How can you prepare for college when you are only 12yrs old?

Question

I am 12 and I really what to go into a career as a Italian chef. I what to go to a reguklar university to get my bacholars degree, but then I want to go to culinary school in Tuscany. Any advice on how to prepare?

Answer 1

Aspire to be a chef, there's no reason not to, but I must say at such a young age you will more than likely change in many ways and your wants and desires may do so as well. Don't worry about college for a few more years, just make sure to get good grades in school, participate in a few extra curricular activities and learn about anything and everything you want to, inside and outside of school. As for finding out "how to prepare", a good place to start is looking up in publications like the "occupational outlook handbook," you can find it by google.com. It will tell you some good starter information, and you can take it from there. also, it wouldn't hurt to contact Tuscany and ask for more information from them, worth a shot.

Answer 2

What a great plan! You are smart to want to go to college, because a restaurant is a business like any other, and if you ever want to own your own restaurant, you will need to have strong business skills in addition to your culinary abilities. The best way to prepare for college at this point is to take your classes seriously and learn good study skills. That will serve you throughout your education. Also, since you know you want to go to Tuscany after you graduate from college, I would start thinking about learning Italian somewhere. You will want to be fluent in Italian, and people tend to learn languages most easily when they are young. It gets harder later on. I know most American middle and high schools don't offer Italian lessons, but if your parents can afford it, you might be able to go to a language school on the side or, if that is not a possibility, there are language software programs you could get to help you get used to the sound of the language.

Answer 3

Remember that colleges and universities rely mostly on your high school transcripts and SAT/ACT scores to determine whether you will be accepted. Here are the three best things you can do in high school to position yourself for acceptance to a top-notch university: (1) Study hard, do your homework, and get the best grades you can in your classes, (2) Get involved in your school by playing sports or playing an instrument in the band or being a member of the National Honor Society or something like that, and (3) Do your best on the SAT and/or ACT, which means investing in the courses that help prepare you to take those tests. BOTTOM LINE: There's not a whole lot you can do right now, but you can start by developing good study habits, doing your homework all the time every time, and making the commitment to yourself that you're going to do your absolute best in school.

Answer 4

It's really good that you are thinking about this already. Too many students wait until their junior year to get serious. Just remember, you GPA is determined starting with grade 9. Concentrate on your grades and the college prep curriculum, but there should be room for some electives, such as cooking. See if your high school offers a culinary arts program. Start cooking now. Help your mom plan meals, budget, grocery shop and cook on the weekends. Just don't neglect your studies. And for fun, read the book "Julie & Julia", about a woman's quest to cook her way through Julia's French cookbook in a year.

Answer 5

First, it's great that you are so career-minded at such a young age--but don't be so driven to succeed that you miss out on your childhood. Besides, you may change your mind as to what you want to do many times before you become an adult.

A degree in hotel and restaurant management would probably be a good start. Several schools offer this major. The Hotel School at Cornell University is considered to be a top school for what you want to do. But it is quite difficult to get into. They look for great grades and test scores, and a background in hospitality. So, when you're 14 or 15, and your parents allow you to get a job, look for work in the restaurant or hotel industry, whether it be as a desk clerk (you may be a little young to do that, even at 15), waiter, busboy, short order cook or food preparer in the kitchen of a restaurant, etc. It doesn't hurt, once you're a little older, to call local restaurants, explain that you'd like to be a chef, and ask if you can help out in the kitchen from time to time. They may not pay you, but you will be paid in experience. (I have a friend in her twenties who did this--she worked for free for several months, and now she is being paid and is working her way up at the restaurant.) In addition, get yourself a copy of a classic cookbook and start cooking--parental help, of course.

Answer 6

It is great that you already know what you want to do! Reading through the others advice, I think they are right on as far as school goes, but I'd also like to suggest practice and experimenting.

Plan and prepare your families meals. Try new recipes and try creating new recipes. Try making different kinds of foods. When you go to a restaurant, try something new-it will help you to discover new flavours. Try making something you don't like, others do.

Most of all, have fun with it! If you love your job-you'll love to go to work. Not many people have that. So if it starts to become more of a chore than fun, it is time to take a break and try something new. Baking can put smiles on faces!

Try making your own cookbook! Make sure you always clean everything up as you go, the good habits you have now will stay with you forever!

Best of luck to you!

Answer 7

It's good to be driven, but limiting yourself to one major at the age of twelve before you've even started high school may not be a good idea. I think I wanted to be a teacher when I was twelve. Then I changed my mind at age 15 and wanted to be an interior designer. Then I changed my mind at age 17 and decided to be an architect. I went to college to study architecture and then changed my major to urban planning. Well now I'm in grad school studying architecture again! See how much things can change in ten years?

One thing you should understand is that careers can be a whole separate thing from school. This is to say that just getting your degree does not guarantee you will get a job. In addition to getting a degree, you need to have good people skills and good networking skills. You need to make the most of your education to make connections that will ultimately land you in a job you like. With this said, college is still a tremendously important part of life--it's a time for personal development and it proves to employers that you are driven and a critical thinker.

Ok, so now some advice on getting into college in the first place. My advice will focuses on things you can do in high school since this is your next step toward getting into a college you like. First of all, take high level courses. If your school offers honors and advanced placement courses, take them. If your school does not offer these courses, that is okay and it's not your fault--just do well in the highest level courses that are offered. Second, get involved in extracurricular activities. There are lots of ways to get involved with your high school from sports to choir to student senate to chess club to whatever other clubs are offered. Try to be involved with at least one extracurricular activity every semester. Third, get involved in community service projects, which you can do through your church or by volunteering at homeless shelters, convalescent homes, etc. Academic performance and extracurricular activities will get you into college.

Ok, hope this helps!

Answer 8

Just make sure you're getting good grades, doing activities outside class as these will look good when you apply and maybe get some work experience a bit later, but don't worry too much now and work too hard, you'll have to work loads when you get there.

Answer 9

Relax enjoy your youth coz college will come round soon enough. Worry about it when you need to. Im in college and didnt make up my mind till like 3 months before hand what i wanted to do and maybe you already know but give yourself time and you will be fine

Answer 10

You can prepare, by knowing which classes you can take, in your schooling, now, to prepare you for getting into the college you prefer. How many languages would you need to speak to accomplish this? (take them!) How much math do you need to get into the college? (Take it). What grade average do you expect to have, in order to 'get in'? Go for it! Prepare, and save yourself a lot of time!