Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Lake Land College

Lake Land College's liberal arts associate's degree comes with remarkably low debt—just $7,346, less than half the national median—but the earnings lag behind. At $24,754 one year out, graduates earn about $3,000 less than the typical Illinois community college offering this program and rank in the 40th percentile statewide. The gap widens when you look at top performers: Prairie State and Lincoln Land graduates earn roughly $10,000 more annually with similar debt loads.

The modest 13% earnings growth to $28,006 by year four helps, but even at that point, graduates remain below where many comparable programs start. The extremely low debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.30 means repayment won't be crushing—most graduates could theoretically pay off their loans in less than a year if they devoted 10% of their income to it. That's genuinely valuable for students planning to transfer to a four-year school or those who need an affordable credential quickly.

For families choosing Lake Land specifically for cost reasons—maybe staying local in Mattoon—this program delivers on affordability. But if your student can commute to one of the higher-earning programs elsewhere in Illinois without significantly more debt, that extra $10,000 annually represents real money that compounds over a lifetime. The value here is keeping doors open cheaply, not maximizing immediate earning power.