Admissions & Aid High School Seniors

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High School Seniors

Welcome to your new college!

It’s Your Time to Shine at CIA. Food is Your Future.

When it comes to learning about food and food business, we can say with complete confidence that CIA is truly the best place to begin your future. It’s our hands-on experiential courses; our expert faculty; our unrivaled global reputation. You’ll get all this and more—only at CIA.

Excited by what you’ve heard so far? Take the first step and apply today. You’re going to love it here!

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Join others and visit CIA!

Excited? Then join other high school seniors and visit CIA! Check out our full list of admissions events, including online open houses and campus tours. And after a few hours, you’ll know this is the college for you.

Visit our YouTube playlist for on-demand videos just for high school students to learn more about CIA’s academics, campus life, financial aid, and more!

Learn Hands-on

It’s the absolute best way! You’ll learn by doing in our kitchens, bakeshops, labs, gardens, restaurants, internships, and study abroad. And in our classrooms, you’ll explore subjects in the way most meaningful to you—through food.

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College Life with a Culinary Twist

Variety is the spice of life when it comes to campus activities. Whatever your passion, you’re sure to find countless opportunities involving food, friends and fun. Get involved in student led clubs, join a sports team or mix things up at our many special events, like the annual chili cookoff and the Run for Your Knives 5K.

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Discover Your Future Calling

The world of food and hospitality has never been more exciting, and CIA is where you’ll explore it all! You’ll definitely discover new career interests, because food is everywhere—in every facet of business, culture, and society. And with the foundation of skills and knowledge you’ll get here, you’ll be prepared for anything you choose to do. Check out what CIA graduates are doing now.

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Tuition and Financial Aid

Supporting your success begins with getting you here. Our financial aid team is ready to help. And the support doesn’t stop once you’re a CIA student—we’ll continue helping you with scholarship resources, tutoring, counseling…whatever you need, whenever you need it.

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Application Process - Applying to CIA - CIA Student Swag

Application Process

Applying to CIA

Interested in joining our Fall 2025 class? There’s no better time to make your move. Apply Early Action to our New York campus by November 15 and gain access to a special $1,000 Early Application Grant. You’ll get an expedited admission decision and automatically be reviewed for scholarships—and who doesn’t love scholarships!

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Benefits and Opportunities

A chef wearing a white uniform is carefully plating food in a busy kitchen. Several dishes with various gourmet foods are on the counter, embodying the skills learned through CIA admissions. Other kitchen staff members are visible in the background, focusing on their tasks.

Real-World Experience

Spend a full semester getting hands-on experience in our nine award-winning public service restaurants.

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More Specialized, Hands-on Classes

Two Times the foundational skills and deeper dives into specializations than most colleges.

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Built-in, Paid Internship

World-class paid internships at one of 2,000+ CIA-approved organizations.

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Scholarships

CIA offers generous scholarships—and awarded over $40 million last year alone.

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College Life with a Culinary Twist

Join a diverse, close-knit community where everyone speaks your language—food!

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Custom-Fit Education

Choose from programs, electives, and travel experiences that fit your unique interests and goals.

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Industry’s Best Career Fair

Nearly 475 food and hospitality companies visited CIA looking to hire in 2023—resulting in over 4,000 reported interviews with highly interested employers.

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Unrivaled Network

The food world’s most powerful alumni network—50K+ strong—that not only hire CIA grads, but also help make the connections to advance careers.

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Chat With a High School Student

Are you curious about what it’s really like to attend CIA? We’ve got you covered. Our students are ready to answer the questions you haven’t asked anyone else, share their own personal experiences, and give you genuine advice—because they’ve gone through it, too.

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Chat with a High School Student Ambassador
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CIA Campuses

Be part of a vibrant campus and close-knit community, where everyone speaks your language—food.

Discover all that CIA has to offer beyond the classroom with our full array of athletics, activities, student services, and delicious dining options. From open mic nights and interactive student groups to off-campus adventures and friendly campus cook-offs, we have countless ways to get involved and meet new people. Did we mention every dorm has a full-sized kitchen?

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Here’s what happening at CIA…

The Culinary Institute of America

1946 Campus Drive
Hyde Park, NY 12538

1-800-CULINARY

admissions@culinary.edu

Contact Admissions Counselor