masteraznchefjr said:
Well im starting to think of colleges i might apply to but should i go with what my parents say and apply for Ivys or go on my own to culinary arts college like the CIA or Le Cordon Bleu. or should i do culinary arts school later on in life?
Having done both (Culinary School and graduating from a 4-year College), I can honestly say that you won't get the same college experience if you go straight to culinary school. You'll have to hit the ground running because the pace will be accelerated since you'll only be in school for a couple of years, and it won't be like college where you can space out your classes, pick and choose, etc. Classes in culinary school will be longer and more intense than many college classes because you'll be doing hands on stuff rather than just studying.
In all honesty, if I had gone to culinary school first, I might not have become a chef. I enjoyed having fun, partying, going out clubbing 3 times a week, etc. while I was getting my BA. I was able to get it all out of my system so that when I finally got serious about what I wanted to do, there was no temptation to go out drinking or clubbing all the time with my friends since I already had already done it so much. I didn't realize that I wanted to be in the food and beverage industry until my 3rd year in college. By then, since I was almost finished anyway, I ended up completing my BA so that I'd have something to fall back on, and then enrolled in culinary school after I graduated. Even then, it took me working under this Chef that really motivated me after I got my culinary degree before I REALLY decided to commit doing what I do. Before that, I think I changed my major about 5 times because I had no idea of what I wanted to do.
But, everyone is different. I know a lot of people who already knew what they wanted to do right out of high school. Some of them ended up going into their original field of interest, but most of them changed their mind at some point during college. I know a lot of people who are doing stuff that isn't even related to what they graduated in. If you already know what you want to do, then great. But don't feel bad if you end up changing your mind later, or if in 3 or 4 years you just don't know. Better you make a decision of what you want to do when you're 25, then make one when you're 17 and regret it later on in life because you realize that you're not happy with your job. It will be much harder to change careers then, especially with other commitments and responsibilities you may have.