Northwestern College
Northwestern College in Oak Lawn, IL, focused on healthcare careers, offering programs in Registered Nursing, Dental Assisting, and Medical Assisting. The Dental Assistant Certificate program includes a hands-on externship for real-world experience, and graduates are eligible for the Registered Dental Assistant (RDA) certification exam. The Medical Assistant program also incorporates a blend of classroom, lab, and clinical learning with an externship, preparing students for certification as a Registered Medical Assistant (RMA).
Programs Analyzed
Avg Grad Earnings
Avg TradeSchoolOutlook Score
Tuition
All Programs at Northwestern College
3 trade programs at Northwestern College, ranked by TradeSchoolOutlook Score (combines earnings, ROI, AI resilience, and job market size). Use the “compare” links to see how this school’s programs stack up against others nationally.
| Program | Score | Earnings | Debt |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Nursing
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing Compare nationwide → Compare in IL → |
70 | $62,746/yr | $27,000 |
|
Medical Assisting
Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services Compare nationwide → Compare in IL → |
50 | $28,304/yr | $12,667 |
|
Dental Assisting
Dental Support Services and Allied Professions Compare nationwide → Compare in IL → |
43 | $29,589/yr | $12,667 |
Reading the table: Score combines earnings, ROI, AI resilience, and job market size on a 0–100 scale. Earnings = median first-year salary from College Scorecard. Debt = median federal debt at graduation (blank where Scorecard suppresses small samples). 10yr ROI = projected 10-year earnings ÷ in-state tuition. AI Risk reflects task-level AI exposure across mapped occupations. Job Market = annual openings nationwide for connected occupations.
More Trade Schools in Illinois
Top-scored trade schools elsewhere in Illinois, ranked by average TradeSchoolOutlook Score across their programs.
Apprenticeship Pathways in Illinois
Earn-while-you-learn alternatives in Illinois. Registered apprenticeships skip tuition and pay you during training, though training periods are typically longer.
Trade Schools Near Oak Lawn
Other cities in Illinois with multiple trade schools, sorted by distance from Oak Lawn.
About This Data
TradeSchoolOutlook analyzes 3 trade and vocational programs at Northwestern College using earnings data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and employment projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024–2034).
The TradeSchoolOutlook Score (0–100) combines graduate earnings, return on investment, AI resilience, and job market size. AI Risk reflects task-level exposure for the occupations each program feeds into. Job Market shows the size of the national hiring pool. Programs without published debt figures had small reporting samples that the College Scorecard suppresses for privacy.