SECURITIES & EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 ---------------------- SCHEDULE 13G/A* (Rule 13d-102) INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN STATEMENTS FILED PURSUANT TO RULES 13d-1(b), (c) AND (d) AND AMENDMENTS THERETO FILED PURSUANT TO 13d-2(b) Career Education Corp. (Name of Issuer) Common Stock (Title of Class of Securities) 141665109 (CUSIP Number) October 25, 2004 (Date of event which requires filing of this statement) Check the appropriate box to designate the rule pursuant to which this Schedule 13G/A is filed: [ ] Rule 13d-1(b) [X] Rule 13d-1(c) [ ] Rule 13d-1(d) (Page 1 of 13 Pages) ---------------- *The remainder of this cover page shall be filled out for a reporting person's initial filing on this form with respect to the subject class of securities, and for any subsequent amendment containing information which would alter the disclosures provided in a prior cover page. The information required in the remainder of this cover page shall not be deemed to be "filed" for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Act") or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section of the Act but shall be subject to all other provisions of the Act (however, see the Notes). CUSIP No. 141665109 13G/A Page 2 of 13 Pages ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) NAMES OF REPORTING PERSONS I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSONS (ENTITIES ONLY) Lone Spruce, L.P. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (2) CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP ** (a) [X] (b) [ ] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (3) SEC USE ONLY ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (4) CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION Delaware ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NUMBER OF (5) SOLE VOTING POWER -0- SHARES --------------------------------------------------------- BENEFICIALLY (6) SHARED VOTING POWER 78,873 OWNED BY --------------------------------------------------------- EACH (7) SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER -0- REPORTING --------------------------------------------------------- PERSON WITH (8) SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER 78,873 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (9) AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON 78,873 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (10) CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES ** [ ] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (11) PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (9) 0.1% ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (12) TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON ** PN ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ** SEE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE FILLING OUT! CUSIP No. 141665109 13G/A Page 3 of 13 Pages ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) NAMES OF REPORTING PERSONS I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSONS (ENTITIES ONLY) Lone Balsam, L.P. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (2) CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP ** (a) [X] (b) [ ] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (3) SEC USE ONLY ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (4) CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION Delaware ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NUMBER OF (5) SOLE VOTING POWER -0- SHARES --------------------------------------------------------- BENEFICIALLY (6) SHARED VOTING POWER 173,045 OWNED BY --------------------------------------------------------- EACH (7) SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER -0- REPORTING --------------------------------------------------------- PERSON WITH (8) SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER 173,045 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (9) AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON 173,045 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (10) CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES ** [ ] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (11) PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (9) 0.2% ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (12) TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON ** PN ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ** SEE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE FILLING OUT! CUSIP No. 141665109 13G/A Page 4 of 13 Pages ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) NAMES OF REPORTING PERSONS I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSONS (ENTITIES ONLY) Lone Sequoia, L.P. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (2) CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP ** (a) [X] (b) [ ] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (3) SEC USE ONLY ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (4) CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION Delaware ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NUMBER OF (5) SOLE VOTING POWER -0- SHARES --------------------------------------------------------- BENEFICIALLY (6) SHARED VOTING POWER 144,568 OWNED BY --------------------------------------------------------- EACH (7) SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER -0- REPORTING --------------------------------------------------------- PERSON WITH (8) SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER 144,568 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (9) AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON 144,568 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (10) CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES ** [ ] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (11) PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (9) 0.1% ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (12) TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON ** PN ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ** SEE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE FILLING OUT! CUSIP No. 141665109 13G/A Page 5 of 13 Pages ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) NAMES OF REPORTING PERSONS I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSONS (ENTITIES ONLY) Lone Pine Associates LLC ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (2) CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP ** (a) [X] (b) [ ] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (3) SEC USE ONLY ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (4) CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION Delaware ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NUMBER OF (5) SOLE VOTING POWER -0- SHARES --------------------------------------------------------- BENEFICIALLY (6) SHARED VOTING POWER 396,486 OWNED BY --------------------------------------------------------- EACH (7) SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER -0- REPORTING --------------------------------------------------------- PERSON WITH (8) SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER 396,486 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (9) AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON 396,486 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (10) CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES ** [ ] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (11) PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (9) 0.4% ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (12) TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON ** OO ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ** SEE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE FILLING OUT! CUSIP No. 141665109 13G/A Page 6 of 13 Pages ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) NAMES OF REPORTING PERSONS I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSONS (ENTITIES ONLY) Lone Pine Capital LLC ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (2) CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP ** (a) [X] (b) [ ] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (3) SEC USE ONLY ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (4) CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION Delaware ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NUMBER OF (5) SOLE VOTING POWER -0- SHARES --------------------------------------------------------- BENEFICIALLY (6) SHARED VOTING POWER 2,710,559 OWNED BY --------------------------------------------------------- EACH (7) SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER -0- REPORTING --------------------------------------------------------- PERSON WITH (8) SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER 2,710,559 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (9) AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON 2,710,559 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (10) CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES ** [ ] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (11) PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (9) 2.7% ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (12) TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON ** IA ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ** SEE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE FILLING OUT! CUSIP No. 141665109 13G/A Page 7 of 13 Pages ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) NAMES OF REPORTING PERSONS I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSONS (ENTITIES ONLY) Stephen F. Mandel, Jr. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (2) CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP ** (a) [X] (b) [ ] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (3) SEC USE ONLY ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (4) CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION United States ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NUMBER OF (5) SOLE VOTING POWER -0- SHARES --------------------------------------------------------- BENEFICIALLY (6) SHARED VOTING POWER 3,107,045 OWNED BY --------------------------------------------------------- EACH (7) SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER -0- REPORTING --------------------------------------------------------- PERSON WITH (8) SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER 3,107,045 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (9) AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON 3,107,045 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (10) CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES ** [ ] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (11) PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (9) 3.0% ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (12) TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON ** IN ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ** SEE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE FILLING OUT! CUSIP No. 141665109 13G/A Page 8 of 13 Pages Item 1(a). Name of Issuer: The name of the issuer is Career Education Corp. (the "Company"). Item 1(b). Address of Issuer's Principal Executive Offices: The Company's principal executive offices are located at 2895 Greenspoint Parkway, Suite 600, Hoffman Estates, IL 60195. Item 2(a). Name of Person Filing: This statement is filed by: (i) Lone Spruce, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership ("Lone Spruce"), with respect to the shares of Common Stock (defined in Item 2(d) below) directly owned by it; (ii) Lone Balsam, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership ("Lone Balsam"), with respect to the shares of Common Stock directly owned by it; (iii) Lone Sequoia, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership ("Lone Sequoia"), with respect to the shares of Common Stock directly owned by it; (iv) Lone Pine Associates LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ("Lone Pine"), with respect to the shares of Common Stock directly owned by Lone Spruce, Lone Balsam and Lone Sequoia; (v) Lone Pine Capital LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ("Lone Pine Capital"), which serves as investment manager to Lone Cypress, Ltd. ("Lone Cypress") and Lone Kauri, Ltd. ("Lone Kauri"), each a Cayman Islands exempted company, with respect to the shares of Common Stock directly owned by each of Lone Cypress and Lone Kauri; (vi) Stephen F. Mandel, Jr. ("Mr. Mandel"), with respect to the shares of Common Stock directly owned by each of Lone Spruce, Lone Balsam, Lone Sequoia, Lone Cypress and Lone Kauri. The foregoing persons are hereinafter sometimes collectively referred to as the "Reporting Persons". Any disclosures herein with respect to persons other than the Reporting Persons are made on information and belief after