We are going to walk through what the federal government reports about this school. This is not my opinion or an admissions brochure. It is the official record, IPEDS, the same source used by the United States Department of Education. I am simply translating it for you.
What Kind of School Is It, Exactly?
Let's start with the basics, because there is already something important to clarify here. Pennsylvania Gunsmith School is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in Allegheny County, within that city's metropolitan area. The census code places it in a suburb: within the urbanized area, but outside the heart of the city. That does not tell you what living there feels like. If your child plans to live at home and commute from there, do yourself a favor: drive the route on a weekday, at the actual time of their classes. GPS almost never tells you the truth about traffic.
Now for what is truly important to understand from the beginning: Pennsylvania Gunsmith School is a private, for-profit, two-year institution, and it does not award bachelor's degrees. The highest level it reports offering is a postsecondary credential, a certificate or diploma requiring between two and less than four academic years. Put simply: it is not a four-year college, and it is not a school that reports awarding bachelor's degrees. That does not make it bad. It makes it a different type of school, and the first thing you must do as a parent is avoid confusing one type of institution with another.
Before signing anything, ask in writing for the exact name of the credential your child will receive upon completion, and ask whether those credits can later be used at a four-year college. No one else is going to ask that question for you.
One more point about its institutional identity: in the Carnegie Classification, the system that categorizes the nation's colleges and universities, this school appears outside the classified universe. That does not explain why. It does not say whether it is good or bad; it says that Carnegie did not assign it a label. Nor does it hold any of three specific designations: it is not a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 colleges and universities in this national directory, 138 do hold at least one of those three designations. The fact that Pennsylvania Gunsmith School does not have one tells you nothing about which students it serves or how your child will feel there. That is something to ask about in person.
A Very Small School With a Very Particular Community
This is where the numbers begin to speak loudly. Pennsylvania Gunsmith School had 68 students enrolled across the entire campus last fall. That is not a typo. Sixty-eight people in the entire institution. Compared with the 255 private two-year schools that are part of this census and report this figure, it is among the smallest: at least nine out of ten of those schools have more students. There is no graduate enrollment because there are no graduate programs: all 68 students are undergraduates.
Being small does not make it better or worse. But it does change one very specific question you should ask: whether the courses in your child's program are offered every semester or only once a year. At a school of this size, that can determine how long it takes to finish.
As for who makes up this very small community, there are three figures worth viewing together, without forcing them to say more than they do:
| Data point | Reported figure |
|---|---|
| Hispanic or Latino undergraduate students | 1 out of every 100 |
| Students between ages 25 and 64 | 34 out of every 100 |
| Women students | 3 out of every 100 |
One in a hundred. It is among the lowest proportions across the 255 private two-year schools in this census that report the figure: nine out of ten of them have a higher proportion. That does not remove the school from your list if it is a genuine option for your child, but it does give you a specific question to ask during a visit: what is available today for Latino students, whether there is a student group, a cultural center, or someone in the office who speaks Spanish. The number describes the school as a whole; your child's experience in their program may look different, and only someone already studying there can confirm that.
As for the other striking figure: the undergraduate population is almost entirely male; 3 out of every 100 students are women. And one-third of the students, 34 out of every 100, are between ages 25 and 64. This is not the "just out of high school" profile many families imagine. It is a small, adult, predominantly male community. Whether that fits what your child is looking for is a question only you can answer together.
How Academics Work, and Why the Calendar Matters
Pennsylvania Gunsmith School reported using a continuous calendar. That means there is no single "August" when everyone starts together. Students begin when the program opens. This changes how you should think about cost: the federal government asks schools like this to report the cost of the entire program, not tuition per academic year. If you are comparing this school with a traditional college, do not compare apples and oranges. Ask in writing for the total cost of the specific program and the exact date it begins.
The school reported that it does not award credit for life experience or AP exams, and that it does not enroll high school students in college-credit courses. That same question did not measure whether it offers dual credit or other credit-transfer policies, so if that matters to you, confirm it directly with the school.
