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Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Illinois

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

38 Colleges
$8,670 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$57,601 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Nursing Associate Degree School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was the most popular one in Illinois. In total, 21,938 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in Illinois.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Our analysis looked at 38 schools in Illinois to see which associate degree programs offered the best value experiences for nursing students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Illinois

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools

Our analysis found Lincoln Land Community College to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a associate degree in Illinois. LLCC is a small public school located in the city of Springfield.

LLCC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,840 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at LLCC take out an average of $22,153 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, LLCC is ranked #3 for overall quality for nursing in Illinois.

Read full report on Nursing at Lincoln Land Community College

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Elgin Community College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the medium-sized city of Elgin, ECC is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at ECC are $7,140 a year. Nursing majors at ECC take out an average of $15,362 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

ECC not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #5 on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Illinois list.

Full Nursing at Elgin Community College Report

#3

Rend Lake College

Ina, IL

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Rend Lake College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Illinois list. Rend Lake College is a small public school located in the rural area of Ina.

Rend Lake College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,000 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Rend Lake College carry an average student debtload of $12,957.

Read More…

#3

John A Logan College

Carterville, IL

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means John A Logan College is a great value for nursing students working on their associate degree. John A Logan College is a small public school located in the small suburb of Carterville.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at John A Logan College are $5,960 per year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from John A Logan College carry an average student debtload of $14,016.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Highland Community College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the town of Freeport, Highland Community College is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Highland Community College are $6,846 a year. Nursing majors at Highland Community College take out an average of $19,818 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Nursing at Highland Community College Report

Southwestern Illinois College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the large suburb of Belleville, SWIC is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SWIC are $6,390 a year. While working on their Associate Degree, nursing majors at SWIC accumulate an average of around $16,832 in student debt.

Read full report on Nursing at Southwestern Illinois College

#7

Lake Land College

Mattoon, IL

Lake Land College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the town of Mattoon, Lake Land College is a public college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Lake Land College are $8,104 per year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Lake Land College carry an average student debtload of $13,552.

Read full report on Nursing at Lake Land College

William Rainey Harper College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the suburb of Palatine, Harper College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Harper College are $9,870 per year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Harper College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $19,644.

Harper College also made our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Illinois list, coming in at #2.

Read More…

#9

Oakton Community College

Des Plaines, IL

Oakton Community College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Oakton Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the small city of Des Plaines.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Oakton Community College are $10,446 a year. Nursing majors at Oakton Community College take out an average of $11,885 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read More…

#10

Waubonsee Community College

Sugar Grove, IL

Waubonsee Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for nursing students to get a associate degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Waubonsee is a medium-sized public school located in the rural area of Sugar Grove.

Waubonsee undergraduate students pay an average of $9,271 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Waubonsee carry an average student debtload of $17,386.

Waubonsee excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Illinois list.

Read More…

Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 7,345
Ohio 13,973
Indiana 7,922
Wisconsin 5,410

Nursing is one of 30 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Health & Medical Administrative Services 89,359
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services 84,492
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 84,274
Allied Health Professions 82,308
Public Health 40,596

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 26 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 Aleksahgabrielle.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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