Anyone heard of FullSail?

[mickeymom629]

We are looking at this school for my son who wants to pursue film making. Just wondering if anyone on this board has heard of it or attending school there.

 

[applepwnz]

I've heard some somewhat bad things about Full Sail, but I don't know anyone who goes there (I've only heard people talking about it online) so I couldn't really say if it's good or not

 

[sarbruis]

I'd suggest looking at schools that give a traditional, four-year, BA degree. Full Sail condenses their programs and I don't think they have a great reputation in the industries. I looked into doing their Game Design/Programming/Whatever program and I just know that I really didn't want to go to Full Sail after doing my research.

Try to find the e-mail addresses of some alumni and ask them how it was.

Also, Full Sail is freaking expensive for what you get.

They're also willing to accept almost anyone, provided they'll pay tuition, which to me isn't desirable.

 

[PipesofLirael]

Completely useless.

My ex-boyfriend went to this program and, honestly, learned almost nothing from it. It's too much material to condense into a small amount of time and the professors/equipment are not worth the insane tuition price. I've never heard it highly spoken of by my own film professors or any other ex-students. The real problem is that, with that degree in hand, most in the buisness assume you paid your way through and will generally not think you earned the degree out of talent.

Try some of the more traditional schools in the field. I'm at University of Miami for film and theatre, double major, if you have any questions. Some family that I know of also went through UCLA and NYU, which are both incredible film programs if not difficult to get into.

 

[mickeymom629]

Thanks for the responses. I do have some questions for any of you, if you are still reading this thread. In all due respect, why would any professor of another school say anything nice about another school? Also, if you look at NYU or any other college, it costs even more than Full Sail if you compare it to the degree --- NYU is 4 years and QUITE costly, Full Sail is 20 some months at $64K.

These questions are going through our heads and we keep going back and forth.

Also, Pipe-, did your ex-b.f. expect the challenge of the intense instruction? If it was too much material, was it good material? They do tell you that the classes are during the day and the labs are at night. Was your ex-boyfriend into the film making? Did he graduate or quit and go elsewhere?

Our son wants to do film making and he will come out with a B. S., apparently.
He has always been an honor roll student and is incredible with the computer. He has done video taping and dvd producing for private affairs, and he interned this summer making informative commercials for cable television. He has taught his video production teacher a thing or two this year. Honestly, his father and I would love to see him going to a college and majoring in Engineering or computers because he is so talented, but film making is his dream.

 

[PipesofLirael]

I have never found any of my professors to be condescending about another institution. Most of them will go on and on about how wonderful other schools are, especially UCLA and NYU, so I'm not sure if I agree in that sense.

My ex was obsessed with film. He had gone to art programs in previous summers and made films in his own spare time before going to college. He still hated the school. Much of the material was repetitive and simplistic. This isn't intense instruction compared to other, simpler programs. The reason that film schools are more difficult to compress is that the actual act of editing, filming, etc. may be easily taught, but is not so easily done.

The last I heard from my ex, he quit and headed for LA.

I'm not trying to demean your concerns. Please don't think this!!! Film is difficult enough to break into without having a good name on your degree.

Also consider the time constraints not mentioned by the program. Take my own program. My courses are difficult, but not impossible. The labs do take up a good amount of time, but you know this when you enter the school, so it's assumed. Homework takes more time, again, this is common sense. Outside of ALL OF THIS, the work only increases because of the time consuming processes required. I have straight As, but I don't sleep. Neither does anyone else I know.

This is a typical program, too. Now, if you compress all of this and have it all go by twice as fast, a student doesn't learn enough. There isn't enough experience or time to create your own projects on the side (which I higly recomment - increasing your portfolio is always a good thing). These skills take practice. What Full Sail does, and my ex totally went through this, is teach you everything but never give you enough time to refine such skills. Book knowledge is useless if one isn't given enough time to handle a few disasters.

Btw, what computer does your son use?? Just curious if it's a Mac or PC (different editing programs and all that).

