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Accounts from those who experienced Fullsail's Film & Video Degree Program (FVDP)

Comments:

I read all of your site, and really enjoyed it, it was very well written.

Well, to be honest the quality of your writing was only half the reason I enjoyed it, The other reason was because it verified everything I feared about that school. I was sold on the school in my mind, and traveled to Florida just to tour it, (I live in Wisconsin) and once I got there, every point you outline so succinctly started on your website started to form in the back of my brain, not so much a "This is a scam!" as much as the sneaking suspicion that something isn't quite right, I felt like i was at a carnival and my tour guide and salesmen were PT Barnum and the student workers were brainwashed cult members.

The thrifty side of me looked at the neon lights and the glowing brushed metal server and tallied up where my tuition money would really be going. and while I was adding those numbers up, I also tallied some of the full sail rhetoric, that on the other hand, didn't add up at all. Specifically as you said the job placements and the "Pay now, get educated later," pay schedule.

The next unsettling thing was looking around at my fellow cattle and their "Knowledge, Motivation, and Drive" well with the exception of the fat kid with acne in the back nobody knew any more about 3D graphics than what one could gather from Playing video games or watching the special features section of the matrix dvd.

And then we sat down in the auditorium to meet the most chillingly unsettling man I have ever met in my life. That award winning smile, the sincere eyes, the vocal inflections that lets you know he is speaking the truth, the motivational pep talks about how to realize your dreams (His dream being to start a college that allows him to drive a really nice sports car). I realized I have seen men like this before, on 20/20 uncovering equinox and other pyramid scams. Right then I came to my senses, shook off the hours of hypnotism, and relaxed on the beach for the rest of the week, sure of one thing, Anywhere but there... and this trip wasn't a total wash, I love the beach.

I'm now paving my own way in video, I bought my own camera for a fraction of tuition and started a company for wedding videography, and do video for shows at concert venues because "I know a guy who knows a guy" (all of which almost went to full sail) and the hall where I work has two full sail graduates, both of which have reputations as poorly trained and lacking basic knowledge of audio and etiquette, my public high school theater program rivals their degree. Though my high school theater program was well above average, I would expect more than that if i payed 40 grand to attend.

After high school I was trying to figure out what to do with my life. I heard that a friend of a friend graduated from a school called Full Sail, and that he was touring with Megadeth. I was very impressed that someone could go to a school and get on the road. Well, me being interested in music and movies I decided to check out Full Sail. I was really impressed with what the admissions had to say. So I took the tour. I was impressed, recording studios, sound stages, lights, and all the cool gear. Me being from Iowa, we don’t have that kind of stuff there. And I have people telling me I have a good chance at being placed in the industry. It was like going to an Amway meeting. Where everyone was smiling and nudging you to come and join.

I was suckered in. Fortunately my parents helped me with tuition and moved me to sunny Orlando. I was excited, thrilled, I was going to show up the people from back home. I was going to do something cool with my life.

Well, I found out there were about 200 other assholes that felt the same way and were doing the same thing. About midway through the program, I got really sick, and had to go to the emergency room. I missed 1 ½ days of school that month, I brought in a doctors excuse, and I was told I could make up the time. Not true. Every time I Showed up to make up my time,. The teacher was not there, I would wait and wait, and still no teacher. The Instructor would not return my phone calls or emails. I passed the class with good grades, but because of my sickness, they held me back and told me I had to pay an additional $2000 to retake the class. I threatened lawsuit and I ended up getting back half of my tuition. I took the money and started my own film video production company. I did not return to Full Sail. But I will say that during my legal fighting process I made friends with other students who were also fighting Full Sail. One in particular, Dave. Full Sail would not let him take a leave of absence when his mom died. They told him he would fail his class. And have to pay to retake.

Do to the knowledge and the experience I have recieved out side of film school. Take the $40,000 buy some gear, take a couple of workshops, read some books, and get down to business. If you want to do videography, there is money to be made there. If you want to make movies, you don’t need film school. The school of hard knocks always pays off. Full Sail has not helped one bit, and I can say that if I were to have relied on them for a job, I would be a PA somewhere getting some ones coffee. And that’s with all they’re programs. Have fun being some ones bitch for 2 years. Only 2% of grads actually do something in the industry. That statistic comes from everyone who I know that went there. And graduated.

A good idea, a little capital, and some good sense will get you to where you want to be. Don’t piss away a year and a half of your life and $40,000 into a money making machine. If want experience in Film, go to your local film commission and take part in local movies. Make a couple of your own. A good demo, is hell of a lot better than a Full Sail degree.

Do the math. Full Sail Claims to have 4000 students. What is 4000 x 40,000? It’s a whopping 160 million dollars. Full Sail also owns the surrounding apartment complexes. Gary Jones is the president, but he is not in charge, HIS LAWYERS OWN IT! Also, they do not buy a lot of the big equipment. IT IS DONATED!

Not once did I get a real text book. Its all Photo Copied Crap. So, where does the money go? It goes into a really big money maker, Its called the wonder world of Real estate.

Conclusion to this…. If you want your REAL WORLD EDUCATION of realizing that once in every ones life, we all get screwed, go to FULL SAIL.

