Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies

Find Schools Near

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

7 Ranked Colleges
168 Degrees Awarded
$19,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor's in the Middle Atlantic Region

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Middle Atlantic Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 the Middle Atlantic region, there were 237 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $30,500 and $25,375 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 168 parks, recreation and leisure studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,278 and $24,587 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Middle Atlantic Region” ranking analyzed 7 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.

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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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 for a Bachelor’s in the Middle Atlantic Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Middle Atlantic Region

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

Top 7 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies in the Middle Atlantic Region

#1

Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

Kutztown, Pennsylvania

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Middle Atlantic Region list. Kutztown University of Pennsylvania is a public institution located in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 67 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Kutztown University also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $22,422 for middle atlantic region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students per year to attend Kutztown University of Pennsylvania.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

#2

York College of Pennsylvania

York, Pennsylvania

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend York College of Pennsylvania. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Middle Atlantic Region. YCP is a small private not-for-profit school situated in York, Pennsylvania. It awarded 16 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

YCP did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for York College of Pennsylvania is $20,652 for Middle Atlantic Region Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at YCP

#3

SUNY Cortland

Cortland, New York

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend SUNY Cortland. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Middle Atlantic Region. Cortland, New York is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 4 students in 2019-2020.

SUNY Cortland also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $18,705 for middle atlantic region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students per year to attend SUNY Cortland.

The low student loan default rate of 4.5% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full SUNY Cortland Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

#4

Lehman College

Bronx, New York
#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Lehman College. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Middle Atlantic Region list. Located in Bronx, New York, this fairly large public school handed out 14 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Lehman, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Lehman is $1,814 for Middle Atlantic Region Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students.

Full Lehman College Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

#5

Frostburg State University

Frostburg, Maryland
#5 in overall quality

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Middle Atlantic Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Frostburg State University landed the #5 spot on the list. Frostburg State University is a public institution located in Frostburg, Maryland. The school has a small population, and it awarded 28 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Frostburg State also took the #5 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Frostburg State University is $16,676 for middle atlantic region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Frostburg State

Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Paul Smith’s College is located in Paul Smiths, New York and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 13 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

Paul Smith’s College also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region” list, coming in at #7. The yearly cost to attend Paul Smith’s College is $23,784 for middle atlantic region bachelor’s degree parks & rec students.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies at Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science

#7

Ithaca College

Ithaca, New York

Ithaca College landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Ithaca, New York 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 6 students in 2019-2020.

Ithaca not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Ithaca College is $33,465 for Middle Atlantic Region Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Full Ithaca College Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies Report

Switch to a Different Ranking Method

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.

Featured Athletic Training Schools

Find Schools Near You