Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants at College of Lake County

College of Lake County's nursing certificate stands out for delivering reasonable debt alongside earnings that track with typical Illinois programs—$9,400 borrowed against first-year pay of about $43,000 based on comparable programs statewide. That debt load sits well below both the state median ($9,625) and especially the national median ($14,803), which matters when you're entering a field where starting salaries are relatively fixed regardless of where you trained.

The earnings estimate reflects what Illinois LPN/LVN programs typically produce rather than this school's specific outcomes, but the comparison to top-performing programs in the state is instructive. While some Illinois nursing certificates lead to first-year earnings exceeding $55,000 or even $60,000, those programs may serve different geographic markets or focus on specialized settings. The $43,000 baseline suggested by peer programs should still support the debt comfortably—a 0.22 debt-to-earnings ratio means graduates would owe roughly 11 weeks of gross pay.

For families weighing this program, the relatively low borrowing is the clearest advantage. Even if actual outcomes vary somewhat from the state estimate, starting your nursing career with under $10,000 in debt provides meaningful financial flexibility that graduates from higher-cost programs won't have. The uncertainty about precise earnings for College of Lake County graduates specifically means you'll want to investigate their job placement rates and where their graduates actually work.