Harper vs Richland Community College

William Rainey Harper College and Richland Community College, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer diverse educational opportunities to students in the Chicagoland area and Decatur, Illinois, respectively. While they share a commitment to academic excellence and student success, these colleges exhibit distinct characteristics that cater to different needs and aspirations. With acceptance rates of 100% and 99%, respectively, both colleges welcome students from all backgrounds, providing accessible pathways to higher education. However, their student body demographics vary, with Harper College boasting a larger and more diverse student population. In terms of popular majors, Harper College offers a wider range of programs, including nursing, business, and engineering, while Richland Community College specializes in healthcare, manufacturing, and agriculture. To help you make an informed decision about your educational journey, we present a comprehensive comparison table highlighting key differences between these two institutions, including graduation rates, tuition fees, and available student services.

	Richland Community College	William Rainey Harper College
Overview
Location	Decatur, Illinois	Palatine, Illinois
Campus setting	City: Small	Suburb: Large
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	65.0%	74.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	Open Admission	Open Admission
Application fees		$25
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants
Total number of admissions given out
Admitted students who chose to enroll
Yield rate
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	Not required
High school GPA	N/A	N/A
Recommendation letters	N/A	N/A
High school transcript	N/A	N/A
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	N/A	N/A

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $21,860 Out of state: $32,030	In state: $29,820 Out of state: $31,632
Average net price	$5,524	$7,112
Tuition	In state: $8,670 Out of state: $18,840	In state: $9,372 Out of state: $11,184
Room & board
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	90.0% Average amount $4,268	57.0% Average amount $4,971
Students receiving federal student loan	11.0% Average amount $4,988	3.0% Average amount $4,807
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $0	0.0% Average amount $0

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,252 Men 36.4% Women 63.6%	12,015 Men 44.2% Women 55.8%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	0.4%	0.5%
International students	0.2%	0.6%
Campus local/setting	City: Small	Suburb: Large
Dormitory capacity	N/A	N/A
First year students are required to live on campus?	N/A	N/A
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Illinois California	Illinois Pennsylvania Wisconsin Georgia Iowa

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Health Professions Automotive Technology Multidisciplinary Studies Business	Liberal Arts Health Professions Business Multidisciplinary Studies Engineering Technologies
Students to faculty ratio	13:1	16:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	37.8%	37.8%
Dropout rate	35.9%	28.9%
Transferred out	18.7%	20.6%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $56,895 Year 2: $56,234 Year 3: $59,000 Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $46,174 Year 2: $43,957 Year 3: $43,155 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $24,245 Year 2: $22,534 Year 3: $28,596 Biological and Physical Sciences (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $29,250 Year 3: N/A Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $20,373 Year 3: N/A	Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $58,892 Year 2: $58,673 Year 3: $73,991 Dental Support Services and Allied Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $61,058 Year 2: $59,937 Year 3: $64,559 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $63,114 Year 2: $61,908 Year 3: $62,113 Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $27,669 Year 3: $43,118 Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $31,127 Year 3: $39,397 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $26,090 Year 2: $27,319 Year 3: $34,147 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $36,373 Year 2: $28,598 Year 3: $32,807 Biological and Physical Sciences (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $28,238 Year 2: $22,420 Year 3: $27,387 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $30,173 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

Richland Community College

Tunxis Community College