[jevka]

greetings! i'm new here and haven't seen any mention of SCI. i am considering attending that school within the next two years. has anyone here attended the school or know anyone who has? they claim to have a placement rate of 90%+, but i haven't been able to verify that. also - it seems that the LCB program isn't held in very high esteem on this site...should i avoid that program??
thanks for any input/advice!

 

[tee]

I'm attending this Oct. and I'll keep you posted. By the way they were adding BA culinary Arts next year if that's help you in anyway. The school location is awesome you are surounded by alot of great restaurant. Anyway I will keep you posted since you are planning to attend within two years.

 

[devildogchef2b]

I'm in SCI currently, and want to let you know that you need to have your ducks in a row before you get here. Those with any financial concerns should be fore warned that outside of Govt. programs they will not be able to assist you in handling the financial burden, should you have any credit issues. I'm experiencing that now, and have to pay almost 400 bucks while I'm in school for tuition that the other loans didn't pick up. I was told to just get out here, and all would work out, but am finding out the opposite is happening. I'm rather disappointed, but want to warn anyone who has concerns, and doesn't have someone to co-sign for the, that the road you will travel will be very very bumpy, and the stress that ensues will not be fun. Not to discourage anyone from coming, but come with money, and a plan.

DevildogChef2B

 

[jevka]

well thanks very much to both of you for the input. Devildogchef2b, i am sorry to hear that you are experiencing financial problems. one of the reasons, (perhaps the main reason), i am waiting two years to attend culinary school is that i have many ducks to line up. i plan to have two years experience in a commercial kitchen and $$ options open before i leave the fairly comfortable situation i have now. i am currently an automotive technician/shop manager - i get paid fairly well for what i do, but i am bored off my *** doing it! i know i will probably have to take at least a 30% cut in $$ even after i graduate from school, but i don't really care about money, never have. my fiance will be well established in her career by the time we leave WI, and she has offered to pick up the slack while i'm in school - i'm very lucky and grateful for that. plus - no more WI winters!! that alone is worth quite a bit to me!!

would love to hear more from both of you regarding your experiences at SCI.

have a great weekend!

 

[jevka]

hey - i forgot to ask if SCI was as helpful as they said they would be regarding finding work for you while you attend their school...the rep i talked to made it sound like they could almost promise you a part time job in a local restaurant while you were in school. is that true??

thanks!

 

[devildogchef2b]

Ducks in a row. Do everything you can on your own. They make no promises about anything as I've learned. If they make a promise, that opens the door to liability, and possible litigation. They will give you names of places that are hiring, but not the job. Work your butt off to get a good paying job, and stick with it. I haven't done enough to prepare myself, as I thought things would be taken care of once I got here, and my rep said similar things to me initially, and my rep has since left SCI. Do not put your eggs in their basket and expect them to be there when you return. You may have scrambled eggs, or no eggs. Rely on your own self for much, because you are your own boss, and insurance policy. The more you do yourself, the better you are. Just some words of wisdom. If I can help with anything else, so you don't end up in a situation like me, I'm here to help. Good luck.

DevildogChef2b

 

[shannon]

hi... am interested in getting into SCI... but have no ideas what are the tuition fees... and other 'hidden' $$$ is involved here.... anyone care to enlighten me?

 

[tstiles]

Two years ago I graduated from SCI. I've allways been serious about working in the food industry and SCI was one of the best experiences of my life (it was worth the money). However. The first two weeks of school we went from a class of 32 to a class of 18. I was shocked. There were a lot of students who blew away $35,000 (I'm pretty sure prices have gone up and will keep going up so make sure to register a year before attending, you will save thousands of dollars). I guess when you are rich you can do that sort of thing. Work in a restaurant for at least a year before attending. Also remember there are a thousand food related jobs. If you want to be a Chef you always have to work from the bottom up, school or not.

Scottsdale is a definite hotspot for culinary jobs. Apply yourself! As well in school. You make the experience a great one, no one else. The best thing about school is that you are exposed to many chefs (some of which don't deserve the title) and many aspects of the industry.

That's it, in a nutshell.

 

[frkypoots]

I have many questions. This weekend I visited SCI and was thoroughly impressed, but much like your description, they made me feel my financial worries were nothing.
I will be moving to the area in August and I thought I'd start my life in a new direction. I have been host and home cooking for a long time and love it. My dream is to open my own restuarant, but I am a women with no money. No money, no assets, just me.
I was told that if I put my nose to the grind stone I could get alot of scholarships and funding. They even told me they would give me a list of places to look online, so that when I walked away I wouldn't be too much in debt.
If you don't mind me asking, how much financial aid did you recieve and how has grant hunting been for you?
Do jobs in the area allow you the ability to make enough to pay for rent, bills and food?
I am starting fresh with no restuarant experience, please help. I really need guidance.
This goes for anyone else that may have simliar circumstances.
Thanks,
Kristy

 

[pragmatic chef]

I don't know if you're familiar with ACI, (Arizona Culinary Institute). Without going into too much detail, ACI was started by an original partner of SCI, who took a lot of the best chefs with him when he left that were fed up with having 40 students in a class. (My ACI class had 13, FYI). ACI is also less than half the money and you're done in 9 months, partially because you're not standing around waiting for your turn to do a procedure. SCI has to pay Cordon Bleu about $4,000 per student for the privilege of calling it a Cordon Bleu program and ACI uses the same texts and has some really passionate instructors, Glenn Humphrey in particular was a huge inspiration to me.

Downside- not a degreed program if you're looking for that, but its reputation in the business is really good as far as getting hired after school. Probably 1/4 of the students at ACI are SCI dropouts that hated going there.

I had a great experience there and recommend it highly.

Hope this helps,
The Pragmatic Chef
http://thepragmaticchef.com

 

[jzakro]

Both SCI and ACI are worthless schools. It would be well worth your time to visit Scottsdale Community College and look at the Culinary Arts program there. It is by far THE BEST culinary program in the Valley of the Sun. They only admit 36 students per semester and your class ratio in your labs is 12 students to 1 Instructor. You have one day of academic classes the first semester and four days of lab work, and the second semester is one day of academics and three days of lab. The program is very respected by the hotels, restaurants and resorts. You can either obtain a Certificate for just the culinary program or do the required academics like math, etc to get your Associates Degree. The staff is very friendly and will always be there after you graduate if you ever need help with anything. The best part is the cost. This is part of the Maricopa Community College district and your tuition is whatever the current rate is for the district. I believe it is currently 55 dollars a credit hour. Considering the cost of knives, books, uniforms (you buy all these yourself and they also have contact with a gentleman who can sell this stuff to you, except books) and the program itself, the total cost is about $4000, way cheaper than ACI or SCI. The culinary program is also transferable to Northern Arizona University's Hotel/Restaurant Management Program. I am currently doing the NAU program online while working fulltime. For more details check out http://www.sc.maricopa.edu/culinary Hope this helps you pick what is a great program.

 

[pragmatic chef]

Worthless. Hmmmm....

 

[bobldenny2]

I'm also a graduate of SCI. I couldn't think of a better place to go. However, I attended there almost 8 years ago and can't say what the current situation there is. I do know that I checked out Scottsdale community also but found that the staff and pace of study were more what I was looking for.

 

[mocooks]

i am an alumni of that school. to be honest.........try arizona culinary the chefs there were the best of the best from s.c.i.