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2023 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Colleges for Veterans in the Southwest Region

5 Ranked Colleges
247 Degrees Awarded
$20,900 Avg Cost*
Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, veterans have many different options to choose from. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2020-2021, 3,106 people earned their degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies, making the major the 218th most popular in the United States.

Across the Southwest region, there were 247 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec” ranking, we looked at 5 colleges that offer a degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great parks, recreation and leisure studies programs and a strong support system for 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 parks, recreation and leisure studies program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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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 “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest 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.

Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec

The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec”.

Top 5 Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Colleges for Veterans in the Southwest Region

1

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Oklahoma State University - Main Campus. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec list. OSU is a public institution located in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The school has a large population, and it awarded 35 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

OSU also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, OSU supports 24,535 students, and 1,038 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 439 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $7,226. To help with additional expenses, 39 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

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 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%.

Full OSU Veteran Student Life Report

2
NAU crest
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, Arizona

Out of the 5 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Arizona University landed the #2 spot on the list. Northern Arizona University is a large school located in Flagstaff, Arizona that handed out 59 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our southwest region vets studying parks & rec list, NAU has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 1,055 of the 29,566 students enrolled at Northern Arizona University were GI Bill® students, of which 622 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,378. To help with additional expenses, 56 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Northern Arizona University does offer credit for military training for eligible 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%.

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3

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Central Oklahoma. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec list. Located in Edmond, Oklahoma, this fairly large public school awarded 8 diplomas to qualified ’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.

UCO 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, UCO supports 14,132 students, and 934 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 428 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $6,062. During this same period, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. UCO offers credit for military training for eligible students.

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4

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southeastern Oklahoma State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec list. Southeastern Oklahoma State University is located in Durant, Oklahoma and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 8 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our southwest region vets studying parks & rec list, Southeastern Oklahoma State University has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, Southeastern Oklahoma State University supports 5,607 students, and 265 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 152 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $3,866. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

Full Southeastern Oklahoma State University Veteran Student Life Report

5
MSU Texas crest
MSU Texas
Wichita Falls, Texas

Out of the 5 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Parks & Rec that were part of this year’s ranking, MSU Texas landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Wichita Falls, Texas, this medium-sized public school awarded 12 degrees to qualified ’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.

MSU Texas 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, MSU Texas supports 5,860 students, and 318 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 137 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $4,829. 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.

Full MSU Texas Veteran Student Life Report

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

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