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2022 Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid

10 Ranked Colleges
183 Degrees Awarded
$18,400 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools for a Bachelor's For Those Getting Aid

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 Outdoor Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 255 people earned their degree in outdoor education, making the major the 314th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, outdoor education graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $0 and had an average of $0 in loans still to pay off.

At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 183 outdoor education graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,303 and $24,501 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 10 colleges that offer a degree in outdoor education. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality outdoor education programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the outdoor education program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Outdoor Education Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid” 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.

Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for bachelor’s degree outdoor ed students with aid.

Top 10 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Outdoor Education (With Aid)

#1

Central Michigan University

Mount Pleasant, Michigan
#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Central Michigan University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. Central Michigan is a fairly large public school situated in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. It awarded 41 bachelors’s outdoor ed degrees in 2019-2020.

Central Michigan not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Outdoor Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $15,981 for Bachelor’s Degree Outdoor Ed students with aid per year to attend Central Michigan University.

Read full report on Outdoor Education at Central Michigan University

#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Weber State University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in Ogden, Utah, and it awarded 5 bachelors’s outdoor ed degrees in 2019-2020.

WSU also took the #4 spot in our “Best Outdoor Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend WSU is $11,968 for Bachelor’s Degree Outdoor Ed students with aid.

Full WSU Outdoor Education Report

#3

SUNY Cortland

Cortland, New York
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, SUNY Cortland landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Cortland, New York, this medium-sized public school awarded 8 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s outdoor ed students in 2019-2020.

SUNY Cortland also made our “Best Outdoor Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend SUNY Cortland is $18,705 for Bachelor’s Degree Outdoor Ed students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Outdoor Education at SUNY Cortland

#4

Murray State University

Murray, Kentucky
#9 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Murray State University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid. Located in Murray, Kentucky, this medium-sized public school handed out 1 degrees to qualified bachelors’s outdoor ed students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Murray State, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Outdoor Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Murray State University is $11,390 for Bachelor’s Degree Outdoor Ed students with aid.

Read more about Outdoor Education at Murray State University

#5

Fort Lewis College

Durango, Colorado
#7 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Fort Lewis College landed the #5 spot on the list. FLC is a public institution located in Durango, Colorado. The school has a small population, and it awarded 21 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

FLC also made our “Best Outdoor Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #7. The yearly cost to attend Fort Lewis College is $16,274 for bachelor’s degree outdoor ed students with aid.

Read more about Outdoor Education at Fort Lewis College

#6

Salisbury University

Salisbury, Maryland
#3 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Salisbury University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Salisbury, Maryland, this medium-sized public school awarded 1 degrees to qualified bachelors’s outdoor ed students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree outdoor ed students with aid list, Salisbury has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Outdoor Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Salisbury University is $19,617 for bachelor’s degree outdoor ed students with aid.

The school has an impressive 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 Salisbury

#7

Black Hills State University

Spearfish, South Dakota
#5 in overall quality

Black Hills State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #7. Located in Spearfish, South Dakota, this small public school awarded 11 degrees to qualified bachelors’s outdoor ed students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at BHSU, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Outdoor Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend BHSU is $16,641 for Bachelor’s Degree Outdoor Ed students with aid.

Full Black Hills State University Outdoor Education Report

#8

Northern Vermont University

Johnson, Vermont

Northern Vermont University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. Northern Vermont University is a public institution located in Johnson, Vermont. The school has a small population, and it awarded 13 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Northern Vermont University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Outdoor Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend Northern Vermont University is $15,749 for bachelor’s degree outdoor ed students with aid.

Read full report on Outdoor Education at Northern Vermont University

#9

Liberty University

Lynchburg, Virginia
#8 in overall quality

Liberty University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #9. Located in Lynchburg, Virginia, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 10 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s outdoor ed students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Liberty University, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Outdoor Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Liberty University is $28,903 for bachelor’s degree outdoor ed students with aid.

Read full report on Outdoor Education at Liberty University

#10

New England College

Henniker, New Hampshire
#10 in overall quality

New England College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Outdoor Ed Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Getting Aid list. Henniker, New Hampshire is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s outdoor ed degrees to 5 students in 2019-2020.

NEC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Outdoor Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $29,082 for Bachelor’s Degree Outdoor Ed students with aid per year to attend New England College.

Read full report on Outdoor Education at NEC

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

Footnotes

  • *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.

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