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2022 Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in Washington (With Aid)

9 Ranked Colleges
718 Degrees Awarded
$23,700 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Washington For Those Getting Aid

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 in Washington For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 Washington, there were 718 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Washington For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 9 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness 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 in Washington For Those Getting Aid” 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 in Washington For Those Getting Aid

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

Top 9 Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies in Washington (With Aid)

#1

Eastern Washington University

Cheney, Washington

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Eastern Washington University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Washington For Those Getting Aid. Eastern Washington University is a public institution located in Cheney, Washington. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 23 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

EWU also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Washington” list, coming in at #9. It costs about $12,607 for Washington Parks & Rec students with aid per year to attend EWU.

Full EWU Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#2

Washington State University

Pullman, Washington

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Washington For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Washington State University landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Pullman, Washington, this large public school handed out 191 diplomas to qualified ’s parks and rec students in 2019-2020.

Wazzu also took the #3 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Washington” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Washington State University is $16,358 for Washington Parks & Rec students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 4.6% 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, & Fitness Studies at Wazzu

#3

Central Washington University

Ellensburg, Washington

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Washington For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Central Washington University landed the #3 spot on the list. Ellensburg, Washington is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 107 students in 2019-2020.

CWU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Washington” list. It costs about $15,397 for Washington Parks & Rec students with aid per year to attend CWU.

Full CWU Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#4

Western Washington University

Bellingham, Washington

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Washington University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Washington For Those Getting Aid list. WWU is a fairly large public school situated in Bellingham, Washington. It awarded 105 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our washington parks & rec students with aid list, WWU has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Washington” ranking. It costs about $16,529 for Washington Parks & Rec students with aid per year to attend WWU.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

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

#5

Pacific Lutheran University

Tacoma, Washington

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Pacific Lutheran University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Washington For Those Getting Aid list. Pacific Lutheran University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Tacoma, Washington. The school has a small population, and it awarded 52 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at PLU, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Washington” ranking. The yearly cost to attend PLU is $23,058 for Washington Parks & Rec students with aid.

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%.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at PLU

#6

Whitworth University

Spokane, Washington

Whitworth University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Washington For Those Getting Aid ranking. Spokane, Washington is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 14 students in 2019-2020.

Whitworth not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Washington” list. The yearly cost to attend Whitworth is $25,557 for washington parks & rec students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

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

#7

Gonzaga University

Spokane, Washington

With a ranking of #7, Gonzaga University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Washington For Those Getting Aid list. This medium-sized school is located in Spokane, Washington, and it awarded 46 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Gonzaga not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Washington” list. It costs about $33,793 for Washington Parks & Rec students with aid per year to attend Gonzaga University.

With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%.

Full Gonzaga Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

#8

Seattle University

Seattle, Washington

Seattle University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Washington For Those Getting Aid ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Seattle, Washington, and it awarded 55 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2019-2020.

Seattle U did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Washington” list. The estimated yearly cost for Seattle U is $34,802 for Washington Parks & Rec students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read more about Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies at Seattle U

#9

University of Puget Sound

Tacoma, Washington

University of Puget Sound did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Parks & Rec Schools in Washington For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #9. Tacoma, Washington is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 26 students in 2019-2020.

Puget Sound not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools in Washington” list. It costs about $35,149 for Washington Parks & Rec students with aid per year to attend Puget Sound.

The low student loan default rate of 2.6% 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%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Full University of Puget Sound Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Report

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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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