2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for HVACR for an Associate

With all of the options veterans have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for HVACR for an Associate” ranking.

In 2020-2021, 19,594 people earned their degree in heating, air conditioning, ventilation and refrigeration maintenance technology/technician, making the major the 293rd most popular in the United States.

Across Illinois, there were 1,092 heating, air conditioning, ventilation and refrigeration maintenance technology/technician graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 87 heating, air conditioning, ventilation and refrigeration maintenance technology/technician graduates with average earnings and debt of $36,626 and $15,120 respectively.

This year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for HVACR for an Associate” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in heating, air conditioning, ventilation and refrigeration maintenance technology/technician. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent heating, air conditioning, ventilation and refrigeration maintenance technology/technician programs, but they also offer a lot of support to veterans and active service members.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the heating, air conditioning, ventilation and refrigeration maintenance technology/technician program at the school, veteran affordability, and veteran population. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for HVACR for an Associate” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for HVACR for an Associate

The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for HVACR for an Associate”.

Top 3 Best Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation & Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician Associate Degree Colleges for Veterans in Illinois

1

Southwestern Illinois College
Belleville, Illinois

492 GI Bill® Students**

#2 in overall quality

YES Student Veterans Organization

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southwestern Illinois College. The school came in at #1 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for HVACR for an Associate. Located in Belleville, Illinois, this medium-sized public school handed out 7 diplomas to qualified associates’s HVACR students in 2020-2021.

SWIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation & Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” list.Of the 6,906 students enrolled at Southwestern Illinois College, 492 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 271 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $3,194. During this same period, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.

[Read full report on veteran student life at Southwestern Illinois College]](/colleges/southwestern-illinois-college/student-life/veterans/)

2

Elgin Community College
Elgin, Illinois

144 GI Bill® Students**

#1 in overall quality

$2,559 Average GI Bill® Award

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Elgin Community College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for HVACR for an Associate list. Elgin Community College is a medium-sized school located in Elgin, Illinois that handed out 5 associates’s HVACR degrees in 2020-2021.

ECC also took the #1 spot in our “Best Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation & Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking.According to our most recent data, Elgin Community College supports 7,882 students, and 144 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 100 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $2,559. To help with additional expenses, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Elgin Community College offers credit for military training for eligible students.

[Read full report on veteran student life at Elgin Community College]](/colleges/elgin-community-college/student-life/veterans/)

3

Parkland College
Champaign, Illinois

193 GI Bill® Students**

#3 in overall quality

YES Student Veterans Organization

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Parkland College. The school came in at #3 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for HVACR for an Associate. Parkland College is a medium-sized school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 5 associates’s HVACR degrees in 2020-2021.

Parkland College also made our “Best Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation & Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3.Our most recent data shows that 193 of the 5,758 students enrolled at Parkland College were GI Bill® students, of which 74 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $3,234. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

Read More…

• Best Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation & Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician Associate Degree Colleges for Veterans in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation & Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician Associate Degree Colleges for Veterans

Notes and References

References

• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Veteran-specific data can be found at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
• **GI Bill® student total includes all chapters of the GI Bill® program (e.g., Post-9/11, Montgomery GI Bill, Reserve Education Assistance Program, and Veteran Readiness and Employment)
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.