Cooking Degree Programs
How to Choose the Right One Near Atlantic City New Jersey
You have made a wonderful career choice to become a cook or chef by enrolling in a culinary college near Atlantic City NJ. You will not only be taught how to cook incredible meals or make fancy desserts, you'll also be able to earn a nice income doing it. However, now that you've made the decision, exactly how do you set about picking a culinary arts college? Before arriving at your final selection, what requirements should you review and compare among the culinary institutes you are considering? If you want to be a success in the restaurant and hospitality fields you must select the ideal culinary program and degree. There are a wide range of alternatives to choose from, starting with a certificate or diploma program and progressing to earning an undergraduate as well as a graduate degree. You can attend a small cooking college, an online program, or enroll in a prestigious culinary institute that offers more advanced degree programs. The kind of credential and school you select will probably be based upon how much time and money you can afford to commit, in addition to your ultimate career objective. After you have determined what your main area of interest and budget are, you can begin examining the cooking colleges that meet your initial qualifications. Depending upon the certification and type of culinary school you select, you could be employed as a professional cook or chef in just 6 months. So let's dig more into the process of picking a school.
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Researching Culinary Arts Colleges
By now you should have decided on the type of degree that you want to earn, and whether or not you would like to enroll in a private or a public school. Since there are numerous cooking schools in the Atlantic City area and across the USA, you need to develop a checklist of important qualifiers so that you can begin narrowing down your choices. Certain obvious qualifiers, such as cost and location are a good place to begin. But deciding on a school because it is the nearest or the cheapest is not the optimal way to decide on your education. There are other considerations, such as reputation and accreditation that you should assess as well. So following are some key areas that you should research for every school as you compare them and make your ultimate choice.
Accreditation. It's important that the cooking school you pick has some type of accreditation from either a regional or a national agency. As mentioned previously, the accrediting agency should be a U.S. Department of Education certified authority, for example the American Culinary Federation (ACF). ACF accredited schools have successfully completed a thorough evaluation relating to their curriculum, instructors and facilities. Therefore not only does accreditation help establish that you will receive exceptional training, but it can also help in obtaining a student loan or financial assistance which are often not available for non-accredited schools.
Age. Recently established schools generally have the advantage of having modern equipment and facilities. However, they may not have been in operation long enough to earn an accreditation or to cultivate a reputation. Conversely, older schools may still be using their original, outdated equipment, but have established a sustained history of excellence and received one or more accreditations. Also, the much more a school has been in business, the more graduates the school can solicit for its job placement program. Certainly there is some give and take based on the age of the culinary schools. And older, more highly regarded schools usually update their equipment and facilities. The important lesson is that in the best case scenario, your chosen school will have an excellent reputation, accreditation and a modern facility with newer equipment.
Job Placement Rates. First off, find out what the graduation rates are for the culinary arts programs you are assessing. Low graduation rates are indicators that numerous students were unhappy with either the colleges or the programs and quit before graduating. They might also signify that the teachers were not competent to teach the curriculum. Ask the schools to provide their job placement rates as well. If a school has a high job placement rate, it will help verify that it has a good or exceptional reputation within the culinary arts community, in addition to a wide network of professional associations. Watch out for any school that will not supply this information.
Location. The culinary arts school that you choose must be within commuting distance of your Atlantic City residence, unless you have decided to relocate. You may consider attending classes online, but you would still need to travel for your externship training. Conversely, perhaps you have chosen to attend a particular culinary arts college located in a different state due to its reputation and courses offered. It would be a wise decision to check out the facility before enrolling, to make sure that you are comfortable with the location and your prospective living conditions. Check the training facilities in person to make certain they are modern and that the equipment is state of the art. Keep in mind also that a number of schools concentrate their job assistance programs within their regional communities, so select a location where you will enjoy working.
Class Sizes. The most effective way to learn how to cook is with a lot of personalized instruction. If the culinary arts college you enroll in has large classes, you will undoubtedly get little personal attention from the instructors. The optimal manner in which to evaluate the interaction between instructors and students is to attend a few of the classes. Ask a couple of the students what their experience has been. Find out if they are satisfied with the amount of attention they receive in class as well as the overall training. Also, speak with a couple of the instructors and learn what their teaching styles are as well as their histories and credentials.
Flexible Class Schedules. There is no benefit to in enrolling in a culinary arts program if you will be unable to attend the classes. Therefore make certain that the school you decide on provides class scheduling that will fit in with your busy lifestyle. If you can only attend at night or on weekends near Atlantic City NJ because of your work schedule, confirm that the school you choose offers either weekend or evening classes. If you can only attend part-time, confirm that the culinary arts school has a part-time offering. Also, ask what the make-up protocol is if you must miss a class due to family, work or other commitments.
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Enroll in the Right Atlantic City Culinary School
A rewarding career in the hospitality and restaurant industry is dependent upon choosing the appropriate culinary arts school. As we have discussed, there are a number of things that you must consider when evaluating schools, for instance their accreditation, reputations, and training facilities. Just like any important decision, you need to begin by acquiring information, and the ideal means to do that is by getting in touch with culinary colleges directly, either face to face or over the phone. If you're not sure about which schools to look into, you might want to think about consulting with chefs in your location about any culinary arts institutes they endorse. Afterwards use the Internet to check out those schools further before contacting them. By taking the time to exhaustively assess each of your education alternatives, you will be in a much better position to make an enlightened decision. And when you select the right school, you will have a wonderful start toward your aspiration of becoming a chef in Atlantic City New Jersey.
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