2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in Arizona
It's not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for veterans. College Factual has developed its Best Colleges for Veterans in Arizona ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Our analysis looked at 22 schools in Arizona to determine which ones were the best for veterans and active service men and women. Our ranking is based on over 20 objective factors, including the school's overall quality, the number of GI Bill® recipients at the school, and the percentage of costs covered by the GI Bill®. We steer clear of subjective measures since they don't give a clear picture when determining how one school compares to another.
Learn more about our ranking methodology.
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Top Colleges for Veterans in Arizona
See which schools came out on top of our ranking:
University of Arizona tops this year’s ranking as the best school for veterans in Arizona. Tucson, Arizona is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 10,843 students in 2019-2020.
Our most recent data shows that 1,914 of the 45,601 students enrolled at University of Arizona were GI Bill® students, of which 1,561 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $9,490. In addition to receiving other benefits, 37 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. University of Arizona does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
On top of its placing in our veterans ranking, University of Arizona also did well on our Best Schools in Arizona list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Arizona State University - Tempe. The school came in at #2 in Arizona on this year’s best for vets ranking. ASU - Tempe is located in Tempe, Arizona and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 19,593 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
Of the 74,795 students enrolled at ASU - Tempe, 7,047 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 6,145 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $10,977. During this same period, 156 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. ASU - Tempe also took the #4 spot in our Best Schools in Arizona rankings.
Out of the 22 schools in Arizona that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Arizona University landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Flagstaff, Arizona, the large public school handed out 7,892 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Of the 29,566 students enrolled at NAU, 1,057 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 812 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $7,976. On top of their other funding sources, 31 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Grand Canyon University. It ranked #4 on our 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in Arizona list. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the large private for-profit school handed out 25,539 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Among the 103,427 students enrolled at Grand Canyon University, 6,566 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 4,373 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $5,044. In addition to receiving other benefits, 12 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Prescott College. It ranked #5 on our 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in Arizona list. Located in Prescott, Arizona, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 251 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Our most recent data shows that 37 of the 970 students enrolled at Prescot College were GI Bill® students, of which 28 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $13,233. To help with additional expenses, 4 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Prescot College does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
University of Phoenix - Arizona landed the #6 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in Arizona ranking. UOPX - Arizona is a large private for-profit school situated in Tempe, Arizona. It awarded 21,673 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Of the 89,763 students enrolled at UOPX - Arizona, 13,284 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 11,869 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $6,593. In addition to receiving other benefits, 28 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. UOPX - Arizona does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
UOPX - Arizona did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Schools in Arizona list.
Arizona State University - West landed the #7 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in Arizona ranking.
Arizona State University - Downtown Phoenix did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in Arizona ranking, coming in at #8.
Read full report on Arizona State University - Downtown Phoenix
Chamberlain University - Arizona ranked #9 on this year’s Best Colleges for Veterans in Arizona list. Phoenix, Arizona is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 223 students in 2019-2020.
Our most recent data shows that 98 of the 725 students enrolled at Chamberlain - Arizona were GI Bill® students, of which 88 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $15,508. In addition to receiving other benefits, 24 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Arizona State University - Polytechnic landed the #10 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in Arizona ranking.
With a ranking of #11, Mesa Community College did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in Arizona list. Mesa Community College is a public institution located in Mesa, Arizona. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 2,131 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Of the 16,948 students enrolled at Mesa Community College, 834 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 717 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $1,392. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Mesa Community College also is in the top 20% of our Best Schools in Arizona ranking.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in Arizona ranking, coming in at #12. Located in Prescott, Arizona, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 618 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Among the 3,004 students enrolled at Embry-Riddle Prescott, 283 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 267 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $25,948. During this same period, 147 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The low student loan default rate of 4.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Embry-Riddle Prescott also took the #2 spot in our Best Schools in Arizona rankings.
Read full report on Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott
Rio Salado College ranked #13 on this year’s Best Colleges for Veterans in Arizona list. Located in Tempe, Arizona, the fairly large public school handed out 866 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Among the 17,362 students enrolled at Rio Salado College, 414 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 321 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $626. In addition to receiving other benefits, 3 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
Mohave Community College did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in Arizona ranking, coming in at #14. This small public school is located in Kingman, Arizona, and it awarded 427 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Our most recent data shows that 199 of the 3,654 students enrolled at MCC were GI Bill® students, of which 148 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $1,817. On top of their other funding sources, 6 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. MCC does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
Arizona State University - Skysong did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in Arizona ranking, coming in at #15. Arizona State University - Skysong is a large public school located in Scottsdale, Arizona that handed out 9,821 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Cochise County Community College District did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in Arizona ranking, coming in at #16. Located in Sierra Vista, Arizona, the small public school handed out 1,360 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Our most recent data shows that 437 of the 3,327 students enrolled at Cochise College were GI Bill® students, of which 308 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $2,189. Cochise College does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
Cochise College also made our Best Schools in Arizona list, coming in at #5.
With a ranking of #17, DeVry University - Arizona did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in Arizona list. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the small private for-profit school awarded 115 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2019-2020.
Our most recent data shows that 131 of the 217 students enrolled at DeVry University - Arizona were GI Bill® students. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $9,360. To help with additional expenses, 13 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. DeVry University - Arizona does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
With a ranking of #18, University of Advancing Technology did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in Arizona list. University of Advancing Technology is a small private for-profit school situated in Tempe, Arizona. It awarded 118 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Our most recent data shows that 154 of the 836 students enrolled at University of Advancing Technology were GI Bill® students, of which 127 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $14,382. On top of their other funding sources, 17 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
Bryan University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in Arizona ranking, coming in at #19. Bryan University is a private for-profit institution located in Tempe, Arizona. The school has a small population, and it awarded 327 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Among the 1,350 students enrolled at Bryan University, 352 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 307 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $8,913. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
Brookline College - Phoenix did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in Arizona ranking, coming in at #20. Phoenix, Arizona is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 257 students in 2019-2020.
Among the 1,552 students enrolled at Brookline College - Phoenix, 52 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 37 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $10,217. Brookline College - Phoenix does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
Brookline College - Tucson landed the #21 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in Arizona ranking. Brookline College - Tucson is a small private for-profit school situated in Tucson, Arizona. It awarded 26 bachelor’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Of the 349 students enrolled at Brookline College - Tucson, 21 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 20 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $7,347. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
Arizona Christian University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Veterans in Arizona ranking, coming in at #22. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 148 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2019-2020.
Our most recent data shows that 27 of the 925 students enrolled at Arizona Christian University were GI Bill® students, of which 17 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $14,801. To help with additional expenses, 3 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Arizona Christian University does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
Best Colleges for Veterans in the Southwest Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top 22 schools only.
**GI Bill® student total includes all chapters of the GI Bill® program (e.g., Post-9/11, Montgomery GI Bill, Reserve Education Assistance Program, and Veteran Readiness and Employment)
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Veteran-specific data can be found at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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