2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in California For Those Getting Aid

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies is the 15th most popular major in the country with 72,122 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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 California, there were 11,357 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $30,588 and $23,018 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 3,542 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $36,451 and $19,634 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 5 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness 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, leisure, and fitness 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 an Associate in California For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. 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 for an Associate in California For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for california associate degree parks & rec students with aid.

Top 5 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in California (With Aid)

#1

Mt. San Antonio College

Walnut, California

#3 in overall quality

$1,729 Average Net Price

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Mt. San Antonio College landed the #1 spot on the list. Walnut, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out associates’s parks and rec degrees to 474 students in 2019-2020.

Mt. SAC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $1,729 for california associate degree parks & rec students with aid per year to attend Mt. SAC.

Full Mt. San Antonio College Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#2

Riverside City College

Riverside, California

#2 in overall quality

$4,620 Average Net Price

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Riverside City College landed the #2 spot on the list. Riverside, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out associates’s parks and rec degrees to 178 students in 2019-2020.

Riverside City College also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend Riverside City College is $4,620 for california associate degree parks & rec students with aid.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Riverside City College

#3

Norco College

Norco, California

#5 in overall quality

$5,099 Average Net Price

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Norco College landed the #3 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Norco, California, and it awarded 39 associates’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california associate degree parks & rec students with aid list, Norco College has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $5,099 for california associate degree parks & rec students with aid per year to attend Norco College.

Full Norco College Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#4

Cabrillo College

Aptos, California

#1 in overall quality

$8,487 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Cabrillo College. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in California For Those Getting Aid. Cabrillo College is a public institution located in Aptos, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 120 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Cabrillo College not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Cabrillo College is $8,487 for california associate degree parks & rec students with aid.

Full Cabrillo College Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#5

International Sports Sciences Association

Carpinteria, California

#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend International Sports Sciences Association. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools for an Associate in California For Those Getting Aid. Located in Carpinteria, California, this small private for-profit school awarded 121 diplomas to qualified associates’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at ISSA, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Associate Degree Schools in California” ranking.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

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

• Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in the Far Western US Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies (With Aid)

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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to NPS Photo/Zurbuch.

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