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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in the Great Lakes Region

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

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 3,224 people earned their degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies, making the major the 152nd most popular in the United States. 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 the Great Lakes region, there were 517 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,400 and $24,739 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.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered 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 cost less that 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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region.

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

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Bowling Green State University - Main Campus landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Bowling Green, Ohio, this fairly large public school handed out 55 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

BGSU also took the #4 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Bowling Green State University - Main Campus is $18,394 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students.

Full BGSU Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #2 spot on the list. 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 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 SIUC is $16,945 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at SIUC

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Ohio University - Athens Campus. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Ohio University - Athens Campus is a large public school situated in Athens, Ohio. 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 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 yearly cost to attend Ohio University - Athens Campus is $22,906 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Ohio University - Athens Campus

#4

Northern Michigan University

Marquette, Michigan

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern Michigan University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region. This medium-sized school is located in Marquette, Michigan, and it awarded 29 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Northern Michigan University also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #8. It costs about $15,453 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students per year to attend Northern Michigan University.

Full Northern Michigan University Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 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. It costs about $15,880 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students per year to attend UIUC.

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 more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at UIUC

#6

Aurora University

Aurora, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

Aurora University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. 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.

In addition to being on our great lakes region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students list, Aurora has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Aurora is $17,215 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students.

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 University

#7

Indiana University - Bloomington

Bloomington, Indiana

With a ranking of #7, Indiana University - Bloomington did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. IU Bloomington is a large public school situated in Bloomington, Indiana. It awarded 181 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

IU Bloomington also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend Indiana University - Bloomington is $13,253 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

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

#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 list. Located in Bourbonnais, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 4 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

Olivet Nazarene did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $20,195 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students per year to attend Olivet Nazarene University.

The low 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 full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Olivet Nazarene

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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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