Accounting at City Colleges of Chicago-Olive-Harvey College

An estimated debt load of about $16,000 against first-year earnings around $37,000 creates a manageable debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.43—well below the concerning 1.0 threshold. However, the context matters significantly here. Similar accounting programs in Illinois typically produce median earnings of $45,770, with nearby College of DuPage graduates reporting nearly $48,000. That $9,000 annual gap between what peer programs in Illinois suggest and what this program's estimates indicate deserves scrutiny, particularly since accounting skills should be fairly portable across the Chicago metro area.

The lower debt estimate compared to both Illinois and national medians ($20,554 and $19,354 respectively) partially offsets the earnings concern, but an associate's degree in accounting needs to lead somewhere concrete—either into immediate employment at competitive wages or toward bachelor's degree completion. With 31% of students receiving Pell grants, affordability matters, yet the estimated earnings trajectory suggests you'll want to verify what local hiring partnerships exist and whether credits transfer smoothly to four-year institutions. Illinois has 44 accounting programs at this level, and the data from comparable schools suggests finding one that positions graduates closer to that $46,000 state median could mean an extra $750-800 monthly in early career earnings—a material difference when managing student debt.