2024 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region
8
Ranked Colleges
475
Degrees Awarded
$17,500
Avg Net Price*
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies is the 218th most popular major in the country with 3,106 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 475 parks, recreation & leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking looked at 8 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in parks, recreation & leisure studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great parks, recreation & leisure studies programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the parks, recreation & leisure studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region.
Top 8 Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in the Great Lakes Region
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Ohio University - Athens Campus. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region. Ohio University - Athens Campus is a large public school situated in Athens, Ohio. It awarded 35 ’s parks & rec degrees in 2020-2021.
OHIO Athens also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $23,831 for Great Lakes Region Parks & Rec students per year to attend OHIO Athens.
Full OHIO Athens Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 142 ’s parks & rec degrees in 2020-2021.
UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $14,321 for Great Lakes Region Parks & Rec students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full UIUC Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region. This fairly large school is located in Carbondale, Illinois, and it awarded 44 ’s parks & rec degrees in 2020-2021.
SIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale is $16,285 for great lakes region parks & rec students.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full SIUC Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Bowling Green State University - Main Campus landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Bowling Green, Ohio, this fairly large public school awarded 45 diplomas to qualified ’s parks & rec students in 2020-2021.
BGSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend BGSU is $18,558 for Great Lakes Region Parks & Rec students.
Full BGSU Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Indiana University - Bloomington. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region. IU Bloomington is a public institution located in Bloomington, Indiana. The school has a large population, and it awarded 160 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at IU Bloomington, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Indiana University - Bloomington is $14,619 for great lakes region parks & rec students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.4% 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%.
Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at IU Bloomington
Northern Michigan University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Marquette, Michigan, this medium-sized public school handed out 16 degrees to qualified ’s parks & rec students in 2020-2021.
Northern Michigan University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $15,214 for Great Lakes Region Parks & Rec students per year to attend Northern Michigan University.
Full Northern Michigan University Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
University of Toledo landed the #7 spot on the 2024 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Toledo is located in Toledo, Ohio and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 14 ’s parks & rec degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our great lakes region parks & rec students list, University of Toledo has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Toledo is $17,312 for Great Lakes Region Parks & Rec students.
Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at University of Toledo
Olivet Nazarene University landed the #8 spot on the 2024 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Bourbonnais, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 6 degrees to qualified ’s parks & rec students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Olivet Nazarene, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Olivet Nazarene University is $19,470 for great lakes region parks & rec students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Olivet Nazarene University Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report
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Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies students in the Great Lakes Region
Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies students getting aid in the Great Lakes Region
Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies students with family income $30-$48k in the Great Lakes Region
Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $75-$110k) in the Great Lakes Region
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies students with family income $75-$110k in the Great Lakes Region
Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in the Great Lakes Region
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies students in the Great Lakes Region
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
- *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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