Rock Valley College Biological and Physical Sciences (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Associate's in Biological and Physical Sciences
- Public college
- Rockford, IL
- About 145 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Rock Valley College biological and physical sciences graduates earn less than graduates of most biological and physical sciences programs nationally, $21,956 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $6,632 in federal loans, less than at 77% of biological and physical sciences programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the Illinois median of $26,547.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Illinois and national columns are the medians across all biological and physical sciences associate's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Rock Valley College graduates earn less than the national figure and about the same as the Illinois median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Illinois biological and physical sciences program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Illinois medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 112% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $70 a month, or 3.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
81% of graduates (29 of 36) were working in Illinois one year after graduating. Prices in the Rockford area are about 8% below the national average, so a $21,956 salary here buys what about $23,825 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to biological and physical sciences, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$79,990Median pay in Illinois. 44,670 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Natural Sciences Managers
$159,670Median pay in Illinois. 2,810 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
About Rock Valley College
Biological and Physical Sciences ranks 4th of 4 associate's programs at Rock Valley College by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($68,229), Dental Hygiene and Assisting ($59,574), and Liberal Arts and General Studies ($27,601).
Other biological and physical sciences associate's programs near Rockford
Common questions
The median graduate earns $21,956 one year after graduating and $46,438 five years after. The median across biological and physical sciences associate's programs in Illinois is $26,547.
The median federal loan balance is $6,632, which ranks 8th lowest of 22 biological and physical sciences associate's programs in Illinois. That works out to about $70 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 30% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 32%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Illinois programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 81% (29 of 36) were working in Illinois one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Illinois comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the biological and physical sciences program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024