As a graduate of the gunsmithing certificate program I will give an honest review, both good and bad. A little background, I already had a gunsmith business and an FFL before starting this course. I had quite a bit of experience with firearms ahead of time and did this course just to broaden my horizons and gain more knowledge. I wouldn't recommend this course for someone just starting off in the industry and it is kind of a waste of money to get your foot in the door. A person would be better served getting an entry level job at a gun shop or manufacturer. It is very hard to learn how to gunsmith a firearm through texts and videos, and they tell young students how this will get them started.. but I just don't think that is true. $9,000 is a lot of money and can buy you a lot of tools and books to get started on your own. If you can find an attend a hands on class, I would recommend that instead. The Good: -The courses do provide a wealth of information if you read everything and save the books. It is a great overview of firearms, especially for someone who has little to no experience with them. -The courses are extremely easy and require little to no effort to pass (good or bad depending on who you are and your goals) -On-line flexibility with the classes and they are extremely forgiving with late work or unforeseen circumstances. -With the program you get to build a firearm, but if you are doing this course just to build a firearm... you are wasting about $8400. Just beware it is a very basic rifle with very basic parts. The Bad: -Extremely expensive for what it is. -With minimal hands on, there is absolutely no way you are going to learn much about actual gunsmithing. It is an extremely hands on process and you can really only learn by doing. Of course it is an on-line program, but still they should try to provide more hands on opportunities. -The text books are OK, but the videos are all on YouTube and not professionally done or anything. They could certainly do better with production for the amount of money that are charging students. -They provide a laptop that doesn't work very well and they just sent it to me and didn't offer me a choice to not get it. So I have a garbage laptop that I was forced to pay for and didn't need. -They provide you with a very basic tool set that you could piece together for about $200, which is a little weak considering you are paying almost $10,000 for this school. -The school kind of feels like they pray on military/veterans and their GI Bills. Overall it wasn't a bad experience, but I would be thoroughly disappointed if I had zero experience with firearms. I would have also been disappointed if I spent my money on this instead of using my GI Bill. read more

I'm a current student, and so far it's been a horrible experience. I've spent more money building a leather strop for a class, which is something I could've bought for less that $30 online and I'll never use it. Now in my current classes I had to buy a dremmel for a project even though the school provides one in my next class where they are supposed to teach us how to use them on firearms. So essentially you're being forced to use tools and do work with little training, and you're graded, the. You will get trained and provided the materials after you've already ruined a firearm and failed at learning how to use the tools in the class. Every "lecture" is really just a bunch of bullet points and there is zero chance your teacher is actually teaching you, instead you'll get a email from them reiterating the projects they assign rather than actually teaching you what your doing. You're also going to be expected to do the work your learning to do on your own firearms, and you get one week for each project with no learning curve or practice if you've never done these things before. This school is a scam and waste of money. If you're going to do a gunsmith school I suggest somewhere else. Even the local gunsmiths in my area recommend AGI over this school, and better yet apprenticeship or other schools. You're better off finding a different school than Sonoran Desert Institute. They are nothing but a fraud stealing money from veteran and the VA. read more

Had to correct numerous of their tests, took a break in class when they said the program was paid for, come back to them trying to charge me another $4000 for 3 classes (said it was 4 when I questioned it) the teaching consists of YouTube videos. If you attend make sure you double check any of your answers or information given as it is not likely up to date with the current laws and definitions. read more

As a current student of SDI: I was super excited to go into this as I'm self employed and could not find a residency course to take locally. I am now half way through the program, debating on dropping it as I have found it to be a waste of my G.I bill but I absolutely hate dropping something I start. You get more classes of English, business, environmental science, physical science, and gen. eds. than you do dedicated "gunsmithing". Not saying this is all bad as I have learned some things I would not have taken the time to do on my own but it is not in the slightest what I thought I was signing up for. They have courses on woodwork, polishing, a brief ( very brief) section of metal work and holster making class and the rest seem to be gen eds just filling time. The tools and supplies they send you are the definition of " bottom of the barrel", instructors do not follow the same grading format. I currently have a C average in one class due to my citation list and bibliography at the end of assignments while in another class I have an A average ( I use the same citation format for both classes and one instructor docks 25 points out of 100 for the citation, only difference between the two grades) I don't recommend this school in the slightest, you are better off to find someone you can apprentice under, or if you are lucky enough to start young: go to an actual hands on residency college. If worst comes, watch Youtube and you'll be more proficient and streamlined in learning. -T. Hunt read more

