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2023 Most Popular Online Associate Degree Trade Schools in California
There are so many trade school programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Trade College Search has created the Most Popular Online Associate Degree Trade Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 21 schools in California to see which online associate degree programs were the most popular for trade school students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from schools with online programs.
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Most Popular Online Trade School Associate Degree Schools in California
Learn more about these popular schools with online programs:
Our analysis found Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts to be the most popular school for trade school students who want to pursue a associate degree in California. Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts is a small private for-profit school situated in San Mateo, California. It awarded 548 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Associate Degree recipients from Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts accumulate an average of $17,818 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 73% were women.
In 2020-2021 about 31% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Out of the 21 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Unitek College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Unitek College is a small private for-profit school located in Fremont, California that handed out 333 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Associate Degree recipients from Unitek College accumulate an average of $17,249 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 86% were women.
To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 45% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Saddleback College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Online Associate Degree Trade Schools in California list. Located in Mission Viejo, California, the fairly large public school handed out 3,760 associate degree awards in 2021-2022.
The average in-state tuition and fees for students at Saddleback College is $1,334. Out-of-state students pay an average of $9,814. On average, associate degree students take out $8,010 in loans while pursuing their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 58% were women.
To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 82% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Carrington College, Sacramento is a great place for trade school students working on their associate degree. Carrington College, Sacramento is located in Sacramento, California and has a small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 381 associate degrees to qualified students.
Associate Degree recipients from Carrington College, Sacramento accumulate an average of $22,853 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 87% were women.
Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 71% took at least some of their classes online.
You’ll be in good company if you attend Santa Barbara City College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Most Popular Online Associate Degree Trade Schools in California list. Santa Barbara City College is a fairly large public school located in Santa Barbara, California that handed out 2,590 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Students from California who attend SBCC full time pay an average of $1,234 in tuition and fees. Those students who come from outside the state pay an average of $9,322. Associate Degree recipients from SBCC accumulate an average of $17,141 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 63% were women.
During the 2020-2021 year, about 80% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Azusa Pacific University College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular associate degree trade school programs. Azusa Pacific University College is a small private not-for-profit school located in San Dimas, California that handed out 83 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Associate Degree recipients from Azusa Pacific’s University College accumulate an average of $11,128 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Around 94% of those degree recipients were women.
Azusa Pacific’s University College is one of the schools on our list that is primarily online. Each undergraduate student at the school took at least one class online.
Laurus College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for trade school students to get an associate degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Laurus College is a very small private for-profit school located in San Luis Obispo, California that handed out 129 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Associate Degree recipients from Laurus College accumulate an average of $32,053 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Around 44% of those degree recipients were women.
If you are interested in distance education, Laurus College is an excellent choice, since the school is online.
San Joaquin Valley College-Visalia landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular associate degree trade school programs. Visalia, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out associate degrees to 445 students in 2021-2022.
By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $18,031 in student loans. Of those students who received their degree, 78% were women.
Around 70% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
Merced College ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Online Associate Degree Trade Schools in California list. Located in Merced, California, the fairly large public school handed out 1,615 associate degree awards in 2021-2022.
The average in-state tuition and fees for students at Merced Community College District is $1,194. Those students who come from outside the state pay an average of $7,890. Of those students who received their degree, 69% were women.
To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 89% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #10, Stanbridge University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for trade school students working on their associate degree. Located in Irvine, California, the small private for-profit school awarded 277 diplomas to qualifed associate degree students in 2021-2022.
On average, associate degree students take out $28,875 in loans while pursuing their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 68% were women.
Since Stanbridge is primarily an online school, it is an excellent choice for undergraduate students who need more flexibility than what is offered at some other schools.
With a ranking of #10, California Institute of Arts & Technology did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for trade school students working on their associate degree. California Institute of Arts & Technology is a very small private for-profit school situated in San Diego, California. It awarded 68 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
If you don’t receive financial aid, you can expect a bill for $15,390 to cover tuition and fees at California Institute of Arts & Technology. The school does not offer an in-state discount. On average, associate degree students take out $18,852 in loans while pursuing their degree. Around 19% of those degree recipients were women.
California Institute of Arts & Technology is one of the schools on our list that is primarily online. Each undergraduate student at the school took at least one class online.
National Career College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for trade school students to get an associate degree. It came in at #12 on the list. National Career College is located in Panorama City, California and has a very small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 27 associate degrees to qualified students.
Of those students who received their degree, 74% were women.
If you are interested in distance education, National Career College is an excellent choice, since the school is online.
Academy of Art University ranked #13 on this year’s Most Popular Online Associate Degree Trade Schools in California list. San Francisco, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out associate degrees to 81 students in 2021-2022.
If you don’t receive financial aid, you can expect a bill for $26,728 to cover tuition and fees at Academy of Art University. The school does not offer an in-state discount. Associate Degree recipients from Academy of Art University accumulate an average of $32,292 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Of those students who received their degree, 57% were women.
Since Academy of Art University is primarily an online school, it is an excellent choice for undergraduate students who need more flexibility than what is offered at some other schools.
College of San Mateo did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for trade school students to get an associate degree. It came in at #14 on the list. College of San Mateo is a medium-sized public school located in San Mateo, California that handed out 872 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Students from California who attend CSM full time pay an average of $1,376 in tuition and fees. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $9,552. On average, associate degree students take out $14,914 in loans while pursuing their degree. Around 53% of those degree recipients were women.
Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 76% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #15, Fremont College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for trade school students working on their associate degree. Fremont College is a private for-profit institution located in Cerritos, California. The school has a very small population, and it awarded 49 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
Of those students who received their degree, 73% were women.
Fremont College is primarily an online school, so it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.
University of Antelope Valley did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for trade school students to get an associate degree. It came in at #16 on the list. UAV is located in Lancaster, California and has a very small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 9 associate degrees to qualified students.
Around 22% of those degree recipients were women.
To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 17% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #17, Compton College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for trade school students working on their associate degree. Compton College is a public institution located in Compton, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 678 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
In-state students pay an average of $1,142 in tuition and fees if they attend Compton College full time. If you are from out of state, expect to pay an average of $8,822. Of those students who received their degree, 73% were women.
Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 57% took at least some of their classes online.
Santa Barbara Business College - Bakersfield did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for trade school students to get an associate degree. It came in at #17 on the list.
On average, associate degree students take out $18,862 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Since Santa Barbara Business College - Bakersfield is primarily an online school, it is an excellent choice for undergraduate students who need more flexibility than what is offered at some other schools.
Santa Monica College landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular associate degree trade school programs. SMC is a public institution located in Santa Monica, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 3,672 associate degrees in 2021-2022.
In-state students pay an average of $1,150 in tuition and fees if they attend SMC full time. Those students who come from outside the state pay an average of $9,094. Of those students who received their degree, 61% were women.
Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 70% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #19, Advanced College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for trade school students working on their associate degree.
National University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for trade school students to get an associate degree. It came in at #21 on the list. National University is located in San Diego, California and has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 240 associate degrees to qualified students.
Associate Degree recipients from National University accumulate an average of $13,447 in student debt by the time they complete their degree. Around 55% of those degree recipients were women.
In 2020-2021 about 70% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Most Popular Online Trade School Associate Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 21 schools only.
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).
- 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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