ok so here is my story. i am 23 and have been attending a community college for about 4 yrs and i have changed my major too many times to count. i finally decided i wanted to attend the Art Insitute of America in San BErnardino,CA and recieve my AA in backing and pastry. The thing is the tuition is $60,000 for a 2yr program. I can not afford it and i am still concidered a dependent because of my age and living with my parents. my parents wont help me in any way to get into this school.

i was wondering if anyone had any information for me like if you attend the art insitute do u believe that it is totally worth $60,000?

i want to own my own bakery but i have been told i necessarly dont need my AA to do so. so what should i do? im not that educated in baking and pastry so how can i open a bakery if i do not attend school.

please if anyone can help in any way what so ever please do.

I went to culinary school and graduated with Baking and Pastry degree. Having said that, I don't think it is necessary to go to a culinary school to learn the business. I've taken many interns in and taught them most of what I was taught, and even better - all the business "ins and outs" the school did not teach.

If money is an issue, do some research, find a bakery/pastry chef that you adore their work and (this is where it gets tough) VOLUNTEER. That way you can learn everything there is to learn. I often hired my interns after their 3 mos. volunteer time was up, because then I knew what skills they had. Also, take classes, do research on line (CC is one of the best places to learn), practice, practice, practice!

I am in the exact same boat except i am independent and do not have anyone to cosign. I was planning on attending culinary school in NYC in the fall but as of this week I found out that I did not get approved for my loans and can not afford it.

I am still planning on trying to move to nyc in the fall and I am hoping to find somewhere that will let me do volunteer work or an apprenticeship but not really sure how to go about it. I wish there was a resource out there for apprenticeships. The cost of culinary school is so high that it's not really reasonable.

Bakingpw, Since you live in New York do you know if other bakeries also take on volunteers or apprentices?Any suggestions on the best way to go about this? I was thinking of writing them before I move and then contacting them again when I am there in the fall.

Anyone with more info or help on this please let me know since I know that i am not the only one out there with this problem. I know that its what i want to do so I will find a way to do it but any extra help is always good.

I got a lot of inquiries, either by mail or walk-ins for apprenticeships. After asking what they know about my business and finding out they knew nothing but were just randomly looking to work in any bakery, I disregarded all of those. What really impressed me, were those who came in as customers, bought and tried my products, looked in my books, read about our shop, etc. Those people got my attention! So do your homework!

In fact, I prefer those not trained by a culinary school - they would learn to do things my way and not have set ideas on how things should be done. When my name is going on a product, I want it to be done my way.

Know what it is you want to learn: if you want to learn to bake from scratch and decorate, find a bakery that bakes from scratch and whose cakes you have seen photos and love. I will say finding a bakery that bakes from scratch (like I did) is a tough one - most don't. But, since you are in the NY area, there are hundreds who decorate amazing cakes. Good luck!

Thanks for the great advice! I have started doing my homework and there is one place in particular that I would just die to work at and learn from the bakers there. I have heard a lot of people say that they don't really want culinary students for the same reasons you stated.

I'm really interested in gluten free and allergen baking and I have only found one culinary school that really goes into that so I feel that learning more from someone who has been doing it for a while is most likely best.

Thank you again.