Highland Community College
Public Community College in Freeport, IL. Six-year graduation rate 45%. Median 10-year earnings $37,928.
Students who entered Highland Community College reach a median of $37,928 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. 45% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $8,029.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.21 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 0.7 — limited economic uplift documented
Academics
45% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. First-year retention is 70% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. The distance between those two figures is the part worth noticing — students return for a second year at a much higher rate than they graduate, so attrition here is spread across the middle years rather than concentrated in the first. 19% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. Retention drops to 49% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 926 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $5,393 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $3,598 at the $0–30k band to $13,161 at $110k+. About 65% get grants averaging $6,619, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 8% of students.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 214 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $3,598 |
| $30–48k | $5,256 |
| $48–75k | $6,045 |
| $75–110k | $10,242 |
| $110k+ | $13,161 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 71 of these 926 students, totalling $325,364 — an average of $4,583 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Stephenson County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)