 

[bauermj]

A friend of mine, who flunked out of traditional 4 year and then community, got a Digital Media degree from FS. Hes very good on computers but couldnt handle the traditional college environment. He seemed to enjoy the program but their job-placement is non-existant.

I cant imagine it would be worth the time or the money unless it really seemed to be the best situation for the student.

 

[mickeymom629]

Thanks, again, for your comments. We are taking them into full consideration. My son and DH are visiting FS this weekend.

My son uses a PC, I believe.

I am interested in any further comments about this that anyone has to offer.

Thanks.

 

[PipesofLirael]

This is totally outside of school, but you may want to look into purchasing a Mac. Their image capablities are much better than PCs and their editing programs are just fantastic. "Final Cut Pro", "Adobe Photoshop", and "Adobe Illustrator" are the best on the market. Most good film software is released n Macs. They're great for making your own films on your own time.

 

[Darcy03231]

We looked into it for DS and decided against it. We spoke with several people who had children or other family members go there. The overall consensus was that (1) the quality of the program wasn't what they were led to beleive, (2) job placement assistance was non-exisitent, (3) most propective employers didn't even know who or what the school was or where it was and (4) any credit earned there are non-transferrable to other schools. Full Sail doesn't take anyone else's credits and no one (that we or anyone else we spoke with were able to find) takes theirs. If at some point your son decides he needs more education nothing he takes at Full Sail is transferable.

 

[mickeymom629]

Appreciate the comments. I'll mention the MAC to him. DARCY, what year of college is your son in now? I'm just curious if you recently looked into FS or was it a few years ago. Also, where does he attend school and what is his major? The catalog we have does say that credits from other schools can transfer if the student received a B or higher, and if the course was similar "in scope and content" as FS. It goes on to say that if transcripts are not available, a student can test out of a course to receive credit and thereby have tuition and hours reduced. If a student wants to leave FS after earning credits, it is up to the institution being transferred to that will decide if they will accept FS's credits. But, in my opinion, non acceptance doesn't mean FS's wasn't worthy. My oldest son is at York College in PA and I'm not sure if all of his credits would transfer if he decided to go to U of MD. I'm sure there are colleges that don't accept other colleges credits for one reason or another.

We talked with a guy who just graduated from FS with an AA degree. He spoke highly of it. He apparently got involved in as many projects (films) as he could, even helping others with theirs, to make as many contacts as possible. Now that he is home (Maryland) he is working on a project with someone who is still in Orlando. He is doing the story board via computer. Granted, I guess the income from this project is yet to be determined, but my son didn't ask him about that. He did tell my son that he will not have time for anything, such as a part time job and there are very few days off. He also said that he hasn't met anyone who spoke badly about FS. Basically he said that FS is what you make of it.

My son plans on doing the BS degree for Film at FS, if he goes. I would love for him to take the BS for Entertainment Business course as well, but I'm sure that would not only be more strenuous on him, it would be financially more for us, too. We are definitely taking the financial and credit transferring issues seriously. Again, though, if my son successfully completes the BS degree in 21 months, dividing the cost by 4 (equivalent to 4 years at another college), it probably comes out the same when you add in the cost for apartment and food.

Hopefully, no matter where he ends up getting his education, I hope my son has the perserverence to follow his dream and be financially independent while doing it (after paying off his debt, of course ).

 

[Mecha Figment]

From my profetional experience. Most companies will see fullsail on the resume and will usualy put it at the bottom of the stack. Their reasoning is that they will just have to retrain them on everything they know, This is especialy true for stagemanagment and theatrical stuff. It does have a bad reputation and I would consider goign elsewhere.

 

[mickeymom629]

Mecha Figment - Thanks for your comments. Can you tell me what your profession is? I mean, is it in the entertainment business? I see you mention theater and stage, but it looks like FS offers film, recording, computer animation, digital design, etc. Nothing much for theater except for show production and touring. I have a nephew in law who graduated many years ago (maybe 15 or so) from FS and he has been doing stage lighting for concerts since graduating and loves it. Where did you hear that it has a bad reputation and do you know why it has a bad reputation? Why would they have to be retrained and for what job are you speaking about?

