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Community college · Public

Highland Community College

Freeport, IL157 online only

Highland Community College is a public community college in Freeport, IL, with about 1,212 students on campus.

Visit www.highland.edu ↗Directions
Students on campus
1,212
plus 157 studying only online
Admission rate
Open
open enrollment
Net price a year
$5,713
tuition and fees $4,936; the net price adds housing and food
Graduation rate
45%
lower than at 74% of 2-year colleges
Earnings, 10 yrs later
$37,928
lower than at 60% of U.S. colleges
In brief

Highland Community College, in brief

The only college for 30 miles

No other degree-granting college with students on campus is within 30 miles of Highland Community College. Nearby ↓

Loan payments are a small share of pay

The typical graduate owes $8,029, about $85 a month over ten years. That’s 3.1% of a typical former student’s monthly pay six years after starting. Outcomes ↓

Rent in Freeport is below the state median

Median rent in Freeport is $793 a month, 38% below the state median. Living in Freeport ↓

This summary is written from the data on this page. Figures are from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard; graduation rates count only first-time, full-time students.

★ What stands out · Outcomes

Do students finish, and does it pay off?

Graduate
45%
within 3 years · Pell students 35%
Come back for year two
70%
full-time first-year students
Earnings, 10 years later
$37,928
median, students on federal aid
Typical debt
$8,029
about $85 a month over 10 years

Debt vs. the paycheck

The typical loan payment as a share of a typical graduate’s monthly pay six years after starting

3.1%
0%10%: a common comfort line25%

$85 a month against about $2,785 a month in pay.

Paying back loans

Federal student loans, this college

37%

of borrowers paid down at least some of their loan within three years, more than at 32% of U.S. colleges.

Almost none defaulted within three years (payments on federal loans were paused from 2020 to 2023, so recent default rates are near zero everywhere).

Earnings by family background

Median earnings 10 years after starting, by family income at enrollment

Lower incomeunder $30k
$34k
Middle income$30–75k
$47k
Higher incomeover $75k
$40k
Getting in

How hard is it to get into Highland Community College?

Open

anyone with a high school diploma can enroll

Test scores of admitted students

No SAT or ACT ranges reported. Highland Community College is likely test-optional.

What it costs

The sticker price, and what families really pay

Sticker price: $13,161 a year

Before any grants · out-of-state tuition $7,360

Tuition & fees (in state) $4,936Books & supplies $725Other costs $7,500

After grants, the average family on aid pays $5,713.

Tuition and fees are $4,936 a year. The net price also counts housing, food and other costs at full price, so a student living at home pays less than it shows.

Your family’s price

Average net price after grants, by family income

$6,045

About $12,090 over 2 years · 54% off the sticker price

Under $30k$30–48k$48–75k$75–110kOver $110k
Majors

What students study, and what it pays

Share of degrees by field

Liberal arts 33%Health professions 21%Family & consumer sciences 9%Interdisciplinary 8%Transportation 8%Business 5%Everything else 16%

Associate degree programs with the most graduates

And their graduates’ median earnings four years later (one year where that’s all that’s reported).

Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities103 graduates a year · typical debt $8,000
$38k4 yrs out
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing34 graduates a year · typical debt $12,786
$74k4 yrs out
Biological and Physical Sciences31 graduates a year
$41k4 yrs out
Agricultural Business and Management8 graduates a year
—not reported
Agricultural and Domestic Animal Services4 graduates a year
—not reported
Engineering, General4 graduates a year
—not reported
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services4 graduates a year
—not reported
Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians3 graduates a year
—not reported
Who goes there

The students

931 degree-seeking undergraduates.

By race and ethnicity

White 67%Hispanic 8%Black 12%Asian 1%Two or more 4%International 5%

Women and men

Women 61%Men 39%
13 : 1
students per teacher
32%
get Pell grants (lower income)
5%
take federal loans
25%
undergrads 25 or older
42%
study part time
The town around it

Living in Freeport

3% of Freeport’s 23,202 residents are enrolled in college. What the town is like, from TownRatings’ Freeport pages.

Freeport →
FreeportFreeport, IL
$793/momedian rent · 38% below the state$128Ktypical home valueC+Safety Grade12° / 83°January low / July high · 35" of snowC−Health GradeAll colleges in and near FreeportCompare prices, admissions and outcomes

Ask around

Students, parents, alumni and the neighbors next door.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (institution and field-of-study files) and IPEDS (Scorecard 06/10/2026 · IPEDS 2024 · fall 2023); town figures from the Census American Community Survey and NOAA climate normals. Graduation rates count first-time, full-time students; earnings and debt are for students who received federal aid. Distances are straight-line. Colleges are described, not graded (how TownRatings describes colleges). Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.