2023 Best Health & Physical Education Colleges for Veterans in Illinois
19
Ranked Colleges
2,044
Degrees Awarded
$26,700
Avg Cost*
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, veterans have many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
Health & Physical Education is the 11th most popular major in the country with 67,146 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, health and physical education graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $31,386 and had an average of $24,576 in loans still to pay off.
Across Illinois, there were 2,044 health and physical education graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,016 and $25,284 respectively.
This year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed” ranking analyzed 19 colleges that offered a degree in health and physical education. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent health and physical education 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 health and physical education program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
One Size Does Not Fit All
The phys ed school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed”.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our 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.
Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed”.
Top 19 Best Health & Physical Education Colleges for Veterans in Illinois
Out of the 19 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school awarded 175 degrees to qualified ’s phys ed students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our illinois vets studying phys ed list, UIUC has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, UIUC supports 52,679 students, and 10 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 0 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $0. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full UIUC Veteran Student Life Report
Out of the 19 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Carbondale, Illinois, this fairly large public school awarded 92 diplomas to qualified ’s phys ed students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our illinois vets studying phys ed list, SIUC has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, SIUC supports 11,366 students, and 1 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 0 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $0. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. SIUC does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
[Read full report on veteran student life at SIUC]](/colleges/southern-illinois-university-carbondale/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The school came in at #3 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is a fairly large public school situated in Edwardsville, Illinois. It awarded 130 ’s phys ed degrees in 2020-2021.
SIUE did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Of the 12,860 students enrolled at SIUE, 3 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 2 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $23,082. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
Full SIUE Veteran Student Life Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s phys ed degrees to 155 students in 2020-2021.
UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.According to our most recent data, University of Illinois at Chicago supports 33,518 students, and 1 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 1 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $23,878. To help with additional expenses, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
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 UIC]](/colleges/university-of-illinois-at-chicago/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Aurora University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed list. Aurora, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s phys ed degrees to 86 students in 2020-2021.
Aurora also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Of the 6,265 students enrolled at Aurora, 3 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 1 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,999. To help with additional expenses, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Aurora 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 Aurora University]](/colleges/aurora-university/student-life/veterans/)
With a ranking of #6, Illinois State University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed list. Illinois State University is located in Normal, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 136 ’s phys ed degrees to qualified students.
Illinois State also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].Among the 20,720 students enrolled at Illinois State University, 530 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 163 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,997. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Illinois State Veteran Student Life Report
North Central College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed ranking. North Central College is a small school located in Naperville, Illinois that handed out 55 ’s phys ed degrees in 2020-2021.
North Central not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Of the 2,832 students enrolled at North Central College, 46 were 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 $19,214. To help with additional expenses, 15 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
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 North Central College]](/colleges/north-central-college/student-life/veterans/)
With a ranking of #8, Western Illinois University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed list. Macomb, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s phys ed degrees to 64 students in 2020-2021.
WIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Among the 7,490 students enrolled at Western Illinois University, 330 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 62 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $4,652. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Western Illinois University]](/colleges/western-illinois-university/student-life/veterans/)
Eastern Illinois University ranked #9 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed list. EIU is a medium-sized school located in Charleston, Illinois that handed out 95 ’s phys ed degrees in 2020-2021.
EIU also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].According to our most recent data, Eastern Illinois University supports 8,626 students, and 184 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 46 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $4,730. During this same period, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
Full EIU Veteran Student Life Report
With a ranking of #10, Elmhurst University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed list. Elmhurst is a small school located in Elmhurst, Illinois that handed out 25 ’s phys ed degrees in 2020-2021.
Elmhurst not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.According to our most recent data, Elmhurst supports 3,421 students, and 77 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 57 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $12,985. On top of their other funding sources, 7 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
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 Elmhurst]](/colleges/elmhurst-college/student-life/veterans/)
Monmouth College did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed ranking, coming in at #11. Monmouth College is a small school located in Monmouth, Illinois that handed out 31 ’s phys ed degrees in 2020-2021.
Monmouth also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, Monmouth supports 860 students, and 10 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 3 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $24,477. On top of their other funding sources, 3 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
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%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read More…
Northern Illinois University ranked #12 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed list. Northern Illinois University is a public institution located in Dekalb, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 98 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our illinois vets studying phys ed list, NIU has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Among the 16,769 students enrolled at NIU, 480 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 207 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $7,822. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
Read More…
Olivet Nazarene University ranked #13 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed list. Olivet Nazarene is a small school located in Bourbonnais, Illinois that handed out 24 ’s phys ed degrees in 2020-2021.
Olivet Nazarene also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].Of the 3,764 students enrolled at Olivet Nazarene University, 57 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 35 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $12,334. On top of their other funding sources, 11 students received funds through 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%.
Read More…
With a ranking of #14, Northwestern University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed list. Located in Evanston, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 62 degrees to qualified ’s phys ed students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our illinois vets studying phys ed list, Northwestern has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, Northwestern University supports 22,603 students, and 1 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 1 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $399. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate 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%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full Northwestern University Veteran Student Life Report
Trinity International University - Illinois ranked #15 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed list. Deerfield, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s phys ed degrees to 14 students in 2020-2021.
TIU Illinois not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.According to our most recent data, Trinity International University - Illinois supports 1,454 students, and 14 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 9 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $6,061. To help with additional expenses, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Full TIU Illinois Veteran Student Life Report
With a ranking of #16, Quincy University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed list. This small school is located in Quincy, Illinois, and it awarded 17 ’s phys ed degrees in 2020-2021.
Quincy U not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Of the 1,273 students enrolled at Quincy U, 13 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 6 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $12,744. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Quincy U offers credit for military training for eligible students.
Read More…
North Park University did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed ranking, coming in at #17. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 13 degrees to qualified ’s phys ed students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at North Park, the school also landed the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 30 of the 2,831 students enrolled at North Park University were GI Bill® students, of which 23 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $11,080. To help with additional expenses, 2 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Full North Park Veteran Student Life Report
Millikin University did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed ranking, coming in at #18. Millikin University is located in Decatur, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 18 ’s phys ed degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Millikin, the school also landed the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 24 of the 1,982 students enrolled at Millikin University were GI Bill® students, of which 20 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $7,013. To help with additional expenses, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Millikin University does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Full Millikin University Veteran Student Life Report
Concordia University, Chicago came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Phys Ed ranking. Concordia University, Chicago is a medium-sized school located in River Forest, Illinois that handed out 429 ’s phys ed degrees in 2020-2021.
Concordia University, Chicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Our most recent data shows that 134 of the 6,491 students enrolled at Concordia University, Chicago were GI Bill® students, of which 96 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $7,085. During this same period, 4 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 Concordia University, Chicago Veteran Student Life 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).
- 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.
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