Deciding to Attend I first heard of Full Sail in 1996, but I didn't end up deciding to attend until April 2002. Just two months later, I was attending my first class, on July 9th, 2002. My decision was more difficult than yours will likely be, as I wasn't simply facing what school to attend, but what field to enter. I've always been faced with having a number of conflicting talents and interests. The debate of pursuing film or space sciences, had long troubled me. My decision to attend Full Sail was due more to a resolution to go film, since I had long before decided Full Sail was the way to go. In 1999, I flew out to Florida for a tour of the school before flying to Las Vegas for COMDEX (to report for my company, BeNews Corp). I was floored by the presentation, the grandeur, and of course, the equipment. To top things off, when I was in Las Vegas on the COMDEX show floor, discussing our show coverage with my reporting team, George Lucas walked past me and made eye contact with me! I was stunned and of little use to the reporting team that day, as I was overwhelmed by the "sign". Another factor for me was that the only other school I was interested in, USC, was just too expensive. I went on a tour of both USC and UCLA in a "Media Workshops" tour, and ruled out UCLA's program in the process (it's a good school, but it wasn't me, and I was out-of-state anyways). Your decision should be more educated than mine! Towards that end, I've addressed some of the major myths and misconceptions about the school and program, and then give you the low down as I see it. Myths and Misconceptions Many students joke that Full Sail spends half of your tuition on marketing. While I know this isn't true (because the cost of faculty, services, and the amazing equipment is exuberant!), it's hard to miss that Full Sail does indeed spend a lot on marketing and appearance. There's no debating that the school has an unrivaled identity -- a spectacular air of great creative miracles happening behind the oval windows. Just as with anything having to do with our industries, you have to try and debunk the propaganda. The most common fallacy I hear from people wanting to head to Full Sail, is the notion that after graduation, they'll practically be Steven Spielberg. This simply isn't true, if it were, the admission procedures would be prohibitively selective and the school would have name recognition by anybody in the industry. The fact is, that any film school you attend will equip you to enter the market, not dominate it. The way in which they prepare you is what differentiates one school from the other. I'll illustrate a few of the differences between FS and other schools later. Another major misconception of the Film program, is that Full Sail will help you become a Director, Producer, Writer, or other above-the-line contributor. The fact is, Full Sail is a technical school; your high school or college counselor would call it a vocational institution. A Full Sail education will make you a better contributor, but you'll need more than FS to succeed above-the-line. If you're wanting to be a Producer, consider obtaining a B.S. in Business/Marketing, and then the Full Sail A.S. in Film Production. The same goes with Writing, except you may be interested in an English degree. In addition to building a solid foundation for you, this will make you much more marketable in the workplace. You'll also have an experience-seniority in your class if you go this route. Many students also suffer from believing they can hold a job outside of school. Full Sail makes it abundantly clear that you won't really be able to hold a job while attending. They aren't joking! Your schedule will change radically every week, and you won't know your month's schedule until the first week of each month (and that schedule is likely to change!). Full Sail has a 24/7 schedule, you may well be working in 1am and 5am labs one day, and 1pm and 9pm labs two days later. Absences accrue quickly, and with a 90% attendance policy, you can't afford to miss labs and lectures on any regular basis (and attendance is taken every two hours). The schedule is easy to adapt to and handle if you're focusing solely on FS. Throw in a job, and you'll have a difficult time passing your courses. Real World Education Though some students become disgruntled at realizing they won't be Spielberg simply for attending, many come away with a skill set that helps them quickly excel in their industry. Full Sail stands apart from most trade schools. The reason is simple, it prides itself in being a technical school. While attending, you'll get hands on experience with state-of-the-art equipment, learn products and processes that will help you land jobs, experience how things are done in your industry (in any program), and learn to cope with strenuous working conditions. I experienced the difference between FS and other schools first hand in Hollywood. My friends at USC never got to know the equipment like I did. They couldn't step on a set and know how to do what they're asked in most scenarios. Having gone to Full Sail though, I never encountered a problem wearing any hat I was given. Full Sail prepares you to work on a film set. What it doesn't explicitly do (in any significant quantity at any rate), is develop your creative talents. This is the realm of universities such as the USC and UCLA. If your sole purpose in life is to be a Director, Producer, Writer, or Actor, you ought to consider the previously mentioned universities or try supplementing a B.S. with Full Sail. Another popular film school is AFI, though the variety of programs are hard to rate. I don't know enough about AFI to properly comment; I wasn't impressed enough to consider it, but I imagine it's another case of "it's what you make of it." You'll learn wonderful things at Full Sail. In the film program, you'll get to setup and configure, load, and operate 35mm and 16mm movie cameras. You'll become extremely proficient with Adobe, Apple, Avid, and Quantel editing suites. You'll experience every position on a medium sized film production, from craft services to directing to audio. You'll experience special effects production and digital productions. You'll design, build, and decorate professional grade sets. You'll even have a chance to be the writer and/or director of a 35mm feature film short. Each and every program gives you a broad array of experience and knowledge that other schools just can't match. Full Sail teaches you how to get things done, but only if you let it... Proceed to 'Making the Most of it' This article is broken up into four pages: - Deciding to Attend - Making the Most of it - Survival After Graduation - The Next Step - Networking - Frequently Asked Questions