, general degrees to 26 students in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Vincennes University, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Natural Resources/Conservation, General Associate Degree Schools” ranking.Among the 16,048 students enrolled at Vincennes University, 9 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 5 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $4,454. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

Full Vincennes University Veteran Student Life Report

3

Skagit Valley College
Mount Vernon, Washington

223 GI Bill® Students**

#3 in overall quality

YES Student Veterans Organization

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Skagit Valley College. The school came in at #3 for the Most Veteran Friendly for Natural Resources/Conservation, General for an Associate. Skagit Valley College is a small school located in Mount Vernon, Washington that handed out 8 associates’s natural resources/conservation, general degrees in 2020-2021.

Skagit Valley College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Natural Resources/Conservation, General Associate Degree Schools” list.According to our most recent data, Skagit Valley College supports 4,227 students, and 223 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 65 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $1,353. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

Full Skagit Valley College Veteran Student Life Report

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

Footnotes

• *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

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Lynn Betts.