I was excited at first because so many instructors and staff share one of my alma mater. I was excited about the possibilities between this program and learning coding online. One could learn to fly and code a drone, both online. Here for flying and another site for coding. I sent in my identification as one of the first things I did. They wanted all of my transcripts before anything else started, except taking my identification over an insecure line and sending it to an insecure email box. It behooves my why they are so obsessed with getting every single transcript from first year college through grad school. They can only give associates degrees. I was able to interact with their veterans office, which is one of the poorest veterans advocate I have ever met. I interacted with their call center which is messing with people. I have encountered this with several large call center conglomerates in Arizona, California, West Virginia, and Michigan. I used to work with some of these people at another call center. They also will confuse veteran cases in discussion. They also will toy with a veteran and say they are approved only when they call back to tell them they are denied. They also are completely indifferent about vets getting their funding. It is good to know that their "leads" are backed up by their supervisors ("lead" is call center tradecraft speak for team leader, showing they are another call center) They do absolutely nothing to help resolve problems or retain students. They also appear to not be so "high speed" as their website claims with many smiths saying they learned a lot of stuff but it really wasn't earth shattering because it is all on youtube. I guess it's better to save the money and not fund another organization using unprofessional, unempathetic, poorly trained, not retention focused call and contact center... read more

If you have way too much time and some fuck you money, this is a great waste of both. The current course work was thrown together all half ass like and they lie about the hands on. Most of the assignments are sitting papers on videos you have to search for on You Tube. Hell you can do that for free. I believe this is a scam to take money from dumbest service members like myself. HAHAHA you got me. I do not recommend these shitbags at all!!! read more

I have wasted an extremely long amount of time going to this course. I regret it and have burnt up way too much of my GI bill for this dog shit school which most of it's credits aren't even accredited. They have no accommodations for Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injuries, give us shit tier tools and for 11.8k you'd expect a better rifle kit and tool kit. It's a joke. The brain dead online discussions, the shitty tests even the hands on portions are something you can easily look up to do and none of it has anything to do with gun smithing. You'd be better off getting a degree in Machining and Business Management than go to this joke of a fucking 'institute'; Like they set up a fund for the GI bill and decided to call it a college. read more

Jimy T you did a great job on your review. This bullshit scam ass school im going thru is wasting my time money an gi bill benefits the instructors suck and don't do shit This is a waste of time and money pray noone else gets scammed and they fix the. buisiness or go out. read more

Enrolling in gunsmithing I thought this would have been more hands on. No. The hands on that you do take part in is a complete joke. The cheapest garbage packages of equipment are sent to you. Very minimal hands on. It is nothing but read and write papers. Copy and paste from instructors. Very good job! Heres your F with a rating of Satisfactory, Excellent, Good Satisfactory, and Excellent. How that equates to an F I have no clue. There is an 8 week class all book* on "Machining and manufacturing". How much machining and manufacturing are you going to learn in an 8 week class just reading? With zero hands on work with machinery such as lathes or mills. That should clue you in on what kind of a joke of a school this is. They are nothing but a predatory GI Bill wasting school. Faculty is a complete joke! Oh but they have a Doctor on staff..... with a "doctorate of leadership". Bro stop touting the Dr. title, might as well be honorary. Wouldn't be surprised if it is. One of the very first instructors I had looked like one of those stolen valor clowns. Trust the other 1 star reviews here! It is true! read more

A joke of a school. Instructors copy and paste feedback for forums and assignments. Instructors don't give any instruction at all, just grade assignments that you are left alone to read directly out of the book. Tools included in the course are cheapest on the market. If you want a piece of paper that says you have a degree this is the place for you. Do not waste your GI Bill! No one will hire someone based off of the material taught by this school. If a grad is hired it is because of knowledge gained from another source. read more

I don't understand how these scam artists are allowed to continue operating. All of the videos were from YouTube, the amount of writing was ridiculous and the "instructors" only grade your papers. They don't know anything about the curriculum they're "teaching" and are of little to no help whatsoever. read more

Hands down the best school heard tons about this school just from YouTube about every video I watch they talk about it glad I enrolled

Trust the reviews on Glassdoor. All of the other reviews. This is still a correspondence school and why it was reaccredited is beyond me. First, this is an academic institution yet no one on the leadership team has a doctorate degree. Someone was promoted to an advanced position with an associate's degree! There are a handful of VPs as one reviewer noted who are young people with no previous higher ed experience and no advanced education related to higher ed. The lack of related education and experience is shocking. (The VP of Academic Affairs was promoted with an associate's degree!) The "faculty" pool treat courses like this was a correspondence course. They don't participate in discussions or barely do. They provide little to no feedback. And somehow the "leadership" team thinks this is okay. Perhaps this is why the owners just sold the company? My supervisor pretended to be my best friend because I had the advanced degrees and actual higher ed experience. But the minute I would turn my back, I would get stabbed. The amount of gossiping among such a small amount of employees is really unbelievable. I thought I was going to have a career. What I wound up with was a stress related health condition. And it wasn't worth it. read more

