Grades to get in to Culinary School??

[Culinary2689]

I am in my junior year of high school and want to go to culinary arts school. I was wondering what kind of grades you have to have to get in because my grades aren't the best. Thanks.
Good Cookin,
Chris

[Nicko]

Well I can tell you, I was in the exact same boat (as were many of my fellow students) and it didn't hinder my getting into school. However, my poor math skills did hinder my class performance in costing and food control. As a matter of fact many students struggled so much with these classes they ended up failing out before they even got to the kitchen classes.

I am not trying to worry you, but you do well to take your last two years of high school and really focus on your math. NOT algebra, just basic math, fractions, etc. It will really help you along in the program.

[ALynch]

I know that Johnson and Wales gives you help on tutition based on GPA. I had 3.1 in high school and got 1/4 grant from the school, which really helps. My junior year in hs was when I decided that I wanted to go to culinary school, and since most culinary schools are not concerned if you took that honors English class, I took the easier classes my senior year, which increased my GPA and worked a full time job in a restaurant. The work experience I got before school has helped me out the most. Johnson and Wales does not require a certain GPA to gain admission, however they do encourge everyone to have at least a 2.0. The reason most people fail out of JWU is because they can't write papers. We write 2,000 word papers every 9 days for labs, and being able to do research and write complete sentences is important. *checks post for run-on sentences

Best of Luck
Andrew

[KateW]

Okay first I have to say be prepared for a rant.
/rant on
I am at jwu in RI and I have read some of my classmates' papers. I must say it's amazing what some people get away with. First of all they think it's okay to spell the chef's name wrong RIGHT ON THE COVER PAGE. Then they don't use spell check, can't write complete sentences, their apostrophe key is broken, don't use MLA format, don't look at the order of things the chef wants you to do... and then they wonder why they failed it. Honestly I don't know how people graduate high school let alone college.
Then there are the people who don't even DO a paper...and they still pass the class...some of them even get good grades for the class. I think this is atrocious...but hey it's just me.
But 2,000 words? We haven't had to count any words yet. Back in first tri we had some pretty easy papers but now they are coming down on us a little harder and testing us on what we should have learned while we were doing the paper.
As for the grades you got in high school, I wouldn't worry about it. Like someone said before, a culinary school isn't going to worry about what you got in honors english. At JWU you take english and math tests that help you get placed in something appropriate.
I would suggest at least studying your cooking measurements. There is nothing worse than getting behind in class because you weren't sure how to convert something. And it's something that they beat into your head anyway so you might as well get a head start.
I'm not saying I got A's on all my papers. But I mean...you speak in complete sentences...right? Write that way too. I have heard of someone speaking more casually than they write, but it seems to be the other way around now.
/rant off

[ALynch]

Wow, well first ditto on what you said about classmates.
Second, here in Miami if you don't turn in a paper you will not recieve credit for the class. I have also had every chef give me his of her own version of MLA format. I wish they would all just follow the real MLA format or forget it all together. This has brought me to another thought, What kind of math are chef's using in the industry?

[KateW]

My foodservice production chef brought up this very topic today because he has been reading our projects and has the same views as the ones I stated. He says he hopes next year they will start coming down on students for things like the chef's name spelled wrong, grammar and spelling mistakes, and not following the format. He says he hopes that if one of those errors is found, the chef will stop reading and put a big fat zero on the paper. Honestly, it's just astounding that things like this slip by. Nowadays we have writing programs that underline words and even sometimes correct them for you if they are spelled wrong. We have grammar check that will tell you if you are using the wrong 'there, they're or their'. And when the chef tells you exactly what he wants the outline of the paper to be, what is the problem?
True, I start my papers 2 or three days before the due date just like the rest of these kids, but that doesn't mean I don't put effort into them.
One of the kids in class today said "But we are here to learn and shouldn't be penalized for making mistakes". Yes..but we are not here to learn how to write. We are here to learn how to cook. If we are stuck on how to write our papers, how are we going to get past that and learn how to cook?
Woops sorry..looks like I did that rant thing again.

[Moxiefan]

Preach on Kate!

I honestly don't think many culinary schools actually have admission standards, especially if you're not going to apply for the September class when all the high school students tend to want to start. My class at NECI, for example, only had twenty students. I think butts-in-seats was more important come admissions time than "most likely to succeed" was. That said, 1/6 of my class is already gone (kicked out, gave up, moved on), and we're not quite finished with the first semester! That, my friends, is intense.

So far as grades go, don't get worked up. What matters at cooking school is effort. If you'll put in the energy, somebody's going to get you through. It's a trade school. They're more than prepared to help you out if acedemics aren't where your talents lie. You just have to put in the time. The only difficulty I foresee in having poor marks, as I also did in high school, is in getting scholarships. The VFW, in my opinion, wouldn't know a stellar essay if it drafted their sons. When they say "merit based" they mean "did well in high school."

Best of luck,
P

[KateW]

I don't know how many of my graduating class has left so far, but I fear it is probably not very many since there are so many ways to get around the things you don't know how/don't like to do, and still get a passing grade for it.

[Nick.Shu]

mr/ms culinary 2689, get the best you can.

Whether you will sweat or not doing a physical assignment, as long as you actually try and are happy with the end result, no one can take that away from you.

Good grades provide options, bad grades for lack of trying label you as a bludger.

As long as you give the best you can do, you shouldnt have a worry.