2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Illinois
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Nursing Associate Degree School for You
Nursing is the most popular major in Illinois with 21,938 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which healthcare program is right for you. 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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Healthcare Degree Search has developed this Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. This report analyzed 38 schools in Illinois to see which ones offered the best value associate degree programs for nursing students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 10 Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Lincoln Land Community College the best value school in Illinois for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Springfield, LLCC is a public school with a small student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at LLCC are $6,840 per year. Nursing majors at LLCC take out an average of $22,153 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Elgin Community College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Illinois list. ECC is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Elgin.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at ECC are $7,140 per year. Nursing majors at ECC take out an average of $15,362 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
In addition to its great value ranking, ECC is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Illinois list.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend John A Logan College. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the small suburb of Carterville, John A Logan College is a public college with a small student population.
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.
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The excellent associate degree programs at Rend Lake College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value nursing schools in Illinois. Located in the rural area of Ina, Rend Lake College is a public school with a small student population.
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.
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Out of the 38 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Highland Community College landed the # 5 spot on the list. Highland Community College is a small public school located in the distant town of Freeport.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Highland Community College are $6,846 per year. Nursing majors at Highland Community College take out an average of $19,818 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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With a ranking of #6, Southwestern Illinois College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. SWIC is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Belleville.
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.
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Lake Land College landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree nursing programs. Lake Land College is a small public school located in the town of Mattoon.
Lake Land College undergraduate students pay an average of $8,104 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Lake Land College carry an average student debtload of $13,552.
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William Rainey Harper College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree nursing programs. Harper College is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Palatine.
Harper College undergraduate students pay an average of $9,870 in in-state tuition and fees each 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 did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Illinois list.
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With a ranking of #9, Oakton Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students working on their associate degree. Located in the small city of Des Plaines, Oakton Community College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
Oakton Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $10,446 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at Oakton Community College take out an average of $11,885 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
Oakton Community College also took the #2 spot in our Best Nursing Associate Degree Schools in Illinois rankings.
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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. Located in the rural area of Sugar Grove, Waubonsee is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Waubonsee are $9,271 per year. After completing their Associate Degree, nursing graduates from Waubonsee carry an average student debtload of $17,386.
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Request InformationBest Value Nursing Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
Explore all the Best Value Nursing Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.
State | Degrees Awarded |
---|---|
Ohio | 13,973 |
Michigan | 7,345 |
Indiana | 7,922 |
Wisconsin | 5,410 |
More Nursing Rankings in Illinois
Nursing Related Majors for Nursing
One of 30 majors within the healthcare area of study, nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.
Nursing Concentrations
Most Popular Related Majors
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.