 

[Mecha Figment]

I've heard this said from all the staging managers at Disney.

 

[Darcy03231]

We looked into it in the fall of 2003. One of the biggest reasons we decided against it was that no other school that we could find would take Full Sail's credits should DS son decide he either didn't like it and wanted to transfer out or if he wanted to go on and further his education somewhere else. He ended up starting out at The Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale and hated it. He's now at UNH (where we wanted him to go in the first place) and loves it. He's also done an about face and instead of computer animation is now in Civil Engineering. He did his freshman year at Ft. Lauderdale and all of the credit transfered. One thing to keep in mind is, how far away is the school from where you live? DS couldn't wait to go to FL (we live in NH) and he's never been a big family type person. Well, he hated living in FL, missed his family and friends and couldn't wait to come home (we made him stay and finish the year). That can really play into whether or not they like the school. We have longtime friends who have a son in the film business in LA. I got his number and called him and asked about Full Sail for film. He's never heard of it.

 

[mickeymom629]

That's great about your son, DARCY. I really wish mine would consider engineering or something with computers, as he is extremely talented in that department. He has film (editting) as the only thing he thinks he wants to do. Also, our son is very much family and home-body, that it does concern my husband and I that he will suddenly be so far and with no breaks.
We are making sure that he applies to other schools and I'm beginning to hope that we can make him realize that he should start at a more traditional college and see how that goes.

I show him the comments on this thread every day when he comes home from school, so I hope that he will consider the warnings.

By the way, searching Full Sail on these boards, I did find another DIS'er who is sending her son there next fall. He did a summer camp for 3 weeks at NYU last summer, loved it, and decided FS was for him.

 

[Darcy03231]

Well, as parents we do the best we can and then they have to make their own decisions. I feel bad that DS spent so much money going to Ft. Lauderdale when he could have been at a in-state school at more than half the cost, but in the end the decision (and the money) was his. All through high school we told him we would pay half of the cost of an in-state school's tuition, room & board, books and mandatory fees (we have 4 kids). If he decided on something else he had to figure out how to pay for it. DH and I still find it ironic that when he decided to come home he gave us the same speech, almost word for word, that we gave him about going to UNH in the first place.

 

[Piecey]

I didn't read through this entire thread.. but my brother constantly talks to me about film schools (He's looking to go to graduate school in a film type school.. I'm not really sure??)

But all I've heard from him is how U of T Austin has an amazing program. Might want to check it out!

Sorry if someone already mentioned it.. I perused and didn't see it so thought i'd throw it out there for you.

 

[yoboybernie]

Hello there.. yes, i do have a friend who goes to full sail in Winterpark (like 10 min. from disney) it is a 2 year school pretty much. and then you can decide to go back for 4 years if you want. My friend Andrew mardis, loved it. Felt he learned a lot.. loved his teachers. The only thing is.. since they finish in less then two years, they go mon-saturday. and rarely have any time for anything else. hopefully this helps!

 

[Rustyflwr3]

Hello there.. yes, i do have a friend who goes to full sail in Winterpark (like 10 min. from disney) it is a 2 year school pretty much. and then you can decide to go back for 4 years if you want. My friend Andrew mardis, loved it. Felt he learned a lot.. loved his teachers. The only thing is.. since they finish in less then two years, they go mon-saturday. and rarely have any time for anything else. hopefully this helps!

Im not exactly sure Winter Park is about 10 minutes away from Disney. Im thinking its at least 30 -45 depending on the traffic!

Anyways, I had a friend that attended Full Sail for I think video production. Im sorry if this sounds harsh, but he is the only experience or link I have to the school. Three years after he finished he is still doing nothing with what he wen tthere for. Not that everybody follows the career path they went to school for, but he isn't doing anything at all. I dont know if thats his fault or if it was the school, etc. I also know that it is extremely expensive. To me, it seemed like a huge waste of money especially seeing what hes doing now.

You may be completely different, work ethic and all, but I just wanted to voice my experience and opinion! HTH!