Is City Colleges of Chicago-Olive-Harvey College Worth It?

Olive-Harvey College gives you a low cost of entry and a weak payoff. Net price runs under $6,000 a year, and median debt at graduation sits around $7,600. Those are small numbers by college standards. The problem is what comes after: median earnings ten years out land near $31,000, which is close to what you could earn without any credential at all.

The graduation rate is under 20%. That is the biggest financial risk here. If you enroll and don't finish, you carry whatever debt and time you spent with no credential to show for it. Four out of five starters don't complete, so plan for how you'll stay on track before you sign up.

Program-level earnings data is thin. The only listed program, a Ground Transportation certificate, reports about $20,000 a year. That's a certificate outcome, not a degree, and it pays below the school's overall median. There's no bachelor-level data here because this is a two-year school, so treat any specific career as something to verify with the department directly.

The net price tiers are close together across incomes. If your family earns under $48,000, you'll pay slightly less, around $5,300 to $5,600. The $48,000 to $75,000 band actually pays more, about $7,500. There's no steep discount for lower incomes, so the affordability case rests on the already-low sticker price.

This school fits you if you have a specific, funded career path in mind and want to keep costs minimal while you train or transfer. If you're looking for a credential that lifts your earnings well above the local baseline, the numbers here don't support that. Use it as a cheap first step, and have a transfer or completion plan ready.