Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
Oklahoma State University Institute Of Technology • Okmulgee, OK
Studying Culinary Arts (completion in 2005)
• 8/10/2011
"I don't feel they really prepared me for the field. I've learned more on the job than I ever did at school."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | It's the only culinary school I've been to in Oklahoma. I'd definitely tell them to maybe just jump into the industry as a prep cook or dishwasher instead of going to school! |
| Program Reputation | 1 | When I went looking for a job in a city 30 minutes away, they didn't even know there was a culinary school there! Also, a lot of restaurants want you to have real world experience and feel you are "overpriced" if you've been to culinary school. |
| Program Quality | 5 | I think OSU is doing a better job than the vocational schools teaching culinary arts. OSU is not doing as good a job as a lot of the more well known culinary schools, though. |
| Instruction | 6 | We did have chefs from many different backgrounds and areas of experience. I don't think the "in-school" restaurant helped prepare us for real restaurant jobs, though. |
| How Difficult | 3 | Though some of the work was challenging, I don't think anyone ever failed. There were really no scores besides attendance to grade our quality of work. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There was definitely a lot of hands on work - that's the only way to learn to cook. There just wasn't always the right amount of supplies and such to work with. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | The program was set up on trimesters instead of semesters, so you got done and out in the workforce quicker. But they also kept changing the program and schedules so you kept having to add hours! |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | The kitchens were quite large and could accommodate a lot of students doing different things (baking, cold foods, knife skills, etc). The professors were approachable, but not very helpful outside of class work. |
| Social Life | 5 | I worked to be social at this school. I became president of the Residence Halls Association and joined several clubs. |
| Placement Services | 1 | You were pretty much on your own for finding an internship. Some of the chefs, if you were good friends with them, might have been able to help you... maybe. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | I only know what other alumni are doing by friending them on facebook. After you get out of school, pretty much all ties are cut. |
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