As for degrees: in the federal report of credentials awarded during the 2022-23 academic year, Pennsylvania Gunsmith School does not appear as awarding any bachelor's degrees. This is not unusual for its type: of the 256 private two-year schools in this census, 254 are in the same situation. None awarded bachelor's degrees that year. But this is a count from a single academic year; a new program might not appear yet. If your child's ultimate goal is a bachelor's degree, ask admissions, in writing, for the list of credentials awarded today and the current transfer agreements.
One more piece of academic context: the ratio of students to instructional staff is 15 to 1. Compared with the 255 similar schools in this census, it ranks below the midpoint: neither among the lowest nor among the highest. It is a middle-ranking figure, and by itself it does not tell you the actual size of a classroom.
How a Student Gets In
There is something here that may sound reassuring and deserves an honest clarification. Pennsylvania Gunsmith School reported an open-admissions policy for all or most of its first-time undergraduate students. The published application fee is $75.
But open admission as an institutional policy is not the same as "guaranteed entry into any program." Eligibility conditions still have to be met, and a specific program may have its own requirements that IPEDS does not detail here. That is why the federal system does not ask this school to report how many people applied and how many were admitted, an enrollment rate after admission, or its SAT or ACT policy: under open admission, those questions simply do not apply. It is not that the school concealed something. The form does not ask for it.
Regarding transfers: in the fall 2023 count, the school did not report any students who were enrolling for the first time after having studied at another institution. That zero describes a single fall, not a policy. It does not say whether the school accepts transfer students or what would happen to your child's credits if they came from somewhere else. That question, like almost everything here, must be asked directly of admissions.
The Price: What Is Published and What They Might Actually Pay
At Pennsylvania Gunsmith School, among 3 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $26,091. Among 2 students in the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $33,109; among 5 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $32,791. For dependent students, the band includes both their parents' income and their own.
The difference between the average for the lowest-income band (3 students) and the highest-income band (5 students) is $6,700. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $25,836.
This official average was calculated using 3 students: a cell containing between 1 and 5 students. With so few cases, one person can shift the average substantially. Do not use this figure alone to compare or rule out the school; run the net price calculator using your family's information.
An average does not show how different the cases within that band were; this figure cannot establish that some families were far below or above the published amount. The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at public institutions, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average for students receiving grants or scholarships, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships.
Grants, Loans, and Who Ends Up Paying
Out of every 100 degree- or certificate-seeking students at this school, 41 received some grant or scholarship aid that does not have to be repaid. The other 59, the majority, received none. Compared with the 256 private two-year schools in this census, it falls in the quartile where grants and scholarships reach fewer students. Among those who did receive this aid, the average for the year was $4,724. And 38 out of every 100 received Pell Grants, the federal aid for students with demonstrated financial need.
The fact that most students here did not receive grant or scholarship aid does not mean your child will be denied. Nor does it mean they will receive it. This is past data, not a prediction of your case. What it does tell you clearly is that, at this school, you have to pursue aid actively. Do not assume it will arrive on its own.
Regarding loans: 37 out of every 100 students across the entire undergraduate population received a federal student loan in the 2022-23 academic year. That is more than two out of ten, but less than half. Compared with the 256 private two-year schools in this census, students here use federal loans less often than at almost all of them: nine out of ten of those schools, or more, had a higher proportion of students with debt.
Among those who did borrow, each borrowed an average of $6,268 that academic year. And here is a clarification worth stating directly: that average covers only one year and counts only federal loans in the student's name. It does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes end up signing for, debt owed to banks, or credit-card debt. Nor is it the total debt with which someone graduates. That number, the one that truly matters over the long term, is not in this report. No one will give it to you until you ask for it directly.
The school also reports participating in a Promise program as a mechanism for paying or managing tuition. It is worth asking exactly what that program would mean for your family.
