Johnson & Wales University (loans, high school, universities)

[notasmoker]

My son in NY state is considering Johnson & Wales in RI. Any thoughts?

[gentlearts]

My husband's nephew graduated from the one in NC (or SC). He got a great education.

[leighland]

JW is famous for its culinary school. Which campus would he be out of? The one on the East Side has excellent location, right in the middle of Thayer Street and Brown University

[notasmoker]

Johnson & Wales have sent recruiters to our area high school & my son is interested. I guess my question is: Is it considered a bona fide university or is it a vocational/technical school? I know it has various locations throughout the country. Is the original site in RI more "authentic" than the others? Please pardon my ignorance; I am just trying to get a better handle on this institution, as my son seems most enthusiastic about this option. Thank you in advance for any insight you can provide.

[mikey2]

Well, I would check it out carefully.

J+W is very well known for their cullinary arts program so if that's an interest your son has then it might be a good choice.

Johnson and Wales has an "open enrollment" policy which means they are basically scooping up just about anyone ($ - let's be honest here)...not a plus.

Their downtown campus is not on thayer st (last I checked) but rather mainly between Weybosset and Westminster St.
Before taking another step-- you, your son, and family should be walking around this area (particularly at night) and making sure you want your son living near there.

Mikey

[notasmoker]

Thank you, Mikey. That is the exact type of information I was looking for. My very first impression was that it sounded almost "diploma-mill-ish" to me, so I just thought I would ask. Thanks again for your honesty.

[professorsenator]

Originally Posted by notasmoker

Thank you, Mikey. That is the exact type of information I was looking for. My very first impression was that it sounded almost "diploma-mill-ish" to me, so I just thought I would ask. Thanks again for your honesty.

While they may have open admissions, my impression is that it is a real school. I would NOT call it a diploma mill (i.e. a bogus institution that gives away meaningless degrees in exchange for money and no work). It has a unique niche in that it is a true vocational higher ed institution. They also have programs in hospitality/tourism stuff, too, IIRC.

[mikey2]

I agree, they're not a diploma-mill type school, still I'm not thrilled with open enrollment.

My son is a college freshman so this stuff is fresh in my mind. One or two of his friends got VERY QUICK acceptance letters from Johnson and Wales and my thought at the time was they were looking to lock some kids in before other schools got their interest.

Gibbs college (which I guess is going under) started to do some very unethical things (IMO) with their open enrollment policy.

Specifically, I had first hand reports from more than one student -who was in no way qualified to do college work- accepted at Gibbs, ran up over $6000 in loans, then eventually cut loose because they couldn't do the work.

I guess I just have a bad feeling about that sort of thing and what it could lead to.

Mikey

[notasmoker]

Thank you both for your input; it is very helpful.

[professorsenator]

Gibbs and J&W are in two different leagues. Gibbs is what was once called a secretarial school; J&W is a true university.

As for open enrollments, keep in mind that: there are numerous legitimate open enrollment four-year universities in the U.S.; just about every community college in the U.S. is an open enrollment school; and states throughout the U.S. operate public universities with admissions standards so generous, including alternative admissions programs that offer entrance to students who don't meet the (already pretty easy) requirements, that they are for all practical purposes open enrollment institutions. If you're looking for exclusivity, J&W isn't it. But then again, most institutions of higher ed in the U.S. really aren't either.