2022 Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies is the 152nd most popular major in the country with 3,224 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $29,957 and had an average of $22,487 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 167 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,733 and $24,414 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 4 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.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the parks, recreation and 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 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 in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$5,477 Average Net Price

$49,122 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 130 students in 2019-2020.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $5,477 for Illinois Parks & Rec students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full UIUC Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

#2

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Carbondale, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$13,658 Average Net Price

$38,710 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #2 spot on the list. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a fairly large school located in Carbondale, Illinois that handed out 29 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for SIUC is $13,658 for Illinois Parks & Rec students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#3

Aurora University

Aurora, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$14,103 Average Net Price

$43,032 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Aurora University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. This medium-sized school is located in Aurora, Illinois, and it awarded 4 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Aurora did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Aurora University is $14,103 for illinois parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k.

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%.

Full Aurora University Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

#4

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$15,806 Average Net Price

$46,385 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Olivet Nazarene University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Bourbonnais, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 4 degrees to qualified ’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

Olivet Nazarene did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Olivet Nazarene is $15,806 for Illinois Parks & Rec students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Olivet Nazarene Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

• Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $0-$30k)

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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