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2023 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in Washington

7 Ranked Colleges
510 Degrees Awarded
$29,437 Avg Salary
Most Veteran Friendly in Washington for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor's

With all of the options veterans have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Most Veteran Friendly in Washington for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies is the 15th most popular major in the country with 73,813 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $31,423 and had an average of $24,388 in loans still to pay off.

Across Washington, there were 706 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,351 and $22,581 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 510 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,905 and $22,558 respectively.

This year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in Washington for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s” ranking analyzed 7 colleges that offered a degree 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 a strong support system for veterans and active service members.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as veteran satisfaction, veteran affordability, 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

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Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Most Veteran Friendly in Washington for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Most Veteran Friendly in Washington for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s

The colleges and universities below are the best for washington bachelor’s degree vets studying parks & rec.

Top 7 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in Washington

1
Wazzu crest
Washington State University
Pullman, Washington

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Washington State University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Washington for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s list. Pullman, Washington is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s parks and rec degrees to 141 students in 2020-2021.

Wazzu also made our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Washington” list, coming in at #1.Our most recent data shows that 83 of the 31,159 students enrolled at Washington State University were GI Bill® students, of which 53 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,702. In addition to receiving other benefits, 1 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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…

2
Gonzaga crest
Gonzaga University
Spokane, Washington

Out of the 7 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Washington for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Gonzaga University landed the #2 spot on the list. Spokane, Washington 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 30 students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our washington bachelor’s degree vets studying parks & rec list, Gonzaga has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Washington” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 270 of the 7,295 students enrolled at Gonzaga were GI Bill® students, of which 231 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $14,276. On top of their other funding sources, 73 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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 University Veteran Student Life Report

3
PLU crest
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, Washington

Out of the 7 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Washington for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Pacific Lutheran University landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Tacoma, Washington, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 42 degrees to qualified bachelors’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.

PLU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Washington” list.Among the 2,907 students enrolled at Pacific Lutheran University, 296 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 188 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $16,941. During this same period, 77 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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 PLU Veteran Student Life Report

4
WWU crest
Western Washington University
Bellingham, Washington

Out of the 7 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Washington for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Washington University landed the #4 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Bellingham, Washington, and it awarded 112 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

WWU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Washington” list.Our most recent data shows that 622 of the 15,197 students enrolled at Western Washington University were GI Bill® students, of which 324 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $5,933. During this same period, 7 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.

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

[Read full report on veteran student life at WWU]](/colleges/western-washington-university/student-life/veterans/)

5
Seattle U crest
Seattle University
Seattle, Washington

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Seattle University. The school came in at #5 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Washington for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s. Seattle University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Seattle, Washington. It awarded 25 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our washington bachelor’s degree vets studying parks & rec list, Seattle U has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Washington” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 39 of the 7,050 students enrolled at Seattle University were GI Bill® students, of which 23 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $9,383. In addition to receiving other benefits, 13 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.

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

[Read full report on veteran student life at Seattle University]](/colleges/seattle-university/student-life/veterans/)

6

Eastern Washington University landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Washington for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s ranking. EWU is a fairly large public school situated in Cheney, Washington. It awarded 25 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

EWU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Washington” list.Among the 12,349 students enrolled at EWU, 647 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 296 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $4,760. During this same period, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

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

Read More…

7
CWU crest
Central Washington University
Ellensburg, Washington

Central Washington University did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Washington for Parks & Rec for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #7. Central Washington University is a fairly large school located in Ellensburg, Washington that handed out 89 bachelors’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

CWU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Washington” list.Of the 11,174 students enrolled at Central Washington University, 711 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 327 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $5,593. To help with additional expenses, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Central Washington University does offer credit for military training for eligible students.

Read More…

Notes and References

References

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