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Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Sullivan University • Louisville, KY
Studying Culinary Arts (completion in 2010)
• 9/13/2011
"I loved the program. I love that I can go back for refreshers if I need to. I love that my instructors remain in touch. It's just a great place and I'd do the program again in a second."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | If you're serious and want to work hard and understand that you'll have to continue to work hard after you graduate, then sign up. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | From all that I've read, Sullivan's Culinary Arts program is always included in the top 5 in the U.S. It is often in the top 3 in some surveys. |
| Program Quality | 9 | I loved my program. The chefs were great and always available to deal with issues. I worked full-time while in school, and they were very accommodating the few times I needed consideration. |
| Instruction | 10 | The instructors were great. They were always available and most communicated very well. I feel my needs were met. |
| How Difficult | 7 | I am a good student and always have been. I studied a lot and felt challenged, but the program was not extremely difficult. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I think it was a good balance of book, hands-on and lecture from professional who knew what they were talking about. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | The scheduling is flexible, and includes online options. I only took one online class. The class size (on campus) is pretty small, and I really enjoyed the interactions. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | The facilities are awesome. They are kept like new and have all the latest, greatest equipment for the sake of student exposure. |
| Social Life | 9 | I loved my class. The students who didn't work as hard dropped out early on, leaving only the serious students. I made friends I'll have for the rest of my life. |
| Placement Services | 8 | I had a job before I finished school, so I didn't use the placement services. I hear a lot from others that they got a lot of good help from the school. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | The faculty is accomplished and has really broad experience. They are always striving to be better and encourage students to do the same. I feel they are generous people and will continue with me after graduation. |
Sullivan University • Louisville, KY
Studying Culinary Arts Management (completion in 1999)
• 9/19/2011
"My instructors were great. The problem was the "for profit" mentality of the school. They cut costs that could have led to better student education."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I think school in general gives you what you put into it. If you have the motivation to learn, the instructors I had were great. If you wanted to sit back and be taught, I think the quality wasn't always there. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | At the time I graduated, Sullivan was supposedly "ranked" 6th in the country and had an amazing baking and pastry school. I haven't heard much about them since and I imagine they haven't fared well against the competition that came along after I graduated. |
| Program Quality | 5 | I'm not sure I'm comfortable rating them as of present, as I graduated in 1999. At the time of my graduation I had mixed reviews about Sullivan. My instructors were great but the classes were a bit beneath my experience level. I was 25 years old and had been cooking for 2 years before enrolling and the majority of my classmates were fresh from high school and had no previous experience. |
| Instruction | 8 | The quality of instruction was high for me because I was able to form personal relationships with my instructors due to my age and experience level. The curriculum was watered down and geared more towards keeping tuition paid than excellence. |
| How Difficult | 1 | I had already cooked professionally for 2 years before enrolling. I learned a lot, but I already knew the basics for many of the classes. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Our classes were scheduled with 1 hour of classroom time and 2 hours of lab time. The labs were very hands on and we made food every day. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 1 | Once again, I can only speak to my experience there 12 years ago. There were no night classes and scheduling was limited due to small enrollment. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | They had a great culinary library and good media specialists. The instructors were so approachable that we needed few other resources. Administration was easily accessible as well. We formed our own study groups and for tutors, we just asked our fellow classmates for help. I tutored quite a few myself. |
| Social Life | 5 | When I was there, we only had a basketball team and they played off campus. My culinary classmates didn't really integrate with the other degree programs so we didn't socialize either. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I can't say much about this. I tore my ACL the day after I graduated and wasn't able to take advantage of their services. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | I'd say the support is good. They do still send me e-mails, but they don't generally apply to me and are often local (to them) in nature. |
University Of Louisville • Louisville, KY
Studying Culinary School For The Arts (completion in 2008)
• 11/1/2011
"Helped mold me into the chef I am today. Wish they had better equipment."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | If you have the opportunity to go elsewhere, I would. The city isn't too great for jobs. Frankfort and Lexington are better fits. |
| Program Reputation | 6 | Not too many people are well known that went to UL culinary school. |
| Program Quality | 7 | Great school for Culinary Arts. I just don't like the city it was located in. |
| Instruction | 8 | Instructors were hands on. Advisors chose the best route to help me succeed. |
| How Difficult | 8 | Instructors instituted edible tests. If it was over or undercooked, the grade dropped dramatically. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The only books we had were cook books. I made food daily and prepared some from home. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | There were usually only one or two times for each class. They offered summer sessions, but nothing online. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | Had a decent work environment. A lot of the equipment was a little outdated. |
| Social Life | 5 | I'm not a Cardinals fan. I also wasn't a big fan of the main student body. |
| Placement Services | 7 | Hooked me up with local jobs. Kept in touch even after I was hired to notify me of any open jobs. |
| Alumni Network | 2 | As far as I'm aware there is no alumni network for the Culinary Arts school at UL. |
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