10-yr median earnings
Not reported
Federal aid recipients only
Private For-Profit · Tempe, Arizona
Sonoran Desert Institute
Sonoran Desert Institute is a private for-profit institution in Tempe, Arizona. as a private for-profit, published Scorecard outcomes are Title-IV-recipient medians — program mix and repayment risk deserve a closer look than a single headline number.
- 32.7%
- 150%-time completion
- $20,678
- Avg net price / yr
City: Midsize
Carnegie: Special Focus (2yr)
Institution data retrieved July 2026; field-of-study data retrieved March 2026.
How to read this Sonoran Desert Institute profile
Figures above come from IPEDS institution records published through the College Scorecard (retrieved July 2026 for institution fields; March 2026 for field-of-study). Peer groups and cost cohorts follow IPEDS ownership sector, Carnegie class ("Special Focus Two-Year: Technical Professions"), and locale, not an editorial shortlist.
Average net price subtracts grant and scholarship aid from cost of attendance for full-time, first-time undergraduate Title IV recipients. It is a defined cohort average, not a personalized price; income-band fields add context but do not replace the school's current net-price calculator.
Earnings use Treasury-linked records for federally aided former students who were working and not enrolled in the measurement year (completers and noncompleters). IPEDS completion and retention use separate first-time, full-time cohorts, so those denominators are not the earnings cohort. Read cost, completion, and earnings as distinct historical measures, not a causal verdict or individual forecast.
College Value Score
F
College Value Score
39/100
Sonoran Desert Institute
A 6-metric composite of earnings, cost, and completion outcomes benchmarked against every reporting US college, not a ranking of teaching quality, campus life, or fit for any individual student. See the full methodology.
Earnings N/A
N/A
10-year median former-student earnings
Net Price F
$20,678
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Completion Rate F
32.7%
Completion within 150% of normal time
Debt B+
$9,500
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment N/A
N/A
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention N/A
N/A
First-year students returning for year two
Each axis is the percentile score shown in the breakdown at left; the shape shows this school's overall profile at a glance.
Avg net price
$20,678
After grants and scholarships
150%-time completion
32.7%
Full-time, first-time cohort
150%-time completion vs portal median (57.1%) 32.7%
Less-than-four-year-institution cohort
College ROI Quadrant - Sonoran Desert Institute vs peers
Each dot is a college plotted by 10-year median earnings (x-axis) vs average net price (y-axis), colored by completion within 150% of normal time. Bottom-right = high earnings/lower price; top-left = lower earnings/higher price.
Quick Facts
5,435
Undergraduate enrollment
-
Acceptance rate
-
SAT average
32.7%
150%-time completion
-
10-yr median earnings
-
First-year retention
How Sonoran Desert Institute ranks in Arizona
State rank among 99 reporting Arizona colleges with College Scorecard data, a separate lens from the national distribution above.
| Metric | Sonoran Desert Institute | State rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average net price | $20,678 | #44 of 87 | 49th (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 32.7% | #59 of 85 | 31st |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 5,435 | #15 of 98 | 85th |
Highest former-student earnings in Arizona
| # | School | 10-yr earnings | Net price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chamberlain University-Arizona | $92,405 | $40,096 |
| 2 | Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott | $84,131 | $40,287 |
| 3 | Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science - Arizona | $79,652 | - |
| 4 | Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science - Arizona | $79,652 | - |
| 5 | Alliant International University - Phoenix | $66,666 | - |
| 6 | Jersey College - Tucson | $66,087 | - |
| 7 | Jersey College - Mesa | $66,087 | - |
| 8 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | $62,668 | $14,967 |
| 9 | Arizona State University Digital Immersion | $62,668 | - |
| 10 | Arizona State University-West Valley | $62,668 | - |
| 11 | Arizona State University-Polytechnic | $62,668 | - |
| 12 | Arizona State University-Downtown Phoenix | $62,668 | - |
Costs & Financial Aid
Net price by family income at Sonoran Desert Institute
Average annual net price after grants; Title IV recipient cohort by income bracket
- $0 – $30k
$0 – $30k
$20,144 net price / yr
- $30k – $48k
$30k – $48k
$20,584 net price / yr
- $48k – $75k
$48k – $75k
$20,960 net price / yr
- $110k+
$110k+
$25,204 net price / yr
What this shows Need-based aid pulls net price down at lower brackets at Sonoran Desert Institute - compare the bar for your income band, not the overall average alone.
