I used A+ to get my associates of arts in teaching. had a 3.5gpa and was in the honors program. My memories of OTC are better than MSU.

I think I’m just gonna go for my associates for now. I’ve heard good and bad things about the program. But personally I’ve never actually been to college. I’m 25, and just needing to find my career lol.

I'm currently enrolled in school there in culinary arts and I enjoy the program. This is only my first semester but there are lots of cooking courses which are hands-on. There are other classes such as purchasing, and safety and sanitation as well. I also believe baking classes have to also be taken too.

So of course I’ll have to reach out to the school and see what all the course details, but from your experience do you need a lot of general credits before you take the culinary courses? Could I do those online and just do the culinary courses there?

I believe so. I am pretty sure most of those can be taken online now. https://www.otc.edu/. I am not really sure on that since I have gotten all my gen eds done years ago. I attached the website and they have better information on there about what you need and what it will cost. I applied and then once I reached I got accepted an admission counselor reached out to me. I have attached the information of that as well in case you want to reach out. I hope it helps. Good luck. Admissions Counselor OTC – Springfield Campus Phone: (417) 447-6981

I also believe that you can just enroll in culinary and get gen eds done if you need those.

I appreciate all of your information, it’s a lot of help. Thank you.

No problem!

I graduated with my associates in culinary arts a year ago from OTC. If you’re only doing culinary you can get the degree in two years which is the normal pace, but several of my classmates dual or triple majored in baking and hospitality. There’s minimal gen eds that you have to take (I had to take 4 classes I think?) and the rest of it is either cooking or hospitality based (purchasing, management, etc). The chefs and instructors are knowledgeable, but you get out of it what you put in. Feel free to pm me if you have questions.

I recommend you work in a restaurant before you commit to any culinary school. 1. You will find out if it's really what you want to do. 2. With a little kitchen experience you will get more out of school. Good luck.

You got some great advice in here. When you apply (it’s free - www.otc.edu/apply) an admissions counselor that will reach out to you and help guide you through the process. Be sure to call or email them back for help. They want to help!!!

Also, you may be eligible for Fast Track which would cover the cost of your tuition & fees. Here is the website with more information: https://students.otc.edu/fasttrack/ Your admissions counselor can tell you more about this as well!

For anyone interested in potentially going back to school - if you are 25 or older and have not earned a Bachelors degree, check out Fast Track. It is a grant program (money you don’t have to pay back) in MO for adult students and covers tuition & fees. You can use it at OTC, MSU, or other public college/universities in Missouri. You can find out more info here: https://students.otc.edu/fasttrack/

If money is the thing keeping you from going back to school, it’s a good time to look at options! There may be options out there to help pay for school you aren’t aware of!

I’ve worked in food for the past few years. Maybe not at pace and quality that I’d like, but I’m sure I wanna be a chef.

Then go get em kid.

Culinary schools are great. Better is experience. Real kitchens are just not the same and glamorous as many imagine. Apply at the best restaurants in town and start as a dishwasher. The staff will have you do things on the side, like prep. This is the way.

I could do that, I’ve thought about that way to.

Personally though I just wanna have those certifications under my belt. SafeServ alone opens the door to almost ANY restaurant in the U.S. I’ll learn good basics, and the way in which those restaurants want things done. Plus I’d hate the idea of being stuck as a dish boy and just learning occasionally when they wanted to teach me.