OverviewAdmissionsProgramsCostsFinancial AidUndergraduate OutcomesClassroomHousingServicesStudent BodySchool Finances
Overview
Sonoran Desert Institute is located in a midsized city with a population at least 100,000, but less than 250,000. It is in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler AZ area.
Highlights
Undergraduate program with the highest reported starting salary ($44K): Precision Systems Maintenance and Repair Technologies
Largest undergraduate program (570): Gunsmithing
Institutional Control
Sonoran Desert Institute is a private for-profit organization.
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Accreditation
Accreditation provides important oversight over a school's instructional practices and institutional stability.
Sonoran Desert Institute holds an accreditation from one of the national accreditors. Credits earned from the national accreditors are often not accepted by schools holding the more prestigious regional accreditation, and it's important to verify that your credits will transfer if you are considering an eventual switch to another school.
Accreditation History
Distance Education Accrediting Commission (Accredited January 10, 2004 - present)
- The accreditation was recently renewed on June 22, 2018.
- The next accreditation review is scheduled for June 30, 2023.
Undergraduate Students
Not all students attend their first college full time to completion. While some schools are focused on those that population, many schools focus on transfer and or part time students. What types of of student does this school support.
Admissions
Open Admissions
Sonoran Desert Institute is an open admissions school and accepts any student who applies.
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Admissions Details
Here are some important dates and little tidbits. Please double-check this information on the Sonoran Desert Institute's webpage for the most up-to-date and accurate answers! We update this information with each school's annual reporting, but information can change unexpectedly. Select any item to view the details.
Admissions Criteria & Qualifications
Application Fee & Common App
Credits accepted from new students
Programs
Sonoran Desert Institute program offerings
What award level are you pursuing?
Associate's Degree
Gunsmithing
A program that prepares individuals to apply technical knowledge and skills to make, repair, maintain, and modify firearms according to blueprints or customer specifications, using specialized hand tools and machines
Note: The name and definition of this program are based on Department of Education CIP code descriptions, which ensures uniform reporting across schools in the US. Please check this school's website for detailed program information and their specific course descriptions._
Choose how to look at program completions
By Level
By Race/Origin
By Gender
Completions in Gunsmithing by award level
Associate's Degree
1-2 Year Certificate
0-1 Year Certificate
What can I do if I study Gunsmithing?
Below we list the careers that the US Department of Education suggests are best fits for people who studied gunsmithing. You can get an idea of salary and the level of education you'll need, as well as whether this is a growing or shrinking career field. Sometimes this list of recommended careers doesn't match what people who earned this degree are really doing. Our gunsmithing program page has much more information about the interplay between study in this field and possible careers. Select any table row to learn more about listed career.
Occupation
Follow these links to learn all about this career!
Salary
Salary distribution for people with this Career
Median
Middle 50%
Middle 80%
Education
No college
Some College
Bachelor's
Master's
Doct./Prof.
Growth Rate
The projected percentage growth in employment over the next 10 years
Costs
Undergraduate costs
Here's a quick summary of costs to attend Sonoran Desert Institute. You will find the most up-to-date information at their website for admissions.
View
All
Charge
Annual fees
Annual tuition
Miscellaneous (living off campus)
Miscellaneous (living with family)
Off-campus room and board
Per-credit charges
Cost
$1,190
$8,250
$992
$7,880
$9,704
$275
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Net price: the best estimate for the cost to attend
Most schools publish tuition rates that give them room to offer both scholarships and financial aid where applicable. Your best estimate of what might pay is to see what others with similar family incomes have paid. A more tailored and accurate estimate is available at this school's net price calculator.
Understanding net price
With their net price calculators, many colleges and universities give an idea of what merit-based aid might accompany need-based aid. For schools that share such data, we also provide financial aid data in the Finanical Aid sections.
There are some caveats to consider when using the net price estimates:
- The net price calculation is weighted by this school's proportion of students living on- and off-campus and this school's estimate of off-campus costs, which may cause the net price methodology be a bit inconsistent from school to school.
- Parental income and student financial aid eligibility is sometimes more complicated than the simple family income number reported here.
