I am thinking about becoming a pastry chef and baker. I am trying to come up with a college list for where I should go after I finish a program at a local Technical college. Any ideas? Hit me up in the comments if you need stuff like GPA.
I forgot to mention, I’m thinking about like, maybe, Auguste Escoffier Or The Culinary Institute of America.
As a sophomore your interests may still change and develop. FWIW an acquaintance’s son attended CIA for pastry some time ago and he is quite successful as a pastry chef. It is, from what I understand, a demanding program.
That’s what I’ve heard, but like, many Culinary programs are demanding.
We have a fondness for the CIA. It’s not that far from where we live. We also know grads. Their pastry program is reported to be one of the best (and I can tell you first hand…their pastries are fabulous).
Yeah, I’ve been heavily considering their baking and pastry class
A friend went to Escoffier. She started just before covid, so had to complete much of her course online. Sounds hard for a culinary school, but they made it work.
I’ve had a lot of her cakes and cookies and they are good. She has two adjustments she has to make to recipes, first for high altitude (as do most of the students in Boulder) and the second for gluten free.
Thank you so much for your feedback I will take it into consideration! 
if you complete the culinary or pastry program at a local CC aren’t you at that point prepared for employment? So are you asking about subsequently attending a culinary college such as CIA or about attending a general college to earn a BS/BA degree?
A college such a CIA to possibly get a bs/ba
I think you need to reach out to CIA. They do offer a bachelors option to their CIA two year grads…but I’m not sure you can transfer there for that which is what you would be doing.
What do you want your bachelors degree to be in?
ETA…you would be applying as a transfer student no matter where you apply to. Have you talked to the transfer advisor at your community college? They might be some help? Or the head of the pastry department at the community college?
No I have not. I am going to the technical college my junior year (next year) so I will probably talk to the transfer advisor closer to the end of my time there. I would probably apply/transfer into the baking and pastry arts associates degree program at the CIA.
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So…you are still a high school student? If that is the case, I would suggest you look into these culinary schools, and try to apply as an incoming student, not a transfer.
Also, please look at the costs…I don’t believe CIA gives much in financial aid…and it’s expensive. The others you have listed are also probably costly.
Will you be taking dual enrollment courses in high school that count towards your high school graduation requirements? If so, you would not be applying as a transfer. But I’m also not sure how many of these courses would transfer to a culinary arts school…as they might not be required courses there. Check and see.
And please clarify…you are currently a high school sophomore?
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I also would be surprised if a school like CIA allows any baking/pastry classes to transfer. Certainly worth checking in advance.
One college that you may want to look into is Nicholls State in Louisiana which has the Chef John Folse Institute. It offers both Associate and Bachelor’s degrees in Culinary Arts, and there’s an available Patisserie concentration within the bachelor’s degree.
Additionally, Nicholls’ prices are very reasonable for the higher ed market. Out-of-state students only pay about $1,000 more for tuition & fees than in-state students ($8149 vs. $9242 per College Navigator for SY24-25). But looking at Nicholls’ own page for SY25-26, they may have eliminated the out-of-state fee, as it only shows one tuition and fees option of $8672 along with $11,248 for on-campus food & housing for total direct costs of $19,920/year.
Additionally, there’s a scholarship chart that can be used to see how your GPA & ACT scores can help to reduce the price further. There are two charts…one for tuition and one for housing, with amounts of $2000-$4500 for each (so $4-9k off for both).
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Yes, I am currently a high school sophomore. I plan on saving up as much money as possible to be able to go to a Culinary institute at some point in the next couple of years.
Thank you.
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Right now it looks to be at $55K a year if i’m reading right so if that’s out of budget for the family, then suggestions like @AustenNut , even if farther from home or not a name you don’t know - are fantastic.
A friend’s son went to a culinary program at a tech high school and then on to CIA. It was a great choice for him (his parents could afford CIA), and it was a high school teacher who got him his internship and first job, so build those relationships too.
It is definitely a career where you have to network, network, network.
The CIA and the Honors Programs at Johnson and Wales are generraly considered the top two programs for Culinary bur are very expensive. There are many puplic colleges and universities that offer good culinary programs at amuch less cost if you are in state. Also many community colleges offer good programs in culinary. You can get an associate degree in Pastry and go on to get a Ba at any number of options. Also has a high school student you may want to look into programs like the ones below. Good luck!
The national Restaurant association has a program for high school students called Pro Start. Here is a link. ProStart | National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation
Depending on where you are there are a good number of Culinary Programs through the Public School System at the high school level. There is also a fair amount of scholarship money available from private charities specifically for Culinary and Hospitalitybut that is dependent on location.
For example CCAP-which is one of the largest private scholarship funding programs of any kind.
Our methodology works, and to date we have uplifted close to 400,000 students and awarded $76 million in college scholarships. Many of our alumni are enjoying successful careers at award-winning restaurants and 5-star hotels around the globe.
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