Computer Programming at City Colleges of Chicago-Harold Washington College

An associate's degree in computer programming typically means $38,000 in first-year earnings—respectable for a two-year credential, but Harold Washington's estimated $17,750 in debt takes a significant bite out of those early paychecks. That debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.47 means nearly half your child's first-year salary would go toward loan balances, a tighter squeeze than many community college programs deliver. With 35% of students receiving Pell grants, this campus serves a population where every dollar of debt matters.

The challenge here is that we're working entirely from estimates—both the earnings and debt figures come from national peer programs, not tracked outcomes for Harold Washington's actual graduates. Without program-specific data, you can't know whether this particular program connects students to Chicago's tech employers effectively or whether its location in the city translates to better opportunities than the national baseline suggests. The $38,000 figure sits at the national median, which means it's neither impressive nor alarming, but it also tells you nothing about how this school specifically prepares graduates for the local job market.

Given the complete lack of visibility into actual outcomes, this becomes a leap of faith. If your child is committed to staying local and values the accessibility of a community college, it might work—but you'd want to dig into job placement rates, employer partnerships, and whether graduates actually land programming roles or adjacent support positions before committing to nearly $18,000 in debt.