Author: Aaron Weber

Lori Connor has worked in admissions and financial aid for 15 years. Today, she helps school implement SALT^® for parent company, American Student Assistance^®. Since we’re right in the middle of college application season, Aaron Weber asked her to tell us about admissions, money, and transferring to new schools.

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AW: What are some common misconceptions about applying to college?

LC: There are three things, really, that I think are tricky for families.

First, people don’t always know how important it is to meet face-to-face with admissions and make campus visits. A lot of students think that they’re done once they finish the application. But it’s more than just the application form. Every student is a lot more than what the admissions office sees on paper, and if you can help us get a better idea of who you are, then we can do a better job. If you can, go to campus, meet the representatives, and do interviews. It builds a relationship with the school. You can still get in without a visit, of course, but it can really help a school understand a student.

Second, fit is really important. That’s another reason I always encourage people to visit campus and meet students and faculty. It gives you more information about the school and helps you decide if it’s the right place for you. The more you know about the campus and what it’s like to be there, the better.

Finally, there’s money. This one’s hard to get right for just about everyone. It’s easy to say “look for the best price” and “money is no object, go to your dream school.” But the reality is somewhere in the middle. What if you like one school almost as much as another—do you let the price be the deciding factor? You don’t want finances to stand between you and your education, but you do need to take them into account.

For students who are applying to graduate schools, or transferring to a new college, how is the process different?

They’re not as different as you might think. Graduate school is a more focused process, because you’re not just applying to a college, you’re applying to a very specific program. There are fewer candidates applying for fewer spaces, so there’s a lot more in-depth review, and more involvement from professors and not just the admissions office. I’ve also found that potential grad students are more likely to ask about the career services office, which is a good thing.

For transfer students, we’ll be looking at both college and high school transcripts. Similar to graduate school, we’re looking at a smaller number of applicants and a small number of spaces, so we can really focus on those applicants. For transfer, it’s even more important to visit the campus if you can. If you can’t afford a visit, call and ask if there’s assistance available. Many colleges will pay to bring promising students out for a tour.

Behind the scenes, what do admissions officers talk about?

We swap stories about micromanaging parents, and about our own kids. My son’s a freshman now, and let me tell you, after helping him apply to college, I really understood where the helicopter parents were coming from. I always swore I wouldn’t be That Parent, but it was a struggle to back off.

Everyone follows their own path for education, and some paths take more twists and turns than others. Not sure where your education is taking you? It can help to see how things went for other people who have been there.

When David B. was in high school, he wasn’t sure he’d go to college at all. Spoiler: He did, but it took a long time. When he was 38, he went back for more, and got a master’s degree. More than a few years after that, he shared his experience with Aaron Weber.

So, what’s your academic story?

I barely finished high school. I was in and out of community college for about 4 years until I was able to transfer to a 4-year college, where I floundered around for way too long trying this major or that major before I just ran out of money and had to quit.

Almost 10 years later, I went back to finish my BA. I enrolled at UC-Irvine and picked the major that would get me graduated as quickly as possible, which turned out to be social sciences.

I was lucky to graduate into a strong economy, and I had some design sense and computer skills, so I wound up as a graphic designer. I found work at the University of Southern California, which meant I got to take steeply discounted graduate-level classes. There, I discovered more or less by accident that RIT, way over in Rochester, NY, had an MS program in graphic arts and printing. At that time, it was the only program of its kind in the country.

I applied on a whim and got in.

How’d you pay for grad school?

I was 38 when I started, and I moved to Rochester from Los Angeles a year in advance to settle in, get a job, and save some money. It was important to me to work the whole time—not just so I could pay for it, but so I could practice what I was learning.

I paid for it by cashing in my meager 403(b) from USC, taking out a regular student loan, and borrowing some money from a friend. At the time, I still had undergrad student loan debt, which I deferred while in grad school. I managed to pay the whole sum off in about 5 or 6 years, partly through selling my house.

How did it work out for you?

The degree has definitely been the best thing I’ve ever done for my career. I work in print training and machinery management now—helping people set up and operate their giant industrial presses and so forth. These days, it’s a shrinking profession, and having the degree definitely has helped me stand out.

Right now, I’m 51. If I didn’t have this degree, I’d probably be a press operator looking over my shoulder and worrying about layoffs. It was a huge risk to move across the country to study when I was already pushing 40, but it went really well for me and I’m glad I did it.

Any parting words for younger folks leaving college today?

I’m so sorry that you are entering your working years in such a terrible economy. Take whatever work you can get that is within your threshold of dignity, but never below it. Save your money. Be kind and support each other. Do not suffer fools or whiners.

Culinary degrees and culinary careers are hot right now. They’re on TV with things like Master Chef, Top Chef,and The American Baking Competition. Celebrity chefs like Mario Batali and Emeril Lagasse are the old guard by now, and hip new guys like David Chang and Eddie Huang serve up foul-mouthed, back-of-the-house street cred.

But culinary school is incredibly expensive, especially for a career with notoriously low pay, terrible hours, and incredibly long odds of becoming a superstar. What are culinary school and a real cook’s job actually like?

Aaron Weber interviewed a recent culinary grad to talk money, knife skills, and career trajectory.

What Made You Decide To Attend Culinary School?

