The cost of four-year colleges is climbing, and many students and parents have therefore been looking at community colleges as a financially sound option. Illinois has some great community colleges, and they come at an affordable price.
Two-year community colleges long have fought the stereotype that they don't stack up academically to traditional universities, but with college costs rising faster than the rate of inflation, attending community colleges has become a more practical choice for prospective students. Community colleges in 22 states now offer four-year bachelor's degree programs in high-demand fields, according to a recent WalletHub report.
The report ranks states with the best community college systems in the nation and is coupled with another analysis that ranks individual community within each state. Illinois ranked 32 overall, though six states (Alaska, Delaware, Indiana, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Vermont) were not included in the rankings.
WalletHub compared a total of 670 community colleges in the U.S. and ranked them using 17 key metrics, including the cost of in-state tuition and fees, student-faculty ratio and student loan default rate.
Here are 16 of the best community colleges in Illinois that were ranked by WalletHub. Following the graphic is a plain text version with the school's national rank in parenthesis, location and individual ranks for the four main criteria. WalletHub's methodology can be found here.
- Cost & Financing - 640
- Classroom Experience - 437
- Education Outcomes - 545
- Career Outcomes - 668
- Cost & Financing - 635
- Classroom Experience - 382
- Education Outcomes - 614
- Career Outcomes - 527
- Cost & Financing - 593
- Classroom Experience - 611
- Education Outcomes - 459
- Career Outcomes - 411
- Cost & Financing - 615
- Classroom Experience - 626
- Education Outcomes - 320
- Career Outcomes - 390
- Cost & Financing - 635
- Classroom Experience - 209
- Education Outcomes - 628
- Career Outcomes - 39
- Cost & Financing - 663
- Classroom Experience - 529
- Education Outcomes - 153
- Career Outcomes - 60
- Cost & Financing - 503
- Classroom Experience - 450
- Education Outcomes - 368
- Career Outcomes - 467
- Cost & Financing - 644
- Classroom Experience - 544
- Education Outcomes - 425
- Career Outcomes - 139
- Cost & Financing - 525
- Classroom Experience - 354
- Education Outcomes - 238
- Career Outcomes - 576
- Cost & Financing - 625
- Classroom Experience - 582
- Education Outcomes - 118
- Career Outcomes - 292
- Cost & Financing - 597
- Classroom Experience - 614
- Education Outcomes - 74
- Career Outcomes - 340
- Cost & Financing - 536
- Classroom Experience - 380
- Education Outcomes - 267
- Career Outcomes - 463
- Cost & Financing - 414
- Classroom Experience - 642
- Education Outcomes - 85
- Career Outcomes - 426
- Cost & Financing - 647
- Classroom Experience - 125
- Education Outcomes - 595
- Career Outcomes - 1
- Cost & Financing - 217
- Classroom Experience - 619
- Education Outcomes - 91
- Career Outcomes - 621
- Cost & Financing - 578
- Classroom Experience - 178
- Education Outcomes - 548
- Career Outcomes - 346
To see the 15 best community colleges in Illinois, including College of Lake County and Harper College, check out Reboot Illinois.
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