- The net price calculation for all students is inclusive of students who received any institutional or government aid, but at the family income levels the net price only considers the tuition paid by those who qualified for federal aid.
You can get a little better guess at what you would pay by using this school's net price calculator.
Percentage of students receiving any aid
The donut, based on 138 full-time first-time degree seeking students at Sonoran Desert Institute, shows the percentage of those who received any financial aid (including merit-based scholarships), subdivided by family income.
Aid type and family income
Federal: $0-30K
Federal: $30K-48K
Federal: $48K-75K
Federal: $75K-110K
Federal: Above $110K
Only institutional
Net price by family income
All Incomes
Let's look over the past few years at what freshmen who received any financial aid actually paid for tuition, fees, books, and living expenses on average, and how that compares to the tuition usually paid for other private universities in your context group. Public universities only report net price for in-state students.
Find your net price estimate: sdi.edu/npcalc/npcalc.htm...
Not so much?
Historic Annual Costs
See how this school's published costs have changed over the years, and how their cost trends compare with other private schools.
Published costs may have little to do with what you actually pay
It's important to remember that a school's published costs may not be indicative of what it will actually cost to attend. Time magazine wrote about this in their article Yes, you can get a college to cut its tuition price. Nonetheless, this inflation-adjusted look at the historic annual costs for tuition, fees, books, and supplies can give you an idea of the costs you might expect in the coming years. Comparing the total costs inclusive of room and board (if applicable) with the annual net price estimates in the previous tab will help you determine the financial aid package to expect.
Private and public universities' charges are difficult to compare due to the in-state and out-of-state price differences of public universities, and therefore we only compare Sonoran Desert Institute to other private schools within your chosen context group.
Undergraduate tuition, fees, books, and supplies over time
Financial Aid
Financial aid overview
Understanding the rules and process that determine who gets financial aid can be intimidating. Here are some quick links to help:
- Visit Sonoran Desert Institute's Net Price Calculator for the most accurate estimate of your anticipated costs. Every school publishes a Net Price Calculator that does its best to give you a fair estimate of what you might expect to pay. Many calculators consider your high school record as part of the calculation. This will be far more accurate than any of the averages or published tuition values that you see here.
- FederalStudentAid, a government site that will walk you through the federal financial aid process. There are a number of kinds of student loans and other aid, and this site can walk you through all of the choices you will need to make.
Undergraduate Outcomes
Graduation Rate
Approximately 75% of undergraduate students are full-time. In the last reporting year, 35% of full-time first-time students received a degree within 150% of the expected time for completion.
Time to complete
On time
50% more time
Context: Graduation rate
These numbers reflect the percentage of full-time first-time college students who completed any degree or certificate within 150% of the expected time.
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Context and trends: Repayment Rate
How much progress do you think you'll be able to make towards paying down your college loans seven years after leaving school? In our research, we discovered that a surprisingly large number of students don't default on their loans, but also aren't making progress in paying down their principal amount. The percentages here count alumni who have decreased their loan amounts by at least $1.
Context and trends: are the loan default rates as small as possible?
The default rate is the percentage of students who are already delinquent on their loans within three years of leaving the school. If a school has a high default rate, that sends an alarm out that the students' educations are not sufficient to earn enough to repay those loans. Read below for details on the typical loan burden, and keep in mind that a low default rate may be more important than loan amounts in predicting your future success.
Loan burden
At Sonoran Desert Institute, 25% of full-time degree-seeking freshmen receive federal student loans, averaging $6,461 each in just the freshman year. We have much more details about the full loan burden students experience in our Cost and Financial Aid Section.
Context: Percentage of freshmen with federal loans
Context: Average freshman federal loan amount
Not so much?
Classroom Experience
Student attention at Sonoran Desert Institute
Schools are required to report the ratio of students per instructor, but look for a small number of students for every full-time instructor as your best indicator of personal attention and a modern well-integrated curriculum.
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Full-time and long-term instructors at Sonoran Desert Institute
Full-time faculty are mostly likely to be on campus and available for interaction, and to craft up-to-date courses and programs. Sonoran Desert Institute has 62% full-time instructors, and 63% of the context schools have a lower percentage of full-time faculty. Faculty with multi-year contracts provide additional stability and commitment to the school and its students.Within the full-time instructors at Sonoran Desert Institute, none have multi-year employment contracts. Of the context schools, only 31% have instructors with multi-year contracts.