making inquiry to the appropriate party. Item 2(b). Address of Principal Business Office or, if None, Residence: The address of the business office of each of the Reporting Persons is Two Greenwich Plaza, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830. CUSIP No. 141665109 13G/A Page 9 of 13 Pages Item 2(c). Citizenship: Lone Spruce, Lone Balsam and Lone Sequoia are limited partnerships organized under the laws of the State of Delaware. Lone Pine Associates LLC and Lone Pine Capital LLC are limited liability companies organized under the laws of the State of Delaware. Mr. Mandel is a United States citizen. Item 2(d). Title of Class of Securities: Common Stock, $0.01 par value (the "Common Stock") Item 2(e). CUSIP Number: 141665109 Item 3. If this statement is filed pursuant to Rules 13d-1(b) or 13d-2(b) or (c), check whether the person filing is a: (a) [ ] Broker or dealer registered under Section 15 of the Act, (b) [ ] Bank as defined in Section 3(a)(6) of the Act, (c) [ ] Insurance Company as defined in Section 3(a)(19) of the Act, (d) [ ] Investment Company registered under Section 8 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, (e) [ ] Investment Adviser in accordance with Rule 13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(E), (f) [ ] Employee Benefit Plan or Endowment Fund in accordance with Rule 13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(F), (g) [ ] Parent Holding Company or control person in accordance with Rule 13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(G), (h) [ ] Savings Association as defined in Section 3(b) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, (i) [ ] Church Plan that is excluded from the definition of an investment company under Section 3(c)(14) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, (j) [ ] Group, in accordance with Rule 13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(J). If this statement is filed pursuant to Rule 13d-1(c), check the box. [X] CUSIP No. 141665109 13G/A Page 10 of 13 Pages Item 4. Ownership. A. Lone Spruce, L.P. (a) Amount beneficially owned: 78,873 (b) Percent of class: 0.1% The percentages used herein and in the rest of Item 4 are calculated based upon the 102,496,737 shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding as of November 1, 2004, as reported in the Company's Form 10-Q for the period ending September 30, 2004. (c)(i) Sole power to vote or direct the vote: -0- (ii) Shared power to vote or direct the vote: 78,873 (iii) Sole power to dispose or direct the disposition: -0- (iv) Shared power to dispose or direct the disposition: 78,873 B. Lone Balsam, L.P. (a) Amount beneficially owned: 173,045 (b) Percent of class: 0.2% (c)(i) Sole power to vote or direct the vote: -0- (ii) Shared power to vote or direct the vote: 173,045 (iii) Sole power to dispose or direct the disposition: -0- (iv) Shared power to dispose or direct the disposition: 173,045 C. Lone Sequoia, L.P. (a) Amount beneficially owned: 144,568 (b) Percent of class: 0.1% (c)(i) Sole power to vote or direct the vote: -0- (ii) Shared power to vote or direct the vote: 144,568 (iii) Sole power to dispose or direct the disposition: -0- (iv) Shared power to dispose or direct the disposition: 144,568 D. Lone Pine Associates LLC (a) Amount beneficially owned: 396,486 (b) Percent of class: 0.4% (c)(i) Sole power to vote or direct the vote: -0- (ii) Shared power to vote or direct the vote: 396,486 (iii) Sole power to dispose or direct the disposition: -0- (iv) Shared power to dispose or direct the disposition: 396,486 E. Lone Pine Capital LLC (a) Amount beneficially owned: 2,710,559 (b) Percent of class: 2.7% (c)(i) Sole power to vote or direct the vote: -0- (ii) Shared power to vote or direct the vote: 2,710,559 (iii) Sole power to dispose or direct the disposition: -0- (iv) Shared power to dispose or direct the disposition: 2,710,559 CUSIP No. 141665109 13G/A Page 11 of 13 Pages F. Stephen F. Mandel, Jr. (a) Amount beneficially owned: 3,107,045 (b) Percent of class: 3.0% (c)(i) Sole power to vote or direct the vote: -0- (ii) Shared power to vote or direct the vote: 3,107,045 (iii) Sole power to dispose or direct the disposition: -0- (iv) Shared power to dispose or direct the disposition: 3,107,045 Item 5. Ownership of Five Percent or Less of a Class. If this statement is being filed to report the fact that as of the date hereof the reporting person has ceased to be the beneficial owner of more than five percent of the Class of securities, check the following [X]. Item 6. Ownership of More than Five Percent on Behalf of Another Person. Not applicable Item 7. Identification and Classification of the Subsidiary Which Acquired the Security Being Reported on by the Parent Holding Company. Not applicable. Item 8. Identification and Classification of Members of the Group. See Item 2. Item 9. Notice of Dissolution of Group. Not applicable. CUSIP No. 141665109 13G/A Page 12 of 13 Pages Item 10. Certification. Each of the Reporting Persons hereby makes the following certification: By signing below I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the securities referred to above were not acquired and are not held for the purpose of or with the effect of changing or influencing the control of the issuer of the securities and were not acquired and are not held in connection with or as a participant in any transaction having that purpose or effect. CUSIP No. 141665109 13G/A Page 13 of 13 Pages SIGNATURES After reasonable inquiry and to the best of our knowledge and belief, the undersigned certify that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete and correct. DATED: November 4, 2004 Lone Spruce, L.P. By: Lone Pine Associates LLC, General Partner By: /s/ Stephen F. Mandel, Jr. -------------------------- Stephen F. Mandel, Jr. Managing Member Lone Balsam, L.P. By: Lone Pine Associates LLC, General Partner By: /s/ Stephen F. Mandel, Jr. -------------------------- Stephen F. Mandel, Jr. Managing Member Lone Sequoia, L.P. By: Lone Pine Associates LLC, General Partner By: /s/ Stephen F. Mandel, Jr. -------------------------- Stephen F. Mandel, Jr. Managing Member Lone Pine Associates LLC By: /s/ Stephen F. Mandel, Jr. -------------------------- Stephen F. Mandel, Jr. Managing Member Lone Pine Capital LLC By: /s/ Stephen F. Mandel, Jr. -------------------------- Stephen F. Mandel, Jr. Managing Member Stephen F. Mandel, Jr. /s/ Stephen F. Mandel, Jr. --------------------------------