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2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid

8 Ranked Colleges
425 Degrees Awarded
$17,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor's in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 3,224 people earned their degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies, making the major the 191st most popular in the United States.

Across the Great Lakes region, there were 517 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 425 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,075 and $25,381 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer a degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality parks, recreation and leisure studies programs that also have a lower cost than 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 parks, recreation and leisure studies program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools 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 Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)

#1 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #1 spot on the list. UIUC is located in Champaign, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 99 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

UIUC also took the #1 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $15,880 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 2.4% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#2

Indiana University - Bloomington

Bloomington, Indiana
#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Indiana University - Bloomington. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid. Bloomington, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 181 students in 2019-2020.

IU Bloomington also took the #2 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $13,253 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid per year to attend IU Bloomington.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Indiana University - Bloomington Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

#4 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Bowling Green State University - Main Campus landed the #3 spot on the list. Bowling Green State University - Main Campus is a fairly large public school situated in Bowling Green, Ohio. It awarded 55 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our great lakes region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid list, BGSU has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for BGSU is $18,394 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid.

Full Bowling Green State University - Main Campus Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid. SIUC is located in Carbondale, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 21 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our great lakes region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid list, SIUC has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale is $16,945 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at SIUC

#5

Northern Michigan University

Marquette, Michigan
#8 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Michigan University landed the #5 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Marquette, Michigan, and it awarded 29 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our great lakes region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid list, Northern Michigan University has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $15,453 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students with aid per year to attend Northern Michigan University.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Northern Michigan University

#6

Aurora University

Aurora, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

Aurora University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. Aurora, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 4 students in 2019-2020.

Aurora also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #7. It costs about $17,215 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid per year to attend Aurora University.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Aurora

#3 in overall quality

Ohio University - Athens Campus came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. This large school is located in Athens, Ohio, and it awarded 21 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our great lakes region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid list, OHIO Athens has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for OHIO Athens is $22,906 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students with aid.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at OHIO Athens

#8

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

With a ranking of #8, Olivet Nazarene University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. This small school is located in Bourbonnais, Illinois, and it awarded 4 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Olivet Nazarene, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $20,195 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students with aid per year to attend Olivet Nazarene University.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Olivet Nazarene Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 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).
  • 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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