Full-time instructors
Long-term instructors
Not so much?
Faculty Diversity
Here's an opportunity to explore the faculty's diversity. For many schools, attracting a diverse teaching faculty can be a challenge. It's important to judge their success with the reality check of what their peer schools have accomplished.
Number of full-time instructors
The chart shows male instructors to the left, and female to the right, with the races/origins included along the bars. Select the context graph to see how this diversity profile compares to the schools that interest you.
Housing
Activities and Services
Undergraduate services offered
- Academic/career counseling services
- Placement services for program completers
Programs for Veterans
If you are a veteran, it's worth digging around to find a military-friendly campus. We think this article about how colleges might help veterans might be a good starting point for questions to ask the Admissions office before you choose to attend. It's also good to be aware that many for-profit schools are behaving as predators, hungry for GI Bill dollars. Watching out for those schools is no different for veterans than for all students: judge very critically using our "Student Satisfaction and Success" tab for undergraduate programs. We wish we had the same data to support graduate programs; however, we think the undergraduate data is a good starting point for judging overall quality.
- Credit for Military Training
- Dedicated point of contact for support services for veterans, military servicemembers, and their families
- Member of Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges
- Yellow Ribbon Program
Student Body
Study Types
About 75% of students are full-time. About 100% of students take all of their courses via distance education, while another 0% take some courses online.
Full-time
Online classes
Context: Student body size
Sonoran Desert Institute enrolled 3,157 students over the past academic year. The the student body size is larger than 72% of the context schools.
Undergraduate student gender
Is the gender balance of Sonoran Desert Institute students important to you? You can see the breakdown in this donut chart.
Gender
Men
Women
Undergraduate student race/origin
Sonoran Desert Institute reports that 16% of students are minority, which is near the middle of the context schools. Similarly, this school's 0 of international students is near the middle proportion of international students within the context schools.
Race/Origin
White
Black
Pacific Islander
Hispanic
Asian
Multiracial
Not Reported
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Context: Gender Balance
It is very difficult for many types of schools to achieve a gender balance, and this context is valuable in evaluating the balance at Sonoran Desert Institute.
Context: Student race/origin
Here is how Sonoran Desert Institute compares to the rest of the context group in terms of diversity in the student race and origin.
Freshman residences
A high proportion of international and out-of-state students speaks to reputation and offers an opportunity for diverse interactions in and out of class.
Freshman residence
In-state
Out-of-state
International
Not Reported
Student age distribution
The age distribution at a school can tell you a lot about its mission. If you're looking for a traditional undergraduate experience, you may prefer to see students who are mostly younger than 25 (lighter shades), but if you want support as a returning student, a large number of students 25 and older (darker shades) may better suit your needs.
Age range
18-19
20-21
22-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-49
50-64
65 and over
School Finances
Sonoran Desert Institute: What its budget can tell you about classroom quality
Where a school spends and collects its money can suggest a lot about the educational experience it offers. The tabs below offer a look at spending that is important for the quality of your experience if you attend.
Instructional spending
Student services spending
Context and trends: Instructional expenditures per student
Instructional expenses are primarily the salary and benefits paid to the heart of a school: its full-time instructors. High expenditures in this area suggest care in hiring enough highly qualified full-time faculty to provide personal attention and up-to-date subject-area excellence.
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Does incoming revenue consistently cover expenses?
Sonoran Desert Institute is a private for-profit school, meaning that its annual goal is to make a profit for its shareholders. The other types of schools are public or not-for-profit, and profit is not a goal.
Total revenue and expenses by category
We divided revenue and expenses for Sonoran Desert Institute into categories to give some insight to what may have influenced peaks and ditches in the chart above. The purple shades correspond most directly to student education. The blue shades, auxiliary expenses and revenue, are often related to room and board. We show investment gains and losses in apricot.
Investment gains
Tuition and fees revenue
Instructional expenses
Student services expenses
Academic support expenses
Institutional support expenses
Other expenses
