COLLEGE SUCCESS RATE

(1) Choose a college that will give you the greatest possible chance for success.

Select schools with strong graduation rates.

• When investing in your education, you need to consider the outcomes. Are you likely to graduate? Will you get a job?  The CIA's graduation rate is an impressive 80%. For those students who choose to continue on to the BPS program in their junior year, 87% received their degree.  CIA rates exceed the national averages for two-year colleges (29%) and four-year colleges and universities (48%).* Johnson & Wales in comparison reported an overall graduation rate of 58%. Your CIA degree gives you a competitive "leg up"— 78% of surveyed employers indiciate they prefer to hire CIA graduates.
  
  * (Source:  2006 ACT Annual National Retention Attrition Rate Report )

Look for opportunities for long-term career success with attractive salaries.

• CIA graduates work for top employers and have extraordinary career and salary growth—in their first five years, they tend to double their salaries and advance to higher positions. A 2002 survey of CIA alumni showed their median salaries to be 25–67% higher than median industry salaries reported by the National Restaurant Association for 2001–2002.

Look for large, successful alumni networks that provide mentoring and help for career advancement.

• It's often the case that what you know and who you know are important. That's why the size and influence of the CIA's alumni network are so important to your future. Our more than 37,000 successful graduates are employed in virtually every segment of the foodservice industry, and hold leadership positions-vital whether you're looking for your first job, striving to advance your career, or just need some advice.

Nationally recognized, highly regarded schools provide you with access to national and international career opportunities. Regional schools do not offer these benefits.

• It's definitely to your advantage to earn your credentials at a school that is known and respected throughout the culinary world. Industry employers, a great many of whom are CIA alumni, know our college and its reputation for excellence and professionalism. Having The Culinary Institute of America on your résumé will open doors of career opportunity that just are not available otherwise.