2023 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New York For Those Making $0-$30k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 New York For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2020-2021, 3,106 people earned their degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies, making the major the 166th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $31,801 and had an average of $23,333 in loans still to pay off.

Across New York, there were 135 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,560 and $27,000 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New York For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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 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 and leisure studies 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 Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools

The parks & rec school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New York For Those Making $0-$30k”.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to 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 New York For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New York For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $0-$30k) in New York

1

Lehman College
Bronx, New York

#2 in overall quality

$881 Average Net Price

$46,448 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Lehman College. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New York For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Bronx, New York, this fairly large public school handed out 26 diplomas to qualified ’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.

Lehman also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in New York” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend Lehman is $881 for New York Parks & Rec students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Lehman College

2

SUNY Cortland
Cortland, New York

#1 in overall quality

$11,654 Average Net Price

$38,027 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend SUNY Cortland. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New York For Those Making $0-$30k list. SUNY Cortland is a medium-sized public school situated in Cortland, New York. It awarded 23 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

SUNY Cortland did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in New York” list. The yearly cost to attend SUNY Cortland is $11,654 for new york parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k.

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 undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at SUNY Cortland

3

Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science
Paul Smiths, New York

#3 in overall quality

$18,211 Average Net Price

$29,863 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in New York For Those Making $0-$30k. This small school is located in Paul Smiths, New York, and it awarded 9 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our new york parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k list, Paul Smith’s College has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Schools in New York” ranking. It costs about $18,211 for new york parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Paul Smith’s College.

Full Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

• Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies (Income $0-$30k) in the Middle Atlantic 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.