Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services at South Suburban College

First-year earnings of $46,568 put this program well above most allied health associate's programs nationally—in the 86th percentile—though it lands in the middle of the pack among Illinois schools. While the debt figure of roughly $17,000 is estimated from comparable programs at Illinois community colleges (the graduate sample was too small for the DOE to publish actual figures), that estimate aligns closely with the state median for this field and would produce a manageable debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.36. If those earnings hold steady, graduates would be earning nearly three times their debt in their first year.

The real question is whether these strong earnings persist beyond year one. Medical assisting roles often hit a ceiling early, and comparable programs in Illinois show a wide earnings spread—from the low $40s to over $50,000 at top-performing schools like Oakton. South Suburban's graduates land near the higher end of that range, which suggests either strong clinical placements or graduates moving into specialized roles. For a family weighing community college options in the Chicago suburbs, this program appears to deliver solid value if the estimated debt proves accurate and if students can secure positions similar to those recent graduates have found.