Anonymous wrote:I understand that you don’t want to offer your opinion but Full Sail is a huge mistake. A friends son attended and I felt the same way as you. In hindsight, I wish I had said something. Strangely enough, the parent has a background in making sound financial decisions. Always surprises me that seemingly thorough adults are involved in decisions that can be so damaging.

First, and most importantly, non-transferable credits!! That’s a deal breaker for me. Absolutely horrible results.

Second, approximately 60% of undergraduates change their majors. In a condensed, fast-paced curriculum, this is impossible.

Third, the student better have a strong academic record entering Full Sail. Due to not adhering to the standard 4 years, the curriculum will overwhelm a student. An example, friends son not strong in math and had to jump right into classes that overwhelmed him.

I don’t know if this is standard but the student also lived in apartment off campus. So, not only in a pressure filled curriculum, but also had to take on the mundane, day to day managing of all the little things necessary to survive; grocery shopping, meal preparation, transportation, paying bills, medical appt’s, etc., that we, as adults, are used to doing running on background in our minds. Young adults aren’t used to this seismic shift.

Result was all the money parent saved for this child’s college education burned through in 18 months with nothing to show for it.

This is typical, there’s no campus housing.

If you want serious film/broadcast/visual arts, there are several fabulous options. Among which Full Sail is NOT numbered.

A guy from my HS went to Full Sail in the late 90s/early 2000s.

He is now very underemployed.

Ringling Art and Design is a much better school which offers classes in industrial equipment and other aspects of film making. I'd send a kid there, not Full Sail.

https://www.ringling.edu/Majors

So far as I can tell, it lacks the kind of accreditation that is taken seriously by other institutions. That means that credits earned at Full Sail almost certainly would not be accepted for transfer at most other colleges and universities. Keep that in mind. (This is true of many for-profit schools, by the way.)

A friend's kids went. One now does something in movies (special effects-ish -- I don't know enough about the field to be specific). The other took a job with the family business, which isn't show business.

I understand that you don’t want to offer your opinion but Full Sail is a huge mistake. A friends son attended and I felt the same way as you. In hindsight, I wish I had said something. Strangely enough, the parent has a background in making sound financial decisions. Always surprises me that seemingly thorough adults are involved in decisions that can be so damaging.

First, and most importantly, non-transferable credits!! That’s a deal breaker for me. Absolutely horrible results.

Second, approximately 60% of undergraduates change their majors. In a condensed, fast-paced curriculum, this is impossible.

Third, the student better have a strong academic record entering Full Sail. Due to not adhering to the standard 4 years, the curriculum will overwhelm a student. An example, friends son not strong in math and had to jump right into classes that overwhelmed him.

I don’t know if this is standard but the student also lived in apartment off campus. So, not only in a pressure filled curriculum, but also had to take on the mundane, day to day managing of all the little things necessary to survive; grocery shopping, meal preparation, transportation, paying bills, medical appt’s, etc., that we, as adults, are used to doing running on background in our minds. Young adults aren’t used to this seismic shift.

Result was all the money parent saved for this child’s college education burned through in 18 months with nothing to show for it.

Anonymous wrote:A relative of mine attended as an adult. Only result was a lot of debt and no change in job prospects

OP here. That’s what I’m worried about.

If they had the cash to pay fully it’s be one thing. But taking out loans...

Yeah, something tells me Barr won't be making such scams a priority in the near future!

Anonymous wrote:I wonder why these things are even legal.

Hey, if it is a good scam to earn our President money, how can we stop the little guy from following that same star.

A relative of mine attended as an adult. Only result was a lot of debt and no change in job prospects

Anonymous wrote:The University of Saint Francis - Fort Wayne is a small school with an amazing art school, and a lot of kids go to work in Hollywood art shops making serious dough.

Hmmm. No.

The University of Saint Francis - Fort Wayne is a small school with an amazing art school, and a lot of kids go to work in Hollywood art shops making serious dough.

Son of a friend went to Full Sail in Orlando and studied sound and lighting. He ended up working for some Disney productions. I don’t think it was steady enough work though, he has a 9 to 5 job in an IT field, unrelated to that degree.

Anonymous wrote:I too am skeptical of for-profit colleges and ones that are narrowly focused. Other ways to get the skills for the entertainment field.

But I also think it is a MYOB situation

I think students interested in entertainment who are broke and have just OK grades should look into some place like the City College of Ndw York or Los Angeles City College, rather than a for-profit school, or even a respectable private school with lousy financial aid.

It’s also important that kids interested in entertainment learn how to do something like makeup, sound or lighting, so they have a way to support themselves. Making money as an actor, screenwriter or director is possible but hard. Making money as a sound person or gaffer is very easy, and maybe easier than breaking into bartending in New York or Los Angeles.