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2023 Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools For Those Making $30-$48k

10 Ranked Colleges
265 Degrees Awarded
$16,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools For Those Making $30-$48k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Outdoor Education is the 313th most popular major in the country with 265 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, outdoor education graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $27,786 and had an average of $18,614 in loans still to pay off.

For this year’s “Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 10 colleges that offer a degree in outdoor education. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great outdoor education programs and 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 outdoor education program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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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 Outdoor Ed Schools For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college decision.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 10 Best Value Colleges for Outdoor Education (Income $30-$48k)

1
Central Michigan crest
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, Michigan

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Central Michigan University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools For Those Making $30-$48k list. Central Michigan is a fairly large school located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan that handed out 16 ’s outdoor ed degrees in 2020-2021.

Central Michigan also made our “Best Outdoor Education Schools” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $12,346 for Outdoor Ed students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Central Michigan University.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.8% 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 Outdoor Education at Central Michigan University

2

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Vermont University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Johnson, Vermont, this small public school awarded 20 diplomas to qualified ’s outdoor ed students in 2020-2021.

Northern Vermont University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Outdoor Education Schools” list. It costs about $14,086 for outdoor ed students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Northern Vermont University.

Read full report on Outdoor Education at Northern Vermont University

3

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Minnesota State University - Mankato landed the #3 spot on the list. Minnesota State Mankato is a public institution located in Mankato, Minnesota. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 10 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Minnesota State Mankato also made our “Best Outdoor Education Schools” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $12,263 for Outdoor Ed students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Minnesota State University - Mankato.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.6% 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 more about Outdoor Education at Minnesota State Mankato

4

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Weber State University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools For Those Making $30-$48k. Weber State University is located in Ogden, Utah and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 9 ’s outdoor ed degrees to qualified students.

WSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Outdoor Education Schools” list. It costs about $10,173 for Outdoor Ed students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend WSU.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.1% 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 more about Outdoor Education at Weber State University

5
SUNY Cortland crest
SUNY Cortland
Cortland, New York

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, SUNY Cortland landed the #5 spot on the list. SUNY Cortland is a public institution located in Cortland, New York. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 8 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our outdoor ed students whose families make $30-$48k list, SUNY Cortland has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Outdoor Education Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for SUNY Cortland is $14,525 for outdoor ed students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Outdoor Education at SUNY Cortland

6
FLC crest
Fort Lewis College
Durango, Colorado

Fort Lewis College landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Fort Lewis College is located in Durango, Colorado and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 10 ’s outdoor ed degrees to qualified students.

FLC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Outdoor Education Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for Fort Lewis College is $11,347 for Outdoor Ed students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Outdoor Education at Fort Lewis College

7
Plymouth State crest
Plymouth State University
Plymouth, New Hampshire

Plymouth State University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #7. Plymouth State University is a small school located in Plymouth, New Hampshire that handed out 6 ’s outdoor ed degrees in 2020-2021.

Plymouth State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Outdoor Education Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend Plymouth State is $17,329 for Outdoor Ed students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full Plymouth State University Outdoor Education Report

8
BHSU crest
Black Hills State University
Spearfish, South Dakota

Black Hills State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. This small school is located in Spearfish, South Dakota, and it awarded 8 ’s outdoor ed degrees in 2020-2021.

BHSU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Outdoor Education Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for Black Hills State University is $14,928 for Outdoor Ed students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full BHSU Outdoor Education Report

9
Liberty University crest
Liberty University
Lynchburg, Virginia

Liberty University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Lynchburg, Virginia, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 11 diplomas to qualified ’s outdoor ed students in 2020-2021.

Liberty University also made our “Best Outdoor Education Schools” list, coming in at #8. The estimated yearly cost for Liberty University is $27,251 for Outdoor Ed students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about Outdoor Education at Liberty University

10
Brevard College crest
Brevard College
Brevard, North Carolina

With a ranking of #10, Brevard College did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools For Those Making $30-$48k list. Brevard, North Carolina is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s outdoor ed degrees to 10 students in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Brevard College, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Outdoor Education Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Brevard College is $26,488 for outdoor ed students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full Brevard College Outdoor Education Report

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

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