2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Georgia
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies School for You
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies is the #13 most popular major in Georgia with 1,981 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
The Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Georgia ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 14 schools in Georgia to see which ones offered the best value programs for parks and rec students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 10 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools
Our analysis found Georgia Southern University to be the best value school for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students who want to pursue a degree in Georgia. Located in the distant town of Statesboro, GaSou is a public school with a very large student population.
GaSou undergraduate students pay an average of $6,485 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that parks and rec majors at GaSou take out is $27,366. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $188.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Kennesaw State University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Georgia list. KSU Georgia is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Kennesaw.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at KSU Georgia are $6,436 a year. On average, parks and rec graduates from KSU Georgia take out $26,595 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $244.
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Out of the 14 schools in Georgia that were part of this year’s ranking, University of West Georgia landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the town of Carrollton, University of West Georgia is a public college with a large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at University of West Georgia are $6,521 per year. On average, parks and rec graduates from University of West Georgia take out $29,254 in student loans while working on their degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $156, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Augusta University is a great value for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Augusta University is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Augusta.
Augusta University undergraduate students pay an average of $9,022 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, parks and rec majors at Augusta University accumulate an average of around $27,500 in student debt.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Augusta University also is in the top 10% of our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Georgia ranking.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Clayton State University is a great value for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Located in the large suburb of Morrow, Clayton State University is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
Clayton State University undergraduate students pay an average of $5,568 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Parks & Rec majors at Clayton State University take out an average of $31,000 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Georgia College & State University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the distant town of Milledgeville, Georgia College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Georgia College are $9,524 per year. After completing their degree, parks and rec graduates from Georgia College carry an average student debtload of $25,000. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $180, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
In addition to its great value ranking, Georgia College is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Georgia list.
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Valdosta State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. It came in at #7 on the list. VSU is a large public school located in the city of Valdosta.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at VSU are $6,583 a year. While working on their degree, parks and rec majors at VSU accumulate an average of around $25,500 in student debt.
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University of Georgia landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies programs. Located in the city of Athens, UGA is a public school with a fairly large student population.
UGA undergraduate students pay an average of $12,068 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, parks and rec graduates from UGA carry an average student debtload of $23,341. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $226.
UGA also made our Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Georgia list, coming in at #3.
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Georgia State University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure & Fitness Schools in Georgia list. Georgia State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Atlanta.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Georgia State are $9,286 a year.
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With a ranking of #10, Shorter University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies students. Shorter is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Rome.
Shorter undergraduate students pay an average of $22,810 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, parks and rec majors at Shorter accumulate an average of around $26,000 in student debt.
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Request InformationBest Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Southeast Region
Explore all the Best Value Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| North Carolina | 3,436 |
| West Virginia | 1,238 |
| Mississippi | 1,128 |
| South Carolina | 1,339 |
| Florida | 2,340 |
| Virginia | 1,729 |
| Arkansas | 1,012 |
| Alabama | 959 |
| Kentucky | 1,141 |
| Tennessee | 2,462 |
| Louisiana | 703 |
More Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Rankings in Georgia
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Related Majors for Parks & Rec
Parks & Rec Majors to Study
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Health & Physical Education | 67,146 |
| Recreation Administration | 3,122 |
| Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies | 3,106 |
| Outdoor Education | 265 |
| Other Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies | 174 |
Most Popular Majors Related to Parks & Rec
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting | 142,610 |
| Public Administration & Social Service | 98,583 |
| Legal Professions | 61,055 |
| Military Technologies & Applied Sciences | 4,477 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 14 schools only.
- 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 the rest 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).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to NPS Photo/Zurbuch.
More about our data sources and methodologies.