Private for-profit · Community college

Lincoln College of Technology-Melrose Park

Melrose Park, Illinois · Large suburb

0%
Transfer rate: $25,598
Avg net price: 68%
Grad / completion: $38,683
Median earnings

Lincoln College of Technology-Melrose Park is a private for-profit certificate-granting institution in Melrose Park, Illinois (large suburb setting), enrolling 1,539 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

Private for-profitSmall · 1,539 undergradsLarge suburbCold wintersSnowy

About Melrose Park, Illinois

Melrose Park is a village in Leyden and Proviso Townships, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The first Italian-Americans arrived in 1888. Navistar International had a factory and an engine group office in Melrose Park which closed in 2021. This building was formerly a Buick plant that made aircraft engines for WWII. Melrose Park Immediate Care is a medical and dental clinic located in downtown Melrose Park. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Large suburb
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 11 miles to Chicago, IL
To Great Lakes shore: 10 miles
Nearest airport: 6 miles to Chicago O'Hare (ORD) · major hub

How Lincoln College of Technology-Melrose Park compares

Graduation rate68%

Higher than 60% · #42 of 122 in Illinois

First-year retention62%

Higher than 27%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$38,683

Higher than 64% · #36 of 113 in Illinois

Average net price$25,598

Cheaper than 17% · #112 cheapest of 123 in Illinois

Median debt at graduation$11,250

Lower than 34%

Student–faculty ratio32 : 1

Lower than 4%

Undergraduate enrollment1,539

Larger than 78%

Percentiles compare Lincoln College of Technology-Melrose Park with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in Illinois.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women65743%
Men88257%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White8.0%
Black34%
Hispanic53%
Asian1.2%
Other or multiracial3.8%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 1,539
Student–faculty ratio: 32 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 73%
First-generation students: 55%
Students over 25: 29%
Median family income: $20,981
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $63,270

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Where students come from

Home state of the 503 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From Illinois99%
Other U.S. states0.6%

Most first-years stay in state — Lincoln College of Technology-Melrose Park draws overwhelmingly from Illinois.

Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Cost

In-state tuition: —
Room & board: —
Total cost of attendance: —
Average net price: $25,598

Outcomes

Graduated: 68%
First-year retention: 62%
Transferred to another college: 0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $36,485
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $38,683
Median debt at graduation: $11,250
Students with federal loans: 85%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 32%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

68%

Low-income (Pell)

64%

First-generation

65%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing: No
Application fee: Free

Campus safety

Safety grade: A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students: 0.0 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024): 0
Property offenses (2022–2024): 0

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k

$24,854

$30–48k

$25,175

$48–75k

$25,405

$75–110k

$28,261

$110k+

$28,983

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

51%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$1,323

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 51% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,323. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 980 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years): $38,683
Typical debt at graduation: $11,250
Debt vs. one year's pay: 29%
Out-earn a HS grad: 53%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.9 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women

$32,849

Men

$41,931

Men out-earn women by $9,082 (28%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high: 84°F
Winter low: 19°F
Annual rain: 37.9″
Annual snow: 38.4″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Chicago Ohare Intl AP, IL US station (8.1 mi from campus).

What Lincoln College of Technology-Melrose Park graduates study — and earn

Electrical and Power Transmission InstallersAssoc.

224 grads$40k 1 yr— 5 yr$20k debt

224$40,219—$19,858 Allied Health and Medical Assisting ServicesCert.

191 grads$31k 1 yr$35k 5 yr$11k debt

191$31,098$35,025$11,237 Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansCert.

93 grads$33k 1 yr$43k 5 yr$14k debt

93$32,767$43,226$14,130 Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansAssoc.

91 grads$37k 1 yr$47k 5 yr$19k debt

91$37,089$46,639$19,016 Electrical and Power Transmission InstallersCert.

42 grads$36k 1 yr$49k 5 yr$14k debt

42$35,880$48,864$13,532 Precision Metal WorkingCert.

41 grads$39k 1 yr$48k 5 yr$12k debt

41$39,408$48,123$11,597

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Lincoln College of Technology-Melrose Park

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Lincoln College of Technology-Melrose Park side by side →

Rasmussen University-Illinois

For-profit

Rockford, Illinois · Midsize city · 5 mi to Rockford

Students: 1,145
Tuition: $14k
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $39k

Midwestern Career College

For-profit

Chicago, Illinois · Large city · 1 mi to Chicago

Students: 887
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $36k

Midwest Technical Institute-Illinois

For-profit

Springfield, Illinois · Midsize city · 5 mi to Springfield

Students: 1,326
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $34k

Stautzenberger College-Rockford Career College

For-profit

Rockford, Illinois · Midsize city · 4 mi to Rockford

Students: 682
Tuition: $17k
Transfer: 1%
Earnings: $34k

MDT College of Health Sciences

For-profit

Chicago, Illinois · Large city · < 1 mi to Chicago

Students: 575
Tuition: $22k
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $44k

SAE Institute of Technology-Nashville

For-profit

Nashville, Tennessee · Large city · 1 mi to Nashville

Students: 1,712
Tuition: $18k
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $40k

Colleges near Lincoln College of Technology-Melrose Park

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City Colleges of Chicago-Wilbur Wright College

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Illinois Media School

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Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.