Answering Your Questions About Comparison
Culinary schools that offer a cooking education are plentiful. When doing a culinary schools comparison; gather information to base your decisions on. Some key pieces of information to look for and questions to ask are:
Where is the school located?
Some of the best schools are not located where you may live. You will need to decide if this is going to be a problem for you. Relocation is expensive and needs to be considered (and factored into) the cost of attending culinary school. If finances are a major issue for you (and for many people it is); you will want to consider the location and how far you will need to move in order to attend a particular school.
What is the cost of tuition?
Culinary education can be expensive and there are large differences in the amount of tuition a school may charge. When doing a culinary schools comparison; you should include the yearly tuition cost of each school you are considering. You will also need to factor in any uniforms, special equipment and of course your cost to relocate or living expenses while you attend.
Does the school accept financial aid?
By contacting the financial aid office (usually in the admissions department); you should be able to find out what financial aid (if any) a school accepts. You should also inquire as to any culinary school scholarship or work study programs are available.
What culinary disciplines (programs) are available?
You will need a list of all the programs the school offers in order to decide if you will be able to obtain the training in the chef career you are considering. Some of the programs that may be offered include:
Pastry Chef
This program will prepare you for a career as a dessert chef.
General Culinary Arts
A general program will give you the skills needed to gain employment in most areas a chef could be employed. Hotels, restaurants, cruise ships, commercial kitchens, and private residences are all examples of jobs a general culinary program will train you for.
Sushi Chef
A program of this type will teach you the art of Japanese cuisine.
Specialty Programs
Specialty programs offer training in specific types of cuisine. French culinary school is an example.
Is the school accredited?
A school that is accredited signifies the school meets a set of guidelines and standards that are monitored and help to ensure the quality of instruction.
Accredited schools are also eligible to accept federal financial aid that the government gives to students to cover the cost of school attendance.
Does the school offer any culinary training dvds?
This can be a great way to get a feel for the actual in class experience you can expect. You can also get an idea of whether or not you are suited for a culinary education.
When looking for good culinary school information there is a few places you can look.
Online-Most schools will have a website.
Call or visit the school directly. Ask each school you are doing a culinary schools comparison on to send you school information in the form of brochures and admission catalogs.
