Associate's · Palatine, Illinois

Is Biological and Physical Sciences at William Rainey Harper College worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 3.3 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $35,809; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $58,410; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $6,500; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $21k (likely $21k – $29k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $19k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in IL; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 3.3 years (likely 2.7–4.0); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $62k (likely $18k – $104k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $308k (likely $201k – $426k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 52%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26