Johnson & Wales

[leftychef]

hey,
i am in high school and i have a 4.4 GPA. i have a grat passion for all things food. I am looking at J&W as a top contender in my list of culinary schools. can i get some inside info on what classes r like and other stuff like that. i want to see from peoples experiences what the school is really like. so feel free to say whatever, good/bad etc.

thank you,
leftychef

[chf-harold]

well it all depends on what campus you go to right now we have 3. one in denver one in south carolina and one in rhode island. i'm a senior in rhode island. the classes aren't that bad a good mix of lab/academic mix they've changed the courses a lot within the last 2 years and are getting a lot better at teaching the students the basics which a lot of them need.

[Greg]

Actually, J&W has 6 locations. In addition to the 3 you mentioned, there are also campuses in Norfolk, Virginia; Charlotte, North Carolina and North Miami Beach, Florida

[Jim]

Lefty,
I would suggest a visit to one of the campuses as well as a sit-down with one of the recruiters. My school hosts recruiters 2 or 3 times a year, so they are out and about.

[Frizbee]

I hate to disagree with you...However J&W just closed it's Norfolk, VA and Charleston, SC locations to consolidate and open the Charlotte, NC location.
Currently the locales available taking in students are as follows:
Providence, RI
Charlotte, NC
Denver, CO
Miami, FL.
Charleston is currently only offering senior classes for those that need to finish up. All other personnel have been relocated (if they desired as much) to Charlotte. I don't know for sure, but I suspect the same has happened in Norfolk, VA. I do know for a fact several of the instructors from VA have already relocated to NC.
All of this consolidation began occurring on a progressive scale in 2003, when I became a freshman in SC, and will be complete May 2006.
Oh and do I recommend J&W, most assuredly, YES! The Charlotte campus from what I understand is amazing..!!!
Frizbee
Alum JWU Charleston campus, 2003

[Greg]

Nuts! I'll miss not being able to visit the old cigar factory.

[leftychef]

anyone know the h.s. requirements: test scores gpa and whatnot, and what would help to save money?

[Marie]

Originally Posted by leftychef

hey,
i am in high school and i have a 4.4 GPA. i have a grat passion for all things food. I am looking at J&W as a top contender in my list of culinary schools. can i get some inside info on what classes r like and other stuff like that. i want to see from peoples experiences what the school is really like. so feel free to say whatever, good/bad etc.

thank you,
leftychef

My friend is currently a student over at Johnson and Wales. I can ask her some stuff if you want. You can PM me your questions and whatnot. Good luck!

[JWUCO]

I went to the JWU Denver campus. I took what they call "PPM" classes because I was a garnish-your-degree student. Labs were offered from 5:00-11:00 PM mainly for working adults. I didn't go into straight from high school. I went to a regular university and got a BA then decided I wanted to attend culinary school. In te "PPM" classes you find many older people taking the classes. The chefs tend to take you a little more seriously because they know that you really want to be there.

The class structure. The first hour or two is lecture in a classroom. Followed by the actual cooking ---> Dinner ----> Cleanup. My first class was Stock and Sauces where you learn about knife cuts and how to make the classic sauces. I remember the cold winters sitting in a 35 degree room in meat cutting class, the horrid front of the house class learning how to balance plates, praticing how to flip an egg without breaking a yolk, identifying various fruits and vegetables in storeroom class, coming up with a healthy duck a l'orange recipe for nutrition class...

Lectures were interesting. The actual cooking was great. Dinner was great as long as you are not the front of the house class serving the formal dinner or the kitchen responsible to plating the food. Clean up was the worst. The kitchens are used by three classes daily and after every class every inch is cleaned. We had the most pristine kitchens. My hands were always dry and cracked from washing all the dishes. We had great ingredients and great chef instructors who worked at the top restaurants in the world. My biggest advice is talk to the chefs. They are there to help you. Get to know them. Become the teachers pet. It will assure you perfect grades.