Culinary Institute of America Top Questions

There isn't a whole lot to do in Hyde Park. Weekends can get boring.

The classes are very fast paced so you need to be organized and pay attention or you will not keep up.

I wish i had known how fast the program would go. I feel that i missed a few things because of how fast it progressed.

That I should never take a final lightly, and study more, even for the easy classes.

I wish i had known to save money.

If I could know or find out one thing about this school before I began attending, that thing would be that academics make a great cook/chef. Many people who are not familiar with culinary aspects fail to realize that there is heavy emphasis on knowing every detail involved with preparing and consuming food. I came to this school intially only expecting to receive cooking fundamentals, but have since found myself being challenged both physically with kitchen work and mentally from the drive and expectations of the professors/chefs here.

How fast it goes by! I feel as though I just started at the school and yet I will be graduating so soon! I wish I had a little more time to take advantage of all that is offered.

Nothing, we visited and asked questions so the length of class was expected.

Honestly, I knew everything I really needed to know before I came to the CIA. One thing that helps to understand before arriving is how the schedule works. Unlike other colleges it is based on a block system starting every three weeks, so every three weeks, a new group of students arrives, leave for externship, and graduates. There is a constant flow of people coming and going from the school.

I wish I had known how strict they would be about behavioral infractions

I wish I would have known what the class sizes were like. There are far more students in each class than I had expected, which I feel has affected my education. This might have affected my decision on attending this school.

i wish i knew how to network better with people my age, and with people who will help my life and career flourish

That I would need a car to get around.