| I was just watching TV and saw that for Johnson and | | | | skills and more for far less than any of these for-profit |
| Wales University which is a locally cooking school | | | | cooking schools like Johnson and Wales University and |
| located in downtown Charlotte North Carolina. Upon | | | | others. Another nice feature of learning to cook at a |
| researching their website just a tiny bit and see they | | | | community college is that the courses that you take |
| charge $22,000 a year in tuition alone. Upon a little | | | | are directly transferable to a four year or other school. |
| deeper research and watching recent episodes of | | | | Then you do not have to worry about transfer issues |
| MSNBC where it was made aware that many of | | | | like you would with many of these cooking schools or |
| these graduates from these expensive cooking | | | | online, for profit schools offering local cooking classes. |
| schools cannot find jobs that pay more than $10 an | | | | Just request a course catalog from your local |
| hour or fare even worse without a job. With | | | | community college and peruse through the cooking |
| graduation rates as low as 50% or even lower at | | | | classes and see which ones will get you towards the |
| some of these for-profit cooking schools is there a | | | | degree that you want or teach you the skills that you |
| better alternative? | | | | desire. From learning how to barbecue, two creating a |
| The biggest problem is how many years do you have | | | | roast, to making exquisite Christmas cookies, to much |
| to go this cooking school to become a chef and get a | | | | more advanced subjects on cooking, mostly |
| good paying chefs job? Apparently it is more than one | | | | community colleges will offer all of it and more. Now, if |
| and with the fact that most of these for-profit cooking | | | | you live out in waistline you might have traveled it go |
| schools give financial aid that only consists of student | | | | to the committee College offers an extensive list of |
| loans that leads to many heavily or overburdened | | | | cooking classes. There are also other alternatives to |
| students that when they graduate cannot possibly pay | | | | which are far less expensive than the for-profit |
| their debts back and live on their own or live a | | | | cooking schools. |
| comfortable lifestyle. This is directly a kin to online | | | | Viking, which makes expensive and high grade ovens |
| colleges like Phoenix University and others that | | | | and ranges amongst other products, offers cooking |
| basically give oneself a degree that no one hires or | | | | classes in most states for everyone from children to |
| that does not transfer to other fully accredited colleges | | | | adults and for every level of all sorts of cooking |
| like state colleges and universities. | | | | techniques and ideas. Basically, Viking brings in their |
| As a matter of fact some of the online colleges have | | | | own or celebrity chefs and will teach all sorts of |
| not been required to place a disclaimer in their TV | | | | cooking concepts in everything from one day classes |
| advertisements that states that credits are unlikely to | | | | to classes that can last several weeks or even |
| transfer. And numerous employers will actually place | | | | months. The general cost is between $60 and $100 a |
| on their websites and in their hiring materials that if you | | | | day for a Viking cooking class and you can find out |
| have gone or attended one of these online colleges | | | | more information on this their website. |
| that you basically should not bother applying. Are these | | | | So basically you do have alternatives, you don't have |
| cooking schools any different? Yes, they are not online | | | | to become heavily burdened by debt to become a |
| and many of them are more credited or at least | | | | chef or cook. You can use your local committee |
| better accredited then the basically fraudulent schools | | | | Colleges where financial aid consists mostly of grants |
| like Phoenix University (if you were to look at the | | | | rather than loans like with the for-profit cooking |
| Whois database, which lists all domain register | | | | schools. You also can take other classes that may |
| information you will see that the organizations Phoenix | | | | even go outside of the cooking curriculum sheet and |
| University lists as being accredited by are owned by | | | | exposure something different classes, courses and |
| Phoenix University itself which is basically fraud for all | | | | even majors and the best part is that all of it is |
| intents and purposes). | | | | transferable. Another alternative is cooking classes like |
| Now some of these cooking schools like Johnson | | | | Viking offers to get a taste of what cooking school is |
| Wales University are fairly well respected, but with | | | | really like without having to obligate yourself financially |
| limited financial aid packages that consist mostly of | | | | to the tune $20-$30,000 or more. Common sense |
| loans is there a better alternative? Yes, there is for | | | | here would tell you that for-profit schools are just that, |
| anyone in any state. It is called your local community | | | | for their profit, not yours. Use your state school and |
| colleges. Almost every single community college out | | | | university system and take advantage of low-cost or |
| there has well accredited cooking programs and similar | | | | even free schools for manufacturers like Viking. |
| that can teach you the exact same courses, cooking | | | | |