Illinois Eastern
Community Colleges
Public Community College in Olney, IL. Six-year graduation rate 63%. Median 10-year earnings $37,533.
Ten-year median earnings of $37,533 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. 63% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $6,500.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.17 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
Completion is middling: 63% finish inside six years. Retention of 66% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. A 16% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. The part-time picture is harder: 49% return, against 66% full-time. At 15:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,751 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $10,309 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($9,365 versus $12,874), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Most students get help: 91% receive grants worth $7,237 on average. 12% borrow federally — a low rate, though it covers federal loans only.
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 · 674 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 | $9,365 |
| $30–48k | $8,716 |
| $48–75k | $10,864 |
| $75–110k | $12,053 |
| $110k+ | $12,874 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 204 of these 1,751 students, totalling $1,246,889 — an average of $6,112 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Richland 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)