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2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Wisconsin for Parks & Rec

11 Ranked Colleges
1,030 Degrees Awarded
$25,400 Avg Cost*
Most Veteran Friendly in Wisconsin for Parks & Rec

With all of the options veterans have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Most Veteran Friendly in Wisconsin for Parks & Rec” ranking.

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 Wisconsin, there were 1,030 parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,670 and $26,214 respectively.

For this year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in Wisconsin for Parks & Rec” ranking, we looked at 11 colleges that offer a degree in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs, but they also offer a lot of support to 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Most Veteran Friendly in Wisconsin for Parks & Rec” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Most Veteran Friendly in Wisconsin for Parks & Rec

The colleges and universities below are the best for wisconsin vets studying parks & rec.

Top 11 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges for Veterans in Wisconsin

1

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. The school came in at #1 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Wisconsin for Parks & Rec. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, this large public school handed out 148 degrees to qualified ’s parks and rec students in 2020-2021.

UW - Madison did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Our most recent data shows that 4 of the 44,640 students enrolled at University of Wisconsin - Madison were GI Bill® students, of which 0 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $0. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. 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%.

Full UW - Madison Veteran Student Life Report

2

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Wisconsin for Parks & Rec list. La Crosse, Wisconsin is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 252 students in 2020-2021.

UW - La Crosse also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, UW - La Crosse supports 10,531 students, and 230 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 79 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $4,846. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. UW - La Crosse does offer credit for military training for eligible students.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read More…

3

Out of the 11 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Wisconsin for Parks & Rec that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee landed the #3 spot on the list. UWM is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 87 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

UWM did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Among the 24,565 students enrolled at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, 983 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 494 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,519. On top of their other funding sources, 3 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

Read More…

4

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Wisconsin for Parks & Rec list. Eau Claire, Wisconsin is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 53 students in 2020-2021.

UW - Eau Claire also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].Of the 11,017 students enrolled at University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire, 283 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 91 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $6,514. To help with additional expenses, 1 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.

Read More…

5

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point. The school came in at #5 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Wisconsin for Parks & Rec. Stevens Point, Wisconsin is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks and rec degrees to 42 students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our wisconsin vets studying parks & rec list, UW - Stevens Point has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 343 of the 8,302 students enrolled at UW - Stevens Point were GI Bill® students, of which 129 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,195. On top of their other funding sources, 2 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. UW - Stevens Point does offer credit for military training for eligible students.

Read More…

6

University of Wisconsin - River Falls landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Wisconsin for Parks & Rec ranking. University of Wisconsin - River Falls is located in River Falls, Wisconsin and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 22 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our wisconsin vets studying parks & rec list, UW - River Falls has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 185 of the 5,855 students enrolled at UW - River Falls were GI Bill® students, of which 84 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $6,939. In addition to receiving other benefits, 16 students qualified for 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 University of Wisconsin - River Falls Veteran Student Life Report

7
Marian crest
Marian University
Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin

Marian University did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Wisconsin for Parks & Rec ranking, coming in at #7. Marian University is located in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 14 ’s parks and rec degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our wisconsin vets studying parks & rec list, Marian has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Among the 1,593 students enrolled at Marian University, 48 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 34 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $10,019. To help with additional expenses, 1 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.

Full Marian Veteran Student Life Report

8

University of Wisconsin - Platteville did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Wisconsin for Parks & Rec ranking, coming in at #8. UW - Platteville is a medium-sized public school situated in Platteville, Wisconsin. It awarded 32 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

UW - Platteville did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Our most recent data shows that 263 of the 7,547 students enrolled at University of Wisconsin - Platteville were GI Bill® students, of which 131 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $5,136. To help with additional expenses, 6 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.

Read More…

9
Cardinal Stritch crest
Cardinal Stritch University
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Cardinal Stritch University ranked #9 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in Wisconsin for Parks & Rec list. Cardinal Stritch is a small school located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that handed out 19 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our wisconsin vets studying parks & rec list, Cardinal Stritch has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, Cardinal Stritch University supports 1,646 students, and 25 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 17 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $7,258. To help with additional expenses, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. 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%.

Full Cardinal Stritch University Veteran Student Life Report

10

Concordia University, Wisconsin came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Veteran Friendly in Wisconsin for Parks & Rec ranking. Concordia University, Wisconsin is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Mequon, Wisconsin. It awarded 23 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

Concordia University, Wisconsin also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].Among the 5,492 students enrolled at Concordia University, Wisconsin, 143 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 84 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $5,821. To help with additional expenses, 9 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 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 Concordia University, Wisconsin]](/colleges/concordia-university-wisconsin/student-life/veterans/)

11
Carthage crest
Carthage College
Kenosha, Wisconsin

With a ranking of #11, Carthage College did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Wisconsin for Parks & Rec list. This small school is located in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and it awarded 30 ’s parks and rec degrees in 2020-2021.

Carthage also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Among the 2,763 students enrolled at Carthage, 39 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 25 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $16,318. In addition to receiving other benefits, 12 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

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 Carthage College]](/colleges/carthage-college/student-life/veterans/)

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

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