Paying

Paying to go to The Culinary Institute Of America is no mean feat. Given that I am unlikely to be able to raise the necessary funds by the summer semester, I am looking at basically ten months to do so. 61,730 is what the program will cost me in total, with 16,130 for the first semester, 14,485 for the second semester, 15,645 for the third semester, and 15,170 for the fourth semester. Upon the suggestion of a friend, I started a fundraising campaign on the website gofundme.com, which can be found at http://www.gofundme.com/n91zus and has, as of this writing, raised ten dollars for the cause. As mentioned in my previous article, I am looking into more traditional means of paying for school, such as student loans, personal loans, scholarships, and grants, as well as personal sacrifices like sacrificing the money that I've been setting aside for things like vacations and home renovation.

Although the tuition may seem fairly steep, it's actually quite the bargain, given the school's status as the best in the world. My undergraduate tuition at Drury University was a fair bit more than the numbers I quoted above and far less prestigious. When I tell people I have an undergraduate and graduate degree from that institution, they are rarely impressed and graduates of neighboring Missouri State University often downright scoff at the notion that this was an achievement of some description. CIA grads, on the other hand, get reactions on par with graduates of Harvard Law School, MIT, or other Ivy League institutions. Despite this being the first time I have not relied on family members to pay for tuition, I think I'll be making a better investment. Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed my time at Drury immensely, but this is a whole new ball game of opportunity that will likely be my greatest achievement.

Many people will tell you that the CIA isn't worth the money because you'll just go out and get the same jobs people without culinary degrees that expensive can get, only you're 61,730 dollars lighter than they are. Yeah, if all you want to do is be a line cook or a bakery employee the rest of your life, maybe that's true. Here's what's also true. Do you think the CIA is training its students to go out there and be rank and file employees? No! The clue is very much in the word, "chef." Basically, the rough translation from the French is, "boss." When graduates leave the CIA, they will have prepared them to be chefs, business owners, managers, consultants, and so on. Kitchens operate like the military, owing to the concept developed by Escoffier of brigade de cuisine. This translates to, "army of the food." I will pay what I do because I am training to be an officer and a gentleman pastry chef extraordinaire.

-Frank