It Takes Just a Few Minutes to Start Your Culinary Arts Career Below!
Evaluating Culinary Schools
By now you should have made a decision regarding the type of degree that you want to attain, and whether or not you want to enroll in a public or private school. Since there a large number of cooking institutions in the Cortland area and across the United States, you need to create a checklist of important qualifiers so that you can start narrowing down your choices. A few obvious qualifications, including cost and location are an excellent place to start. But picking a school because it is the nearest or the least expensive is not the optimal way to make a decision regarding your education. There are other considerations, including reputation and accreditation that you must review also. Therefore, following are some critical areas that you need to research for every school as you compare them and make your final decision.
Accreditation. It's essential that the culinary program you pick has some form of accreditation from either a regional or a national agency. As previously stated, the accrediting organization should be a U.S. Department of Education certified organization, such as the American Culinary Federation (ACF). ACF accredited schools have passed a detailed review pertaining to their course of study, teachers and facilities. So not only does accreditation help ensure that you will receive excellent training, but it may also help in acquiring a student loan or financial aid which are often not available for non-accredited schools.
Age. Recently established schools generally have the advantage of having modern facilities and equipment. However, they may not have been operating long enough to acquire an accreditation or to establish a reputation. On the other hand, more established schools may still be using their original, dated equipment, but have established a lengthy track record of excellence and earned one or more accreditations. Also, the longer a school has operated, the more graduates the school can reach out to for its job placement program. Naturally there is some give and take dependent on the age of the culinary arts schools. And older, more highly regarded schools typically modernize their equipment and facilities. The important lesson is that in the best case scenario, your school of choice will have an excellent reputation, accreditation and a state-of-the-art facility with modern equipment.
Job Placement Rates. Initially, ask what the graduation rates are for the cooking colleges you are assessing. Low graduation rates are red flags that a number of students were dissatisfied with either the institutes or the programs and dropped out. They may also signify that the instructors were not competent to teach the course of study. Ask the schools to furnish their job placement rates also. If a school has a high job placement rate, it will help verify that it has a good or outstanding reputation within the culinary arts field, as well as a large network of professional associations. Be skeptical of any school that will not furnish this information.
Location. The culinary arts school that you choose must be within driving distance of your Cortland home, unless you have decided to relocate. You may think about attending college online, but you would still need to travel for your externship training. Alternatively, perhaps you have chosen to go to a specific culinary college located in another state due to its prominence and courses offered. It would be a wise decision to visit the campus before enrolling, to make certain that you are comfortable with the location and your future living conditions. Look over the training facilities in person to make sure they are up to date and that the equipment is state of the art. Remember also that many schools target their job placement programs within their regional communities, so pick a location where you will enjoy working.
Class Sizes. The best approach to learn how to cook is with lots of one-on-one instruction. If the culinary school you enroll in has larger classes, you will probably receive minimal individual attention from the instructors. The best way to evaluate the interaction between faculty and students is to audit some of the classes. Ask some of the students what their experience has been. Find out if they are satisfied with the level of attention they receive in class as well as the entire course of training. Also, talk with some of the teachers and determine what their teaching styles are as well as their experiences and credentials.
Flexible Class Schedules. There is no benefit to in enrolling in a culinary institute if you will be unable to attend the classes. Therefore make sure that the school you pick has available class scheduling that can fit in with your hectic lifestyle. If you can only attend at night or on Saturdays or Sundays near Cortland NY because of your work schedule, confirm that the school you select offers either weekend or night classes. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, check that the cooking college has a part-time alternative. Also, find out what the make-up policy is if you must miss a class as a result of work, family or other obligations.
Learn More About Cooking Courses in Cortland