My assessment of the school is quite simple Admissions department is a joke. They certainly will try to coax every interested person into going to the school. Bear in mind, UCONN, CCSU, among every other school in the country will do the same. Colleges need money to do what they do. If you want to become an architect, a doctor, or a machinist, you need to work with the tools of the trade to learn how to use them. Those tools cost money. Every school wants everyone to apply.

This brings to mind their application process. Yes, the only prerequisite is a High School Diploma or a GED. For some of the other programs like Digital Media and Computer Animation, I can fully understand why it'd make sense to ask prospective students for a portfolio. I don't know why Full Sail doesn't run things that way, and I agree that it'd be better if they did. This is a review of the film program, mind you, so let's keep on track with the specifics. The film program doesn't need any prerequisite training or experience. Any person with a GED or High School Diploma has potential to do very well with this program. There is an amount of work involved. Slackers need not apply.

As far as educational experience; most of the film-specific teachers that I worked with were not certified teachers with a degree. A big part of this is that there aren't other schools that have programs that teach a person how to work with 35mm Arri-cams, Mole-Richardson and Arri lights, Matthews grip equipment and dollies, among other various forms of production and post-production equipment. This being said, there were some teachers who weren't very personable. Even so, I was able to learn from them. I didn't like their (at times, lousy) attitude, but I learned from them. The only teacher that I could complain about was my teacher for Business Communications; a general education class (every degree takes this class). This teacher did have the degrees and certifications necessary to work as a teacher. The class' purpose was to teach students how to search for jobs, how to find information concerning jobs, and how to put together a professional looking resume, portfolio, and cover-letter. My problem with the teacher is that she was very picky about how she ran things. It wasn't so much a "how to write resumes" class, as much as a "how to write resumes my way" class. I haven't used any of what I learned in that class, and I'm doing well (I'll get to my employment status later).

Concerning Placement Departments in general: There are very few schools in this country that will "give" a graduate a job. Full Sail is no different. I would find it foolish for a company to allow graduates from any school to work for their company without any prior application or interviewing process. As with any school, students can find a way to cheat their way their way to graduation. A transcript is not enough to show an employer that a person is good for a job. Employers look for more than good grades in school. They look to see if a person has a personality that will fit
in with current employees. They want to see if a person handles well under pressure, or if this person has a strong work ethic. None of these things can be conveyed through a school transcript.

Concerning Full Sail's Placement department: I have been receiving numerous emails informing me of job openings in
my industry. As of the writing of this e-mail, it's been about seven months since my graduation, and I've received e-mails informing me of well over 50 job openings in my industry. Should I have chosen to, I could have applied to any, if not all, of these openings. I reiterate: No school will hand you a job. The application and interview process is the same for everyone, regardless of the fact that you have a degree. The truth about the film industry is that a degree means nothing. Experience is valued over traditional education in the film industry. Full Sail is not traditional education, and experience with industry-standard equipment is what I have on my resume.

About me: As I've mentioned before, I graduated from Full Sail seven months ago. After graduation, I moved back home to Bristol, CT. Considering that I had numerous bills to pay, and very little money to my name, it would be difficult for me move to NYC or LA and start hunting for a job. This has nothing to do with a lack of quality in Full Sail's placement department, or any Full Sail-related entity. I studied film and video, and my home was not in a hot-spot for that market. I decided to stay home and work a regular job. I've worked at a theme park and a metal shop. I sent in my resume and cover letter to ESPN (The World-Wide Leader in Sports) numerous times. After what seemed to be ages, I received a call from a supervisor of domestic studio operations, asking to see me for an interview. To make a long story short, I had two interviews and a camera test at ESPN before being hired as a full-time cameraman and A2 (A2 being an audio assistant). I started working solely on camera, as most of my experience was with video. I was then trained in audio.

This brings another important point to mind. My interviewer, the head manager of domestic studio operations, told me that ESPN normally won't hire people with my limited experience in audio. The reason that I was an exception to this rule is partially that I was from Full Sail, and ESPN has had a very good experience with Full Sail grads. The other part being that I had a good attitude (which is something that you can't learn from any school).

In conclusion: The success of Full Sail graduates is based solely on if they are willing to do what is necessary to succeed. Ten people can graduate from the school with the same amount of know-how, and one might be the only one to do well in the years following. Full Sail is not for everyone. I think prospective students should put more time into researching the school before they make such a momentous investment. The problem with that is that there are very few web sites that aren't biased one way or the other. fullsail.com will obviously be biased in favor of the school, whereas oocities.com/fullsailexposed will obviously be biased against it. Full Sail is not for everyone.

My personal experience with Full Sail's film program is simply that the education is legit and worthwhile. I work for the biggest broadcast company in the world (ESPN: The World-Wide Leader in Sports). ESPN is the company that is pushing the leading edge in High-Definition technology. When they say "World-Wide Leader", they mean it. I don't believe that I'd have this job if it weren't because of my experience at Full Sail. This is nothing to be said lightly,
considering that ESPN usually hires people 5 years older than me with much more experience.

Thank you all for taking the time to read through all of this. If anyone has any questions at all concerning the school or my experience, please feel free to contact me on AOL Instant Messenger; screen name: Tristandagda