Highland Community College is 4 miles from Willow Lake
No college sits inside Willow Lake’s boundary, but Highland Community College’s campus in Freeport, with 1,212 students on campus, is 4 miles from the center of town. About 0% of Willow Lake’s residents are enrolled in college, below Illinois (6%).
From the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard, June 2026; IPEDS fall 2023 enrollment) and the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 2020–24. Straight-line distances from the center of Willow Lake. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Willow Lake
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Willow Lake
It is public. Every other college is more than 15 miles from Willow Lake.
Degree-granting colleges with 100 or more students on campus (fall 2023 enrollment, minus students who study only online). Admitted: share of applicants offered a place. Net price: the average a year after grants, for students on federal aid. Graduate: within 6 years (4-year colleges) or 3 (2-year). Earnings: median, 10 years after starting.
What would your family pay?
The average a year after grants, for families on federal aid, at the colleges within 15 miles and the nearest public four-year college. Pick your family’s income.
Starts at $75–110k, where Willow Lake’s median household income ($100,568) falls.
The average a year after grants and scholarships, for first-time, full-time students on federal aid, from the College Scorecard. Your own price depends on your aid package; every college has a net price calculator. For community colleges the net price counts housing and food at full cost, so tuition is shown beside it. “—”: not reported for that income.
Do students finish, and does it pay?
Each dot is a college: across is the share who graduate, up is what they earn ten years after starting.
Graduation: first-time, full-time students within 6 years (4-year colleges) or 3 years (2-year). Earnings: median, 10 years after starting, for students who got federal aid.
Questions about college near Willow Lake
Is Willow Lake a college town?
No. About 0 of every 100 Willow Lake residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), below Illinois (6). The nearest campus, Highland Community College, is 4 miles away in Freeport.
What colleges are near Willow Lake?
Within 15 miles: Highland Community College (4 miles, 1,212 students on campus).
What is the closest community college to Willow Lake, and what does it cost?
Highland Community College in Freeport, 4 miles away. Tuition and fees are $4,936 a year for Illinois residents; the federal net price, $5,713, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does Northern Illinois University cost if we live in Illinois?
Tuition and fees are $13,248 a year in-state and $13,248 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $10,126 (under $30,000 income) to $21,834 (over $110,000), housing and food included.
Neighbors talk college
Students, parents, alumni and the neighbors next door.
Colleges: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS (Scorecard 06/10/2026 · IPEDS 2024 · fall 2023 enrollment). “On campus” is fall enrollment minus students who study only online. Distances are straight-line from the center of Willow Lake. Residents in college, age, rent and poverty (including poverty without college students, table B14006): U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–24. Colleges are described, not graded; the College town label marks towns where 15% or more of residents are enrolled. How TownRatings describes colleges →