Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services at Rasmussen University-Illinois

Rasmussen's medical assisting program starts at $35,350—already trailing the Illinois state median by nearly $5,000—then drops another 7% by year four. That backward earnings trajectory is troubling for a field that should offer stability, especially when graduates carry $26,612 in debt, roughly $10,000 above what students pay at comparable Illinois programs.

The state comparison is stark: among 33 Illinois schools offering this degree, Rasmussen ranks in the 40th percentile for earnings while charging significantly more. Community colleges like Oakton and South Suburban deliver median earnings exceeding $46,000—nearly $14,000 more annually—with half the debt load. Even accounting for Rasmussen's substantial Pell Grant population, the combination of declining earnings and above-average debt creates financial pressure that community college alternatives largely avoid.

For parents, the math is straightforward: your child would start with less earning power than the typical Illinois medical assistant and face higher monthly debt payments. Unless Rasmussen offers unique scheduling flexibility or support services that community colleges can't match, those in-state public options deliver substantially better return on investment. The 0.75 debt-to-earnings ratio isn't catastrophic, but it's unnecessarily high when stronger alternatives exist within the same state.