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Sonoran Desert Institute

23 Reviews

Salary Score

Bachelor's

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Master's

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33% of 23 students said this degree improved their career prospects
48% of 23 students said they would recommend this school to others
By the OnlineU team | Updated

Fast Facts

Annual Tuition: $8,490

Average Financial Aid: $4,357

Accreditation: Sonoran Desert Institute is acredited by 1 agencies

Find an Online Degree:

Salary Score for Online Degrees at Sonoran Desert Institute

Certificate Degrees

Precision Systems Maintenance and Repair Technologies $7,321 $79,760 93

Associate's Degrees

Precision Systems Maintenance and Repair Technologies $15,829 $45,095 92

Student Reviews

Student Reviews

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Dakota Wright

Reviewed: 5/24/2023

Degree: Gunsmithing

I have been debating on writing this for roughly a year now. So here it is. Hello my name is Dakota Wright. I own Wright Firearm Solutions. When I began looking into SDI, I was told by the staff right off the bat. "Sir with your experience, I would strongly advise you not to enroll in the program. It sounds beneath you." (Strike 1) automatically I started getting more red flags. Because I was asking hard questions the staff was tryingto discourage me from attending. Starting class I quickly realized... Read More

Sam

Reviewed: 1/17/2023

Degree: Gunsmithing

SDI emphasizes old and outdated work while only briefly covering modern methods and technology. For the machining course, for example, we received a coursebook that was written for certified machinists and the entire course was theoretical. I honestly did not understand anything yet my grade was in the high 90s. THAT SHOULD TELL YOU ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IT. The materials you receive are mostly cheap Chinese crap with the occasional cheap American-made crap. Someone who knows absolutely nothing... Read More

ESSTEA

Reviewed: 1/14/2023

Degree: Gunsmithing

Full Disclosure: Sonoran Desert Institute is an absolute joke. Do not waste your money or allow them to further swindle federal education funds in your name or from your service member education funding benefits. The courses lack actual instruction, the course material consists of 98% various YouTube links which are not made by OR for SDI instruction/instructors. I withdrew from classes after my 2nd semester, and have since filed an official petition with the federal student loan board to have any/all... Read More

ArmyMan

Reviewed: 12/20/2022

Degree: Gunsmithing

I read all the comments about the school and I guess my experience was different. I learned a lot and it helped me get into a position to get my FFL. I found the school to be helpful to me and all the courses online were good. The block of instructions was definitely intense at times and the practical exercises were good. Learning how to build a holster press, do hydrographic dipping, and build a project firearm was great for me. I learned a lot, got some neat tools, and an AR-9 platform build and... Read More

Online Learner

Reviewed: 12/4/2022

Degree: Gunsmithing

As of writing this I have 2 more weeks before graduating with my Assoicates degree. I grew up with firearms but never got into the level of repair and the science of how they functioned or how to repair. With life happening I had to leave my job and make a move. I ended up choosing SDI not only to learn more about firearms but to also get my general classes done in order to work towards a Batchlors degree to obtain better employment. Not knowing what I wanted to do at that time, the Assoicate program... Read More

Former student

Reviewed: 9/3/2022

Degree: Gunsmithing

Just going to put it into monkey terms. THEY. ARE. G.I. BILL. PREDATORS. literally every class you take is a YouTube video or a commercial article related to firearms. If you want to learn anything about firearms just watch their YouTube channel and get your education for free and don't waste a few months of your G.I. bill. Watching their YouTube channel and then subscribing to some firearms related articles online is free and will still give you the same education that they already offer. For some... Read More

Brett Johnson

Reviewed: 8/12/2022

Degree: Gunsmithing

Stay away!! GI bill predators and they know it. Most of the curriculum is either a YouTube video or an article you can find online for free. Find somewhere else to find a subpar education. These people also don’t seem to care if they spread your personal information accidentally. One of the forms you need to complete with my sensitive information was sent to a bunch of people. I was contacted by someone who received it stating in a large group email to prospective students, my completed form was... Read More

Joseph

Reviewed: 7/10/2022

Degree: Gunsmithing

Overall this is a great program for learning about firearms. You will leave this school knowing significantly more about firearms. However, this is really only a baseline education for entering the firearms industry. You will need to put forward more effort and research into firearms on your own. SDI will provide a solid education and it’s up you how far you take it. 100% you can do the bare minimum and pass. The curriculum is not difficult but still requires a lot of work. They will mail you projects... Read More

Ryan

Reviewed: 5/31/2022

Degree: Gunsmithing

Ok, here is the deal. I came to SDI only because AGI wants cash up front only, and lets face it, unless you are Elon Musk, who is going to have 20,000 just laying around, right? I wanted to get an associates degree in firearms technology because I wanted to show potential customers coming to me for work that I am competent and that I know guns. For the first year, things were great. I was acing my classes, making good grades and things were going pretty good. Then shooting sports management and government... Read More

KFIRE

Reviewed: 2/11/2022

Degree: Gunsmithing

I would agree with most of those who gave SDI a low rating. I graduated with a 3.85 GPA in 2017. There was very little discussion or feedback from instructors. Keep in mind that most of the instructors, with the exception of the core class teachers, have other jobs within the firearms industry and teaching is there secondary profession, and as educators, they lack academic experience. SDI gave me a theoretical overview of gunsmithing, but not hands-on experience that could be applied in a real-world... Read More