Looking for a good community college (Chicago, Palatine: credit, home, transferring to)

[kmeec]

Hi, I am looking to relocate to Chicago and I am looking for suggestions on good community colleges in the area. I am not sure if I will be living in the city or in the suburbs yet, so any and all suggestions would be helpful in getting me started. I am sure I will most likely be working in the city and school will have to work around that. Thanks for your help!!

[UsesLogic]

My suggestion would be Harper College in Palatine. Could take the Union Pacific NW line, or it's right off 90 and Roselle Rd.

It has a very good reputation and I'm sure all credits transfer (double check to be sure)

[ToriaT]

College of Dupage is very good. It is not in the city but in the suburbs (Glen Ellyn). Its got a good reputation and I suggest a visit to it.

[knitgirl]

They do tend to have different specialties if you are looking for specific programs.

[kmeec]

Thank you both! This has been very helpful!! I will look into both of them.

[IAmEverywhere]

I attended College of DuPage for over a year and second the recommendation for this school.

The College of DuPage has something for everyone. As is typical for community colleges, it offers both vocational programs and academic courses. The academic courses are a solid foundation for eventually transferring to a four-year school. There is also an Honors Program for strong students. I found courses in the Honors Program to be quite rigorous and academic courses outside the Honors Program to be generally solid.

In Illinois, you're in-district at a specific community college based on your address. Thus, to attend the College of DuPage for the lowest tuition rates, you have to live in Community College District 502. This includes most of DuPage County, some areas of suburban Cook County near LaGrange in Cook County, and small portions of Will County. Thus, you have a wide range of lifestyles available within the district. LaGrange and surrounding areas are close enough to Chicago to get there easily. DuPage County offers older suburban housing with established downtowns, newer suburban housing and even semi-rural areas. There is also a possibility of qualifying for in-district tuition if you work full-time in the district even if you don't live there. Failing that, even the tuition charged to residents of Illinois who live outside the district is reasonable compared to four-year universities.

It should be noted that you may be required to have lived in the district and state for at least 30 days prior to the beginning of the semester to qualify for in-district or in-state residency respectively. You also have to be a permanent resident of Illinois to qualify for either in-district or in-state tuition.

What knitgirl said is often true of vocational programs. If the community college in your district doesn't offer a vocational program, it's often possible to attend another community college which does at in-district rates.

It's possible, although time-consuming, to get to College of DuPage to attend daytime classes without a car. You can take Metra to Glen Ellyn and take a Pace bus to the school. The bus runs infrequently and ends too early to get home from an evening course. As with much of what is good about Chicagoland, it's much easier to get to College of DuPage if you drive.