Campus Life: What Is and Is Not Available
We need to be direct here, because this school has a very different campus profile from a traditional college. Pennsylvania Gunsmith School does not offer its own housing: there are no dormitories or apartments under its control, either on or off campus. It does not report meal plans either. That does not mean the official financial-aid budget ignores the cost of living off campus: IPEDS does collect estimates for housing, food, and other expenses to calculate the total cost of attendance. Ask for the exact budget the financial-aid office would use for your child's situation.
It also did not indicate any ROTC opportunities in any of its three branches. Among the two-year institutions in this guide, 45 out of 843 did indicate one; this school was not among them. That does not necessarily mean there is no nearby option: it only means none was reported in this field. If that scholarship matters to your family, ask about it directly before ruling the school out.
The intercollegiate athletics section is marked not applicable, rather than left blank: there is nothing to read into it, either for or against the school. If athletics matter to your child, that is another question to ask the school directly.
Regarding distance education: the school reports that it does not offer any online courses, at either the undergraduate or graduate level. Zero percent of students took all their classes at a distance. If your child works or cares for someone at home, their schedule must accommodate the entire program in person. This figure is from a single year; if that changes in the future, you will only know by asking.
The libraries component is marked not applicable in the federal record, which means the source does not describe its collections, staff, or expenditures here. But the institution does report having physical facilities, an organized collection of printed materials, access to digital resources, and established hours. If this matters to your child, ask directly where students can study and whether computers are available to borrow.
As for support, the school reports combined academic and career counseling, placement services for those who complete their programs, a dedicated point of contact for veterans and military families, and a web address for services for people with disabilities. The fact that these services are reported does not guarantee their scope or effectiveness in your child's particular case; it is starting information for asking further questions.
Do Students Stay? Do They Graduate?
Here we come to one of the most notable figures in this entire profile, and it must be read carefully because it comes from a very small group of people. The cohort of first-time, full-time students who entered between August and October of 2022 included 15 people. Of them, 14 met the official retention criterion: they were still enrolled or had already completed their program. That is 93 out of every 100.
It is a high figure, but it comes from 15 people. A percentage drawn from such a small group changes dramatically with just two or three individual decisions, so we are not going to pit it against other schools as though it were comparable on the same scale. The source also does not distinguish between those of the 14 who remain enrolled and those who have already finished; and we do not know what happened to the one person who did not meet the criterion.
Regarding graduation, IPEDS does publish a rate: following the first-time, full-time cohort that entered in 2020, 77 out of every 100 completed a program at this institution within 150% of normal time. It is a figure for a specific historical group, not a prediction for your child. It does not include those who transferred in or those who started part-time. If your child enters as part of another group, the rate that applies to that group is different and must be requested separately.
The component called Outcome Measures, which at other schools tracks outcomes over eight years, is marked not applicable for Pennsylvania Gunsmith School in this cycle. That is the source's official status, not an omission by the school or a clue about anyone's outcome.
What This Profile Gives You, and What Is Up to You
You now know, in as much depth as these federal data allow, what kind of institution Pennsylvania Gunsmith School is: a very small, private, for-profit, two-year school without dormitories or online classes, with open admission, a program-based price rather than an annual one, and net-price and retention figures built from very small groups of students that deserve to be investigated again, with a calculator in hand and a financial-aid letter in hand, before you compare or rule it out.
You now have this piece of the puzzle. It still has to be combined with what your child actually wants to study and where they imagine their life going, and with what your family can and is willing to pay. A real plan comes from those three pieces together, not from just one.
If you are only beginning to consider this school, get the exact catalog for the program and ask in writing about the final credential and its validity at another institution. If you are already deciding between this and other options, complete the FAFSA and wait for the aid letter before comparing prices. And if your child's plan includes transferring later to a four-year college, that conversation about transferable credits must happen now, not after you have paid.
Source note: the information in this article comes from data reported by Pennsylvania Gunsmith School (UNITID 215008) to the United States Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), primarily from the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles. Best College Aid does not represent Pennsylvania Gunsmith School or any government agency; this article organizes and explains publicly available information.