For the better part of a decade, I’d been working in restaurants and food-service places around Boston. I was a barista for a while, but the overwhelming majority of these jobs were prep-cook jobs: I would be given a very specific task or set of tasks, and be told how to perform them.

I didn’t get to pick tasks, or pick recipes, or decide how or when or how much of something to do. Sometimes the chefs would ask my opinion, or I’d figure out a better way of doing something on my own through trial and error instead of a solid background in the basics. I was doing culinary things, but I didn’t really understand what I was doing or why.

The best job I had was as a kitchen manager, which set me up pretty well for school. That job involved the bulk of basic kitchen skills that later education would vamp.

At that point, I decided that it would be not only useful, but just plain enjoyable to hone my skills further. If I knew what I was doing, I’d be able to work more for myself and move up higher in the ranks. Plus, I’m a musician, and food seemed like a compatible and realistic way to actually make a living. Playing a gig late one night wouldn’t interfere with my schedule the next day.

Also, cooks are in high demand and there’s no shortage of jobs, so if I wanted to go on tour for a few months I wouldn’t have to worry so much about finding work when I got back. All of these things combined made the choice to attend school pretty clear.

How Did You Choose Your School?

I toured Le Cordon Bleu, and I think I looked very briefly at the Culinary Institute of America, but eventually decided to attend Cambridge School of Culinary Arts.

LCB required a regular academic program as part of its curriculum, but I’ve already been to college and I didn’t need to do it again. Both LCB and the CIA are also very long programs, while CSCA is a more fast-paced, intensive program. So the schedule was definitely in favor of CSCA.

I also spoke with a few chefs around town, and they said it was a good school and they respected it, as well, so I knew it wasn’t some fly-by-night operation.

How’d You Pay For It?

It was not cheap or convenient, I’ll tell you that.

CSCA is accredited, but it is not part of federal student aid programs and it doesn’t have much financial aid. There’s an essay-based scholarship sponsored by alumni and the Wusthof knife company, and that paid for my knife kit. That saved me around a thousand dollars.

Half of the tuition I borrowed as a private loan from Sallie Mae. I didn’t want a co-signer or guarantor. I’ve done that in the past and felt like it was a nightmare, so I went back and forth with them on the amount until they had a number they’d loan me without anyone else co-signing.

The rest, I put on a credit card. I don’t recommend it to everyone, but it worked for me. The school let me pay quarterly, and by the time I’d hit two payments, my credit limit on one of my credit cards was high enough that I could charge the rest. It was basically all money I didn’t have, but luckily I stayed on track, consolidated bills when the rates were low enough, kept up with payments, and managed to finish paying off the whole thing in a year.

After Graduation, How Hard Was It To Find Work?

It was shockingly easy. CSCA’s staff pool and class sizes are so small that everybody knows everybody. The career placement counselor and I became friends, and she was fantastic about being available to help me with ideas, résumé advice, and even making personalized phone calls to vouch for me. As long as I was working hard in school and keeping realistic expectations about steps on my journey, she was right there to extend her services.

As things were winding down and graduation was on the horizon, I decided I would apply for my “reach” job and see what happened. The woman in career services went out of her way to call human resources at the hotel where I was applying and tell them about me. One of the instructors at our school had worked there, and he also spoke on my behalf. I staged (that’s French for an internship or working interview) and was hired a week later.

My title was line cook II, and that was a pretty big step. Usually, at least at this place, you’d work prep, then be promoted to the cold station (garde manger or salad). After that, you’d be eligible to be promoted to the hot line, and after about a year on the hot line, you can be considered for a promotion to line cook II. I hadn’t worked a hot line or cooked things to order that much before, so having the degree definitely helped me move up the ranks more quickly.

How Did It Pay?

The pay was much better than I’d grown accustomed to. Most kitchen work I’d done had paid $10 per hour with no benefits. This new position paid $14.25 an hour and included health insurance and paid time off. You don’t see those kinds of things in most food jobs, but as part of a large hotel, my employer was big enough to offer them.

The work itself was very, very intense. You ever shuck an oyster? You ever shuck 800 oysters in one evening and make sure they’re all exactly right, no chips of shell, no grit, no imperfections? You’re working shift after shift, no social life, 12 hours a pop. Conveniently, I had no opportunity to spend any of the money I was making, which helped pay those loans off faster.

And I can’t lie to you: This job is painful. For the first 6 months, I looked like I’d lost a knife fight every day. There were horrible burns and cuts all over my arms. You slice a knuckle, superglue it shut, bandage it, and go back to the line. Then you reach into the oven and get a pan of duck too quickly and hot duck fat sloshes across your hands, frying the spot you just cut. Then you have to finish your shift.

I worked there for about 18 months. It wasn’t easy, but it was exhilarating.

What Are You Doing Career-Wise Now?

The next step for me was to find a groove more in tune with my original path before culinary school. Sometimes people forget where they’re really going once they start down the road.

Right now, I’m working at a school in the culinary arts program’s kitchen for the summer. We cook for the teachers, admins, and kids using much of what I learned working in catering. After this summer, I’ll be looking to move on to the next chapter, whatever that may be.

That’s the beauty of being a cook: there’s always something out there waiting for you.