It Takes Just a Few Minutes to Start Your Culinary Arts Career Below!
Evaluating Culinary Colleges
At this point you should have decided on the type of degree that you wish to attain, and whether or not you want to enroll in a public or private institute. Since there are numerous cooking institutions in the Fort Hood area and within the Country, you will want to create a checklist of important qualifications so that you can begin limiting your options. Some obvious qualifiers, including cost and location are an excellent place to start. 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 variables, including reputation and accreditation that you should review also. So following are some crucial areas that you need to investigate for each school as you compare them and make your ultimate selection.
Accreditation. It's very important that the culinary arts program you decide on has some form of accreditation from either a regional or a national organization. As aforementioned, the accrediting organization should be a U.S. Department of Education certified authority, such as the American Culinary Federation (ACF). ACF accredited schools have passed a thorough evaluation relating to their curriculum, teachers and facilities. So not only does accreditation help establish that you will receive exceptional training, but it may also assist in obtaining a student loan or financial aid which are frequently not offered for non-accredited schools.
Age. Newer schools generally have the benefit of having modern equipment and facilities. However, they may not have been in operation long enough to acquire an accreditation or to cultivate a reputation. Conversely, older schools may still be using their original, dated equipment, but have established a long track record of excellence and earned one or more accreditations. Also, the much more a school has been in operation, the more alumni 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 reputable schools typically update their equipment and facilities. The valuable takeaway is that in the best case scenario, your selected school will have an exceptional reputation, accreditation and a state-of-the-art facility with newer equipment.
Job Placement Rates. First off, ask what the graduation rates are for the culinary arts colleges you are looking at. Low graduation rates are indications that many students were dissatisfied with either the colleges or the programs and quit before graduating. They may also indicate that the instructors were not qualified to teach the course of study. Ask the schools to supply their job placement rates also. If a college has a higher job placement rate, it will help verify that it has a good or exceptional reputation within the cooking field, as well as a wide network of professional relationships. Be skeptical of any school that will not provide this information.
Location. The culinary arts college that you choose must be within driving distance of your Fort Hood home, unless you can relocate. You may consider attending school online, but you would still need to travel for your externship training. Alternatively, perhaps you have opted to enroll in a particular culinary school located in another state due to its reputation and programs offered. It would be a good idea to check out the campus before enrolling, to make sure that you are satisfied with the area and your future living conditions. Inspect the training facilities personally to make sure they are modern and that the equipment is contemporary. Consider also that a number of schools concentrate their job placement programs within their regional communities, so pick a location where you will enjoy working.
Class Sizes. The most effective approach to learn how to cook is with a lot of one-on-one instruction. If the culinary arts college you enroll in has large classes, you will undoubtedly get limited personal attention from the instructors. The ideal means to assess the communication and interaction between instructors and students is to attend several of the classes. Ask a couple 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 a few of the instructors and find out what their teaching approaches are along with their experiences and credentials.
Flexible Class Schedules. There is no sense in enrolling in a cooking institute if you will not be able to attend the classes. So make sure that the school you select has available class scheduling that can accommodate your busy lifestyle. If you can only attend in the evening or on weekends near Fort Hood TX because of your job schedule, make sure that the school you select offers either weekend or evening classes. If you can only attend part-time, check that the culinary arts college has a part-time option. Also, check to see what the make-up policy is if you need to miss a class because of work, family or other commitments.
Learn More About Culinary Arts Schools in Fort Hood