Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Southeastern Illinois College

Similar nursing programs across Illinois suggest first-year earnings around $66,360 with debt near $14,437—numbers that place Southeastern Illinois College right at the state median. While the college's small graduate cohorts mean we're working with statewide estimates rather than school-specific outcomes, that debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.22 indicates manageable financial burden. Illinois community college ADN programs typically produce graduates earning slightly below the $68,409 national median, but they do so with substantially less debt than the $20,751 national average.

The comparison to top-performing Illinois programs is worth noting: Ambria and several Chicago-area community colleges report outcomes $5,000 to $9,000 higher annually. Geography matters significantly in nursing—hospitals in metropolitan areas simply pay more. For students planning to work in southern Illinois, where Southeastern is located, those comparisons matter less than the program's ability to deliver credentials that qualify graduates for immediate employment in local healthcare facilities.

For families in the Harrisburg area, this appears to be a straightforward pathway into a stable profession without crushing debt. The estimates suggest you'd be borrowing less than three months of first-year salary, which is reasonable for any healthcare credential. The key question is whether your student wants to stay in the region after graduation or plans to migrate to higher-paying markets elsewhere in Illinois.