Public · Community college

William Rainey Harper College

Palatine, Illinois · Large suburb

17%
Transfer rate
$11,607
Avg net price
48%
Grad / completion
$48,071
Median earnings

William Rainey Harper College is a public certificate-granting institution in Palatine, Illinois (large suburb setting), enrolling 9,313 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 9,313 undergradsLarge suburbNJCAA Division IIICold wintersSnowy

About Palatine, Illinois

Palatine is a village in Cook and Lake counties, Illinois, United States. The first European-American to settle in Palatine is generally thought to be George Ela, who built a log cabin in the area later called Deer Grove. Ela was one of the first of a wave of pioneers to migrate to northern Illinois following the Black Hawk War. The Palatine Park District serves 85,000 residents within the Palatine, Rolling Meadows, Arlington Heights, Inverness, Hoffman Estates and Barrington communities. It is governed by five elected park commissioners who oversee a professional staff. (Wikipedia)

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

How William Rainey Harper College compares

Graduation rate48%

Higher than 34% · #84 of 122 in Illinois

First-year retention77%

Higher than 59%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$48,071

Higher than 88% · #10 of 113 in Illinois

Average net price$11,607

Cheaper than 64% · #54 cheapest of 123 in Illinois

Median debt at graduation$10,184

Lower than 45%

Student–faculty ratio21 : 1

Lower than 23%

Undergraduate enrollment9,313

Larger than 96%

Percentiles compare William Rainey Harper College 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

9,313undergrads
  • Women5,37358%
  • Men3,94042%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White42%
  • Black4.8%
  • Hispanic33%
  • Asian13%
  • Other or multiracial7.4%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
9,313
Student–faculty ratio
21 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
20%
First-generation students
47%
Students over 25
30%
Median family income
$25,797
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$102,816
Endowment
$41,961,991

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 2,234 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Illinois99%
  • International0.6%

Most first-years stay in state — William Rainey Harper College draws overwhelmingly from Illinois.

1% came from outside the U.S. 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
$3,894
Out-of-state tuition
$11,874
Room & board
Books & supplies
$1,100
Total cost of attendance
$19,288
Average net price
$11,607

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated
48%
First-year retention
77%
Transferred to another college
17%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$40,035
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$48,071
Median debt at graduation
$10,184
Students with federal loans
2%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
42%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
48%
Low-income (Pell)
20%
First-generation
20%

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
$25
Athletics
NJCAA Division III
Varsity athletes
235 (153 men · 82 women)

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Varsity sports (8)

Soccer52
Track and Field (Outdoor)50
Baseball35
Basketball26
Wrestling26
Cross Country18
Softball14
Volleyball14

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade
A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.1 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
0
Property offenses (2022–2024)
3

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 3 campuses (13,988 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

1.0reported offenses a year
0 violent a year1.0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary
1.0

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

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
$9,446
$30–48k
$10,501
$48–75k
$13,426
$75–110k
$16,866
$110k+
$18,676

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.

21%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$4,178
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 21% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $4,178. 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 1,542 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)
$48,071
Typical debt at graduation
$10,184
Debt vs. one year's pay
21%
Out-earn a HS grad
56%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.1 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
$45,434
Men
$52,071

Men out-earn women by $6,637 (15%) 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
81°F
Winter low
13°F
Annual rain
40.4″
Annual snow
38.5″

Average temperature

HighLow
0°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.65.2JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Barrington 3SW, IL US station (5.2 mi from campus).

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 William Rainey Harper College

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare William Rainey Harper College side by side →

Colleges near William Rainey Harper College

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.