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 federal moneys returned on the basis of the institution failing to provide the promised level of education/knowledge as well as the blatant misinformation SDI feeds potential victims (aka future students) regarding the validity of ones "credentials" upon completion of their "Associates of Applies Sciences Degree in Firearms Technology" which is not recognized by any reputable name in the industry (or anyone in the industry for that matter aside from being an overpriced, sad joke) nor is it offered anywhere else in the country because it is an entirely made-up degree. I am now currently entirely prevented from enrolling in courses elsewhere (need to complete a final semester to obtain my teaching cert. in high school Special Ed.) due to Sonoran Desert Institutes refusal to release my 2 semester transcript while I wait for the fed. dept. of ed. to get around to reviewing/granting a release of responsibility for the partial semester they claim I owe tuition for after withdrawing (despite having already been charged in full for said tuition. These people are straight up snake oil salesmen. Stay far, far away! read more

To start off this is a private institution and for profit just to put that out there. Just as Kevin S. said I too had a Gunsmith business started and established as well as my FFL prior to starting the courses at SDI. I had also worked at a local gun shop for three years before starting my own business, obtaining my FFL and starting the courses at SDI. It is so true what Kevin says about learning how to work on firearms with little to no hands on and only attempting to learn from the course work or writing the numerous 400 word papers on that weeks YouTube video. It is true to save the book information provided for future reference as it is a good bit of knowledge that could be used later on. I agree with all the bad points he makes in his review, if you are looking for the knowledge to start a gunsmithing business you will be very disappointed that it provides very little help with that and the knowledge gained from this course work will get you a nice piece of paper to hang on the wall that's about it. I feel that I learned how to write a college level paper and that's about it, I do not feel that my knowledge was enhanced in any way by taking this program of instruction. I agree with Kevin when he says that they prey on the Veterans and the GI Bill, this goes back to my first statement, "For Profit Institution". Also something to remember when choosing a college and this is something I really wish I had looked into but was assured by SDI is accreditation. SDI is not regionally accredited so there for the degree or classes you take will probably not be accepted by another college. As one admission lady told me they a re private school we do not accept transcripts from private colleges. My thoughts or two cents if you really want to learn gunsmithing go to a hands on course this is where you will learn the right way and not some outdated or youtube way. read more

SDI is a joke! The cookie cutter cut and paste discussion boards, poor quality Youtube videos, and articles that were cut and copied from magazines and forums because your "faculty" doesn't feel like actually teaching the class! There was absolutely no quality materials or any online lectures as with other LEGITIMATE schools! With the severe lack or quality of your programs, you don't have the right to call yourselves a legitimate school! Just about all I learned, I could have learned myself and I did. The only instructor that was worth a damn was my kydex class instructor. He was stellar and he actually went out of his way to help me, where others didn't even want me to call them. Other than that, my experience was a joke and the level of quality was embarrassing to say the absolute least. My only regret is that I fell for it. There was absolutely ZERO creativity in these courses, no effort put forth to actually challenge me as a student. This was an embarrassing.experience and I will most definitely NOT be paying for any more of this nonsense out of pocket. I will be working something out with AGI, as they are more legitimate than SDI. They may not have a "degree" program, but they offer legit certifications and certifications can be far more telling than a degree. This is a hands on industry, not a "sit and watch Youtube" or "read cut and copied articles" industry. As one final parting piece of advise, I highly suggest that you read the reviews of this place. Many are not good and mine won't be either. If I can save just one poor schmuck from falling into this money trap, then I can rest easy. Any servicemen and women out there who want to go here...don't! You served your country, you sacrificed for your country, don't let these people bleed your GI bill dry! This institution is a fraud, a...total fraud. read more

I have been attending SDI for 3 semesters now. I am enrolled in the Firearms Technology degree program. The class are super informative and most important do allow for work and school. I average over 50-60 hours a week with travel all over the US and I find it relative easy to find time for course work. The staff is very helpful and respond to question very quickly. I look forward to my future courses and even have to begin to think of a career in Firearms since enrollment. read more

This school has given me repeated issues with the almost no availability to contact them or I don't receive a response, email or phone calls. Online school is for the working people convenience of conducting a higher education on there schedual. I have had grades not put in and assignments and even finals ignored when my available time comes at the inconvenience to the instructor. I enjoy the classwork and learning but when my grade is affected by an instructor not grading a final or a project when said items are submitted within the time frame dictated by the school that is a blow to your student that the students have no controls over. The student advisors are almost never available and so the student is left with an end result that is due to the negligence of instructors not doing there jobs I would not recommend this school to anyone after the issues I have encountered and as well as a few coworkers that are participating in the same course have encountered. read more