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $12,200 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $12,200 |
| Average Net Price | $20,678 |
32.5%
Pell Grant Rate
27.8%
Federal Loan Rate
$9,500
Median Debt
$101/mo
Monthly Payment
What students pay at Sonoran Desert Institute rose +51.8% since 2017
Average net price for the reported Title IV-recipient cohort went from $13,124 in 2017 to $19,921 in 2023, a rise of $6,797 in nominal dollars. Across the 51 colleges measured over the same 2017–2023 span, the median change was +13.5%.
7 reported years. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
2017 · $13,1242023 · $19,921
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, per-year fields (2017–2023). Net price is the average cost after grant and scholarship aid for federally-aided undergraduates.
Student Demographics
Race & ethnicity
Student body at a glance
2.6%
Female
50.2%
First Generation
Outcomes
Outcomes & debt snapshot
| Measure | Cohort / horizon | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Completion within 150% of normal time | First-time, full-time | 32.7% |
| Median federal student debt | At completion | $9,500 |
| Estimated monthly payment | Standard 10-year plan | $101/mo |
Programs & Earnings
Field-of-study summary by credential
| Credential | Programs | Award count | Avg earnings | Top earnings | Avg debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate | 1 | 544 | $85,119 | $85,119 | $9,500 |
| Associate's | 1 | 816 | $54,922 | $54,922 | $15,595 |
| Program | Credential | Completers | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Precision Systems Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians | Certificate | 544 | $85,119 | $9,500 |
| Precision Systems Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians | Associate's | 816 | $54,922 | $15,595 |
Explore Data-Matched Colleges
Scorecard-derived matches among reporting colleges — not school marketing or paid placement lists.
Similar Enrollment and Sector
Other Private For-Profit institutions closest in reported enrollment, preferring the same Carnegie classification.
California Institute of Arts & Technology
National City, CA
2,112 students · 3,323 apart
Universal Technical Institute of Arizona Inc
Avondale, AZ
1,957 students · 3,478 apart
Universal Technical Institute-Southern California
Long Beach, CA
1,701 students · 3,734 apart
Universal Technical Institute-Dallas Fort Worth
Irving, TX
1,610 students · 3,825 apart
Similar Reported Net Price
Other Private For-Profit institutions with the nearest reported average net price.
Tricoci University of Beauty Culture-Elgin
Elgin, IL
$20,671 net price · $7 apart
Southwest Michigan Beauty School
Sturgis, MI
$20,671 net price · $7 apart
Tricoci University of Beauty Culture-Rockford
Rockford, IL
$20,655 net price · $23 apart
Platt College-Ontario
Ontario, CA
$20,711 net price · $33 apart
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Sonoran Desert Institute cost? ▼
The average net price at Sonoran Desert Institute is $20,678. In-state tuition is $12,200 and out-of-state tuition is $12,200. Median student debt at graduation is $9,500.
What is the graduation rate at Sonoran Desert Institute? ▼
Sonoran Desert Institute has a 32.7% completion rate within 150% of normal program time at a less-than-four-year institution.
Sources & methodology
Private for-profit profiles foreground Scorecard debt, repayment, and program-level earnings where reported. Marketing claims from the school are not inputs to this page.
Every figure is the Mar–Jul 2026 federal retrieval. For-profit program mixes can shift year to year — treat institution medians as a starting map, then check Field-of-Study rows below. Read the full methodology for how the data is sourced, computed, and verified.
- College Scorecard, U.S. Department of Education - former-student earnings, cost & completion (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- IPEDS, National Center for Education Statistics - enrollment, admissions, Carnegie class & demographics (nces.ed.gov/ipeds).
- U.S. Treasury / IRS earnings linkage - median earnings 6 & 10 years after enrollment for federal-aid recipients (irs.gov).
- College Scorecard, Field of Study - program-level (credential) earnings & debt (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- Federal Student Aid (Title IV / NSLDS) - U.S. Department of Education - net price, student debt & aid-recipient repayment outcomes (studentaid.gov).
Where to go next from Sonoran Desert Institute
- Compare Sonoran Desert Institute against schools with similar outcomes at a lower average net price.Find similar schools that cost less
- Browse every reporting college in Arizona side by side.Browse Arizona
- See how fields of study differ on former-student earnings and debt.Explore programs
For-profit Scorecard figures are Title-IV cohort history — verify current program costs, accreditation, and repayment outcomes with the school and official aid tools.
Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Private for-profit profiles compile Scorecard debt/earnings and IPEDS operating fields from federal files — no editor-typed figures. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals.