Question about Financial Aid for anyone who might know

FuzzyKitten99 · #1 08-24-2008, 12:02 AM

I have had a desire to go to culinary school for a while now. I have looked into it, and I definitely want to take this path.

The school I want to go to, tuition is $45,000 for a 15-month program. Yeah, not cheap, but Le Cordon Bleu is the one of the top culinary schools in the country. They have campuses throughout the country as well. When it comes to doing things as big as this, I go for the gold. If I am going to put time and money into something like this, I will get the best available.

So, I will need financial aid. No biggie, it is done all the time. Classes are the same time every day, which is 7am to 2pm, though the 12pm-2pm shift is for my general ed classes, and I might be able to do those via online/independent study, as long as my grades in my other classes hold up. No problem there. So I would be in class from 7am to 12pm every day. I would be able to work 3-4 days a week PT.

Here is my problem and the one thing that is holding me back from even enrolling. I will need additional funds to help pay monthly bills, mostly just my mortgage, where my husband's salary and my PT OfficeMax income will cover the rest. If I could get an additional $16,000 on top of my school's tuition, I will be sitting pretty to go to school and not worry about paying the bills or losing the house.

Is this possible to do? I don't have the greatest credit right now (less than fair, but better than poor), so I know that government aid and grants are available.

Is it possible to ask for that much more than what is listed for the school's tuition? I heard it is, but sometimes I get that kind of info mixed up.

Anyone who knows about this and could advise me, I would greatly appreciate it.

Greenday · #2 08-24-2008, 12:32 AM

I'm pretty bitter about financial aid. I go to college out of state so I knew I wouldn't get state aid. But since my family has even less money then when my sister started college, I figured I'd get some good aid. I don't see a freaking cent. Sigh.

FuzzyKitten99 · #3 08-24-2008, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Quoth Greenday

I'm pretty bitter about financial aid. I go to college out of state so I knew I wouldn't get state aid. But since my family has even less money then when my sister started college, I figured I'd get some good aid. I don't see a freaking cent. Sigh.

Do you know about what kind of income levels they look at? I have been searching all over the internet, but I can't find anything that gives me any kind of guidelines as to income and eligibility.

Eric the Grey · #4 08-24-2008, 12:43 AM

Your best bet is to speak with the school about it and see what they recommend.

In my case, there is no federal money available, so all of my schooling is being done on loans, which are limited in how much money you can take for each term. They also require you to be in a degree course in order to qualify. Hopefully the course you want to take has a degree associated with it.

You can use loans, grants, and scholarship money for tuition, transportation, or housing, so long as it can be considered "school related." It is pretty vague, but I know of people who have used excess loan money to pay off automobile loans early in order to save on the interest rates they were paying.

Beyond that, I'm not going to be much help.

Hopefully you can find a way to do this. Best of luck.

Eric the Grey

FuzzyKitten99 · #5 08-24-2008, 12:59 AM

The program is an Associate Degree in Culinary Arts, so that isn't a problem.

My issue is how much above actual tuition (if any) can I go?

AdminAssistant · #6 08-24-2008, 03:29 AM

I second the earlier suggestions about talking to the school's financial aid counselor.

Most likely your first step will be to fill out a FAFSA. They estimate how much money you'll need for school - which includes tuition, rent, bills, books, etc. For example, I have an assistantship which pays for my tuition and pays a salary. However, I was still able to apply for financial aid.

My aggravation was that I did my undergraduate work on a scholarship - full tuition, room/board, stipend - fantastic (I had to work my ass off to keep said scholarship, but it was worth it). When I applied for financial aid for my master's, I was unable to get a Pell Grant (money that does NOT have to be paid back) because it was a post-graduate degree.

Even though I qualified financially and had not asked for any money before, I wasn't allowed to get anything. grrrrr

Eric the Grey · #7 08-24-2008, 04:04 AM

Quote:

Quoth FuzzyKitten99

The program is an Associate Degree in Culinary Arts, so that isn't a problem.

My issue is how much above actual tuition (if any) can I go?

Honestly, those are questions that the school's financial aid office can answer better than I could. I don't know if it differs from school to school, or even state to state, but in my case, I'm limited to something like 9,000 per year (4500 per semester). It may be higher, but not much. I don't take all of it because I'm trying to NOT borrow too much because I know full well that I'll be paying it back once I'm done, although I'm seriously considering the benefits of paying off the vehicle loan at the lower interest rate...

Oh, and here is the link to the FAFSA web site. You'll need to fill all this out before you go too far.

Eric the Grey

Giggle Goose · #8 08-24-2008, 07:46 AM

You might be able to find some kind of charitable foundation that will lend you money interest-free. The one I got money from is for Maryland students only; but there are places out there if you look hard enough.

I was given a check that didn't have to be reported to my school that I could use for whatever I wanted. I used it for bills and rent since my parents didn't support me for my last two years of college.

FAFSA said my mom made too much money for any decent aid.

But it's worth it to fill it out. Many private companies use the info when giving out student loans.

StanFlouride · #9 08-24-2008, 10:21 AM

DANGER WILL ROBINSON! DANGER!
The Le Cordon Bleu program is a bit of a scam. The company does not treat their students well and is under investigation by the state of California:
http://www.sfweekly.com/2007-06-06/news/burnt-chefs/
You are much better off taking a Hotel / Restaurant management course at a community college and working your way up through the kitchen. That is how its done in the real (working) world.
I worked in restaurants for over 18 years (my first career) and have worked with many well-intentioned and talented grads of CCA/le Cordon Bleu but most don't have the skills (speed, consistency) to work in most commercial kitchens.

FuzzyKitten99 · #10 08-24-2008, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Quoth StanFlouride

DANGER WILL ROBINSON! DANGER!
The Le Cordon Bleu program is a bit of a scam. The company does not treat their students well and is under investigation by the state of California:
http://www.sfweekly.com/2007-06-06/news/burnt-chefs/
You are much better off taking a Hotel / Restaurant management course at a community college and working your way up through the kitchen. That is how its done in the real (working) world.
I worked in restaurants for over 18 years (my first career) and have worked with many well-intentioned and talented grads of CCA/le Cordon Bleu but most don't have the skills (speed, consistency) to work in most commercial kitchens.

First of all, it isn't up to the school to do your research for you on the area you want to be in. They should provide that info, and maybe warn you, but if you're in the mindset that you want to be in the industry, it is ultimately YOUR responsibility to know what kind of area you are going into and what to expect.

Second, these students really thought they'd be celebrity chefs right out of graduation? That's their false perception of reality, not the school's. It is sad that the admissions reps preyed on that false pretense to get them to enroll, and that was wrong, but I still lay partial blame to the students themselves.

I actually have already talked with an admissions rep about the school yesterday morning, and we discussed employment options. The school (at least the one here anyway) has a full-service, lifetime career placement assistance. She did say that you don't start out as an executive chef, however I already knew that. That would be like graduating law school and becoming a partner at a firm without working your way there.

However my goal is to start either a restaurant or a catering company or have it be both. I have a really cool idea for a restaurant that based on my research, hasn't been done before ever in the world, so it would be one-of-a-kind.