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Oakton Community College

#3 in Best Community Colleges in Illinois
  • 2 Year
  • Des Plaines, IL
  • 484 reviews
    B
    Overall Niche Grade
    How are grades calculated?
    1. Professors
      B
    2. Value
      B
    3. Diversity
      A-
    4. Safety
      A
    5. Student Life
      A-
    6. Location
      B+
    Oakton is an above-average public college located in Des Plaines, Illinois in the Chicago Area. It is a small institution with an enrollment of 2,484 undergraduate students. The Oakton acceptance rate is 100%. Popular majors include Liberal Arts and Humanities, Nursing Assistant, and Accounting Technician and Bookkeeping. Graduating 33% of students, Oakton alumni go on to earn a starting salary of $28,500.
    About Oakton Community College...
    Athletic Division
    NJCAA Division II
    Athletic Conference
    —
    Address
    1600 E Golf Rd.
    Des Plaines, IL 60016
    Website
    oakton.edu

    Oakton Community College Rankings

    Niche rankings are based on rigorous analysis of key statistics from the U.S. Department of Education and millions of reviews.

    Test Prep

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    Admissions

    Acceptance Rate
    100%
    SAT Range
    —
    ACT Range
    —
    Application Fee
    $25
    SAT/ACT
    —
    High School GPA
    —

    Cost

    Net Price
    $6,910/ year
    National
    $15,523
    Average cost after financial aid for students receiving grant or scholarship aid, as reported by the college.
    Average Total Aid Awarded
    $4,162/ year
    National
    $7,535
    Students Receiving Financial Aid
    47%

    Academics

    Professors
    B
    Based on faculty accomplishments, salary, student reviews, and additional factors.
    Student Faculty Ratio
    15:1
    Evening Degree Programs
    Yes
    89%
    of students agree that professors put a lot of effort into teaching their classes.55 responses
    69%
    of students agree that it is easy to get the classes they want.52 responses
    79%
    of students agree that the workload is easy to manage.52 responses

    Majors

    Most Popular Majors
    • Liberal Arts and Humanities
      599 Graduates
    • Nursing Assistant
      130 Graduates
    • Accounting Technician and Bookkeeping
      84 Graduates
    • Police and Criminal Science
      63 Graduates
    • Instrumentation Technician
      56 Graduates
    • Nursing
      50 Graduates
    • Pharmacy Technician
      45 Graduates
    • Child Care Provider
      43 Graduates
    • Information Science
      30 Graduates
    • Physical Therapy Technician
      30 Graduates

    Students

    Full-Time Enrollment
    2,484Undergrads
    Part-Time Undergrads
    6,423
    Undergrads Over 25
    12%
    Pell Grant
    35%
    Varsity Athletes
    5%
    Poll
    What one word or phrase best describes the typical student at this school?
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    After College

    Median Earnings 6 Years After Graduation
    $38,500/ year
    National
    $33,028
    Graduation Rate
    33%
    National
    49%
    Employed 2 Years After Graduation
    86%
    National
    83%

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    Oakton Community College Reviews

    484 reviews
    All Categories
    As a graduate from DePaul University I thought taking community college classes would be easy. I have actually never been more challenged in the classroom for the 3 classes I have taken so far! Love how serious they are in preparing you for which ever direction you choose. Also, Coming from the city of Chicago I am used to high security facilities. At Oakton, I feel like there is bare minimum security level and I’m not sure how safe I felt attending my night class.
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    Something that Oakton does well is student engagement and opportunity. Students are able to get involved at a level that is difficult to achieve at larger colleges and universities, making a more holistic impact on the college's community. They are also able to have closer relations with local communities. Something that Oakton can improve on would be its accessibility. In this day and age, there are so many digital resources that when utilized would aid its students greatly in their efforts of earning a degree. Things like recorded classes, online office hours, and online student communities would give students more flexibility. A similar thing exists in its clubs and organizations. A large majority of student involvement, particularly for the traditionally aged student, occurs at Des Plaines. Therefore, there is a stark difference in environment between the two campuses. Overall though, Oakton does make visible efforts in being an institution that spurs its students forward.
    The college experience is great, that's something I didn't expect myself to say going into a community college. The atmosphere was very encouraging and welcoming, there was a lot of students helping other students which really helped to boost my confidence. They also had a lot of resources readily available to students, tutors, academic and transfer advisors. There was also a lot variety in terms of elective credits available to take. The community is really diverse, walking around campus makes that very clear, not to mention the cultural clubs/fairs they had. Something that really saved me was that they had the option of completing your Associates Degree 100% online. Since I work full time at a preschool this made it a lot easier for me to keep up with classes and stay on track for graduation.