Great LakesSuburbanPublic4-yearHumanities

Harper College

Accessible admissions with broad enrollment.

Palatine, IL9,314 students
Acceptance Rate
—
open admission
Median SAT
1,015
Middle 50%: 890–1140
Net Price After Aid
$8.1k
Sticker $471
Graduation Rate
38%
6-year, full-time

Harper College is a public institution in Palatine, IL and 9,314 students. The middle 50% of admitted students score 890–1140 on the SAT and present an average GPA near 2.98. The average net price after financial aid is $8,065 per year.

About Harper College

A public 4-year suburban university in Palatine, IL.

Harper College campus
Campus · Palatine

Harper College is a college in Palatine, IL. It enrolls roughly 9,314 students. Admitted students typically score between 890 and 1140 on the SAT.

Great LakesSuburbanPublic4-yearHumanities
Acceptance Rate
—
Open Admission
Total Enrollment
9,314
Medium
Retention
77%
First-years returning
Graduation Rate
38%
6-year, full-time

Your chances at this school

What admitted students look like here. Sign in to see how your own profile compares.

Acceptance Rate
—
Your Chances
Sign in to see your personalized chances.
Admitted Student GPA
2.98
Average across admitted students

Accessible admissions with broad enrollment.

What strengthens an application here

  1. SAT scores of 890 to 1140
    The middle half of admitted students scored in this range. A score in the upper part of it strengthens an application.
  2. A GPA near 2.98 or higher
    This is the average across admitted students.
  3. Depth in one or two activities
    Sustained commitment, a leadership role, or a result in a few activities says more than a long list of memberships.

Your chances estimate is based on your academic profile and activities — it is a guide, not a guarantee of admission. Decisions weigh essays, recommendations, and fit factors that aren't in the data.

Admissions

What it actually takes to get into Harper College. Test scores, GPA, application requirements, and deadlines.

Admitted student profile

Range shown is the middle 50%.

SAT
composite, 1600 scale
8901,140
1,015
average
ACT
composite, 36 scale
1828
23
average
GPA
weighted, 4.5 max
2.563.45
2.98
average

Application requirements

  • Tests sometimes required
  • $25 application fee
  • Accepts fee waiver

Deadlines (2026-27)

Regular Decision
Rolling

Source: Common App 2026-27 requirements grid (verified Aug 2026). Always confirm on the college's own site.

Cost & financial aid

Published costs can be misleading. Here's what families actually pay at Harper College after grants and scholarships.

Sticker price
—
Tuition $471
Average net price after aid
$8,065
45% of students receive financial aid

Net price by family income

Average amount paid out of pocket — tuition, fees, and room & board minus all grant aid.

$0 – $30,000
$4,276
$30,001 – $48,000
$5,310
$48,001 – $75,000
$8,614
$75,001 – $110,000
$10,663
$110,001 +
$11,805

Net price represents the average cost after grants and scholarships for students receiving federal financial aid.

Pell Grant Recipients
20%
Need-based federal grant
Take Federal Loans
2%
Avg loan $6,230 / year
Avg Grant Aid
—
Per receiving student / year

Academics & majors

Where students at Harper College concentrate, and how the classroom experience scales.

Student : Faculty
21:1
Class-size proxy
Primary Focus
Humanities
44% of degrees awarded
Retention
77%
First-years returning
A breakdown of the top majors by share of degrees awarded ships once we finish backfilling per-school program data.

Student body

Who attends Harper College. Enrollment, diversity, and where students come from.

Race & ethnicity

  • White42%
  • Asian13%
  • Hispanic34%
  • Black5%
  • Two or more races4%
  • International2%

Gender

  • Female56%
  • Male44%
International
2%
Of total enrollment
Live on Campus
—
Undergraduate residential rate
Total Enrollment
9,314

Outcomes after graduation

What Harper College graduates do next — and what they earn.

Median Earnings
$48.1k
10 years after enrollment
Employed at 2 yrs
—
Working or in grad school
Pursue Grad School
—
Within 5 years
Graduation Rate
38%
6-year, full-time

Is it worth it?

Earnings, debt, and price side by side — context for the cost-vs-payoff question, not a ranking.

Median earnings
$48.1k
10 yrs after entry
Typical debt
$6.2k
median, borrowers only
Avg. net price
$8.1k/yr
after aid
  • These numbers reflect who enrolls, not the value the school adds. A college's earnings can look high simply because it admits wealthier, higher-scoring students — not because of what happens there.
  • Earnings vary far more by major and career path than by school. A school-wide median blends engineers and artists into one number that may match no real student.
  • Federal earnings and debt figures cover only students who received federal aid, so they leave out full-pay students and can skew the picture.
  • Net price is an average across aided students and debt is the median for borrowers only — many students borrow nothing. Your actual cost depends on your own aid package.

What this means

$48k is below the national bachelor's-graduate median at the 10-year mark, and a 38% graduation rate is below the national average.

Similar schools

If Harper College is on your list, students often also consider these.

Related searches

  • Harper College acceptance rate
  • Harper College SAT scores
  • Harper College tuition cost
  • Harper College deadlines
  • How to get into Harper College
  • Best schools in Illinois
Sign up to see your oddsDetails