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Accounts from those who experienced Fullsail's Digital Media Degree Program (DMDP)

Comments:

I went to Full Sail for digital media. Most of you who take the time to read this letter will have already been inundated with rhetoric about the evils of the school. The truth is, Full Sail is what you make of it. If you only want to glide through the classes and party all weekend, you‘ll fail miserably in the industry. If you put extra time and effort into learning every technique and tool you can get your hands on, you will do well. I have a sneaking suspicion the angry students on this site were the very same guys who loved the great bar scene and great parties. If you were lazy in high school, you will be lazy at Full Sail.

As far as the art curriculum? Full Sail is not a true art school. But here’s the secret a lot of the bitter ex-students didn’t tell you: You already know whether or not you are an artist. If you suck at art, Full Sail will not make you an artist. Neither will Ringling or CCAD or the Art Institutes. No school in the world will make you an artist if you aren’t one already. You will be a well-educated art lover who still has no talent. It comes down to your natural ability and what you choose to do with it. In the real world, your portfolio will open more doors than your diploma.

The Placement Department is not the solution to unemployment, but they can help you if you let them. My first job offer came from a new multimedia company in Columbus Ohio who learned of me through Full Sail. They, in fact, love Full Sail. They gave preference to Full Sail graduates. I’m not telling you this is the industry norm, because I have no idea. But I can tell you this. I’ve worked at an ABC affiliate, three multimedia companies and am now the Art Director for a publicly traded international manufacturer. All of them had heard of Full Sail and all of them hired me. As I said before, my portfolio was my key. But Full Sail help to refine that key. The extra questions I asked in lab helped me. My ambitious senior project helped me. The time I spent picking teachers brains helped me. The broad range of tools I was taught helped me. The equipment on which I was taught (that was not available in any school in my home state) helped me.

Every person in my class (who applied themselves) that I continue to talk to is doing well. My best friend is making $600 a day doing ProTools work for major bands. My great friend from high school is flying around the country doing video work. I am doing what I love right here in my hometown.

Is Full Sail expensive? Yes. So are many other colleges around the country. Is their degree as prestigious as they would have you believe? No. Credits are not transferable in many cases if you decide to further your education. Yes, they want your money, so they have a glitzy sales pitch to get you to go. But more than most other schools, they are a business. Any business that offers a sub par product will fail eventually. But Full Sail has done just the opposite and is rapidly growing. If the school was as horrible as many of these posts would lead you to believe, why do thousands of students a year continue to attend? Why does Full Sail enrollment levels continue to rise? Why has it's campus and facilities grown like a wildfire? Like any college around the world, Full Sail is what you make of it.

Fullsail is a fantastic school your all completely off base. The school has 2 major problems I have seen which go with your arguments. 1. They do have teachers that know their stuff but aren't good at conveying that knowledge to the students and 2. Yes - Fullsail does let in a lot of retards honestly what school doesn't. There is nothing quite like fullsail - Your surrounded by creative people and there is always a way for you to get help from your instructor. The program is fast paced but once it's done you never have to go to any other school again. I'm so tired of people complaining about how fullsail didn't hand them a job or crying about how they got tricked I receive tons of leads from career placement a week all I have to do is make an effort.

I think the worst mistake people make is that they think Fullsail will hand you everything on a golden platter. They do teach you how to press buttons but it's your own talent and skill that make the art come. I know so many people including myself that had little to no artistic talent and produced some amazing work (Hell I even became the salutatorian). Fullsail is full of lazy punks that just screw around all day then go home and party and waste time and show up for school the next day clueless about what to do. It's those retards that are always crying about how they can't get a job -- It's not fullsail's fault they are useless. For the record, Fullsail does help a lot of people and place them in good industry jobs. they DO-NOT place people at AMC,Sam Goody and Sun Coast. Of course The people that are actually working and doing something with their lives are to busy to bash fullsail and cry about how the fullsail monster ruined their lives.

Comments: For all those critical of Full Sail, it really isn't as bad as what you think. Since Full Sail has no entrance requirements (save for a HS Diploma or GED), anyone can get into the school, and all too often the school gets cluttered with untalented pupils. Full Sail truly is one of those schools where you get out of it what you put in. Oh, and that rumor about the FS grad who went out, got a job at Blockbuster, and placement considered that an 'industry job'? Yeah, not true.

I graduated from Full Sail from the Digital Media program, and found a rewarding, paying job within 3 months (and this is including spending a half of a month in Europe following graduation). I make websites and graphic advertisements for a local Orlando firm, and so far the experience has been very rewarding. The placement department gives you viable leads, and will go out of their way to help you have the best presentaiton of yourself that is possible. I just recently took on a lab specialist position in addition to my current job because I believe in the school and what it can do for people whose real dream it is to be in this industry.

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