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2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $0-$30k

9 Ranked Colleges
1,015 Degrees Awarded
$13,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor's in Colorado For Those Making $0-$30k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 72,122 people earned their degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies, making the major the 15th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $29,823 and had an average of $24,576 in loans still to pay off.

Across Colorado, there were 1,205 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $28,553 and $20,903 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,015 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,261 and $25,672 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs that also have a lower cost than 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, leisure, and fitness studies program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools

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 “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most 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 Colorado For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for colorado bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies (Income $0-$30k) in Colorado

#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Colorado State University - Fort Collins. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $0-$30k list. Colorado State is a large public school situated in Fort Collins, Colorado. It awarded 335 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our colorado bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k list, Colorado State has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Colorado” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Colorado State is $11,831 for colorado bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 3.0% 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.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Colorado State University - Fort Collins

#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Northern Colorado. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $0-$30k. This fairly large school is located in Greeley, Colorado, and it awarded 162 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

University of Northern Colorado not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Colorado” list. It costs about $11,571 for colorado bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Northern Colorado.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at University of Northern Colorado

#3

Adams State University

Alamosa, Colorado
#8 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Adams State University landed the #3 spot on the list. Adams State University is a small public school situated in Alamosa, Colorado. It awarded 50 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Adams State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Colorado” list. It costs about $10,108 for Colorado Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Adams State.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Adams State University

#5 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Metropolitan State University of Denver landed the #4 spot on the list. MSU Denver is located in Denver, Colorado and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 122 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our colorado bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k list, MSU Denver has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Colorado” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for MSU Denver is $11,531 for colorado bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Metropolitan State University of Denver

#6 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Colorado State University - Pueblo landed the #5 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Pueblo, Colorado, and it awarded 40 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Colorado State University - Pueblo also took the #6 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Colorado” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Colorado State University - Pueblo is $11,363 for Colorado Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Colorado State University - Pueblo

#6

Western Colorado University

Gunnison, Colorado
#4 in overall quality

Western Colorado University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $0-$30k list. Western Colorado University is a small school located in Gunnison, Colorado that handed out 54 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Western also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Colorado” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for Western is $13,018 for colorado bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Western

#7

Fort Lewis College

Durango, Colorado
#9 in overall quality

Fort Lewis College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $0-$30k list. FLC is a small school located in Durango, Colorado that handed out 72 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our colorado bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k list, FLC has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Colorado” ranking. The yearly cost to attend FLC is $13,108 for Colorado Bachelor’s Degree Parks & Rec students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at FLC

#8

Colorado Mesa University

Grand Junction, Colorado
#7 in overall quality

Colorado Mesa University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #8. This medium-sized school is located in Grand Junction, Colorado, and it awarded 131 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Colorado Mesa not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Colorado” list. It costs about $12,708 for colorado bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Colorado Mesa.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Colorado Mesa University

#2 in overall quality

Johnson & Wales University - Denver did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #9. Johnson & Wales University - Denver is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Denver, Colorado. It awarded 16 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

JWU Denver also took the #2 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Colorado” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for JWU Denver is $23,662 for colorado bachelor’s degree parks & rec students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at JWU Denver

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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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