# Full Sail update?



## bull (Feb 18, 2011)

Ok guys, before I gotta hear it, yes I know there are plenty of posts on full sail, and I've read all of them. However, the most recent is from 2008, and before that 2006. So, I was hoping somebody could maybe give more recent program, as the Show Production program is now a bachelors program. Reviews are mixed, for the most part of the people I know they really enjoy the program. Anybody have any more recent reviews on the B.S. in Show Production program?


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## derekleffew (Feb 18, 2011)

Perhaps you'll find this timely article (and the comments to it) pertinent: Grammy Nominees Put Full Sail University in the Spotlight - TIME .


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## metti (Feb 18, 2011)

derekleffew said:


> Perhaps you'll find this timely article (and the comments to it) pertinent: Grammy Nominees Put Full Sail University in the Spotlight - TIME .


 
Just to be clear, despite what the dude who runs it may say, FS is not "well respected" in the industry (music or otherwise). I don't know anyone who goes or has gone there and they may actually be doing a good job at education their students but their current reputation is such that it is generally of little to no (or even negative) value on a resume in many of the industries they offer programs in. This could change but it hasn't since '08.


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## gafftaper (Feb 18, 2011)

If you were one of my students I would strongly urge you to pretty much go anywhere else. It's perhaps the only institution in the country which can hurt your chances of getting a job. It won't hurt you in all cases, but the general feeling in the industry is that the will have to deprogram everything you learned at FS and then retrain you correctly.


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## Footer (Feb 18, 2011)

Added to what Gaff said... they might be a university now, though their accreditation is not what most university's that give out degrees have. ACCSC degrees are not always transferable to larger institutions. Say down the road you want to get your masters at Yale, Yale probably won't take your degree as real. That kind of feeling goes pretty much throughout the entire industry, especially from people who slaved away at a traditional university to get the BA/BS/BFA. 

Just a quick search brought me to this quote from a university with the same accreditation as Full Sail

> If the degree the student is pursuing is his final degree and he intends to complete education at the same school, the type of accreditation – regional or national – is not consequential. But if a student is likely to change schools before completing the degree, intends to pursue post graduation studies, or is keen on gaining employment with companies that are concerned with accreditation issues, the student may then be well-advised to opt for a regionally-accredited institution.


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## porkchop (Feb 19, 2011)

There are a good number of people in the company I work for that went to Full Sail. There sound program produces some pretty good sound technicians. And these guys still have to work hard for a good reputation. It's not uncommon to know someone for quite a while (years in some cases) before they tell you they went to Full Sail. I think I said this in the 2008 thread, but FS is an amplifier. If you're a good tech, looking to further your experience and grow as a stage hand you will have a lot of access to good equipment and going to FS will probably help you from a hands on perspective. If your cocky and like being in live entertainment, but not necessarily working while there, then you're probably going to graduate FS with a giant ego, and an over inflated sense of what you know and you will probably be poorly received in the professional atmosphere. Basically if you belong in the business FS will get you some hands on experiance that will help (Is it enough experience to be worth the investment is up to you) and if your one of the people that thinks they belong but really don't then FS will make you a real pain to work with.


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## LXPlot (Feb 19, 2011)

Well, being somebody also smack dab in the middle of college search, I may be able to pass on a little bit of help. Truth is, full sail students are not as bad as people may make them out to be, but they also aren't as good as the college makes them out to be. Full sail is not really much of a college, and students who graduate will have little if any experience in concentrations out of their majors. Also, because full sail doesn't have much of an acting program, graduates have a reputation for being book smart but having very little experience in actual runs. As in, they may be able to dissassemble and reassemble a moving light blindfolded, but they aren't getting much experience in how theatre actually works.

If you're considering Full Sail, I'd recommend going for a different conservatory program like CCM or CMU (the ones I know best due to their close proximity to me.) You will still get the large focus on theatre, but you won't pay as much and you won't graduate from a school with such a dubious reputation; regardless of whether full sails is as bad as people in the industry make it sound.


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## MNicolai (Feb 19, 2011)

I know a local FS grad who works nearby at The Burst HQ recording studio as a member of The Burst Collective. The story with him is that he paid a whole ton of money for his education (and now in his thirties continues to pay his student loans back), then went to work for Burst for next to nothing -- for more than a couple years he worked there as an intern and really had to prove to the higher up that he was capable of mixing good music. Eventually the owner of the studio brought him on full-time, but only because for a very long time that guy worked his ___ off to prove himself.

Now the owner of the studio on the other hand? He doesn't even have a college education. He got into the business without needing it, but don't mistake that with "He took the easy route," because he worked his butt off to get where he is.

Neither the guy who effectively doesn't have a degree nor the owner who actually has no degree at all got to where they are by accident. They worked an enormous amount to find their niche in the industry.


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