Is Full Sail University a SCAM? An honest review a decade later.

I am a graduate of the Game Dev program 2010. Full Sail is not a scam. However, I think it is overpriced. And they could have more student support outside the classroom.

"Full Sail is a school where you will learn technical skills" this right here. Im an 07 Anim grad whos still in my chosen career. FS isnt a ticket to the front of the line, FS is a place to learn how to get to the front.

This is very accurate, I'm an online struggling student and have a dream of working on animation since middle school. And this school is so hard, but so worth it. The best montra I could give someone who would be starting is just have fun, work hard, and be proud of what you make, but know you can always do better.

The fact that you didn't do a cut away before giving your short to the point answer. Won my subscription! (I did watch the full video).

I’m glad I came across this video. You basically explained a lot of our perspective of college/University in general. I’m attending FSU for. Business/Management & Entertainment for certification(diploma). The reason I chose this school is the material and familiarity I had in my previous school. But I will say college is NOT a scam but it’s mighty expensive for no reason, especially for certain programs and degrees. I hope anyone who comes across this keeps their mental health in order and pursue your goals(career or dreams) and fight against all odds.

Yeah, I'm in the Digital Cinematography Bachelor's Degree program @ FSU. My personal opinion is that it has honestly been everything I could've ever dreamed for. It has not only began to teach me the basic fundamentals of the things that I need to learn to use and work with, but it has provided me with all of the tools, software, and physical items that I need to get my own thing going, while succeeding in my courses. Full Sail to me is like any University. It offers the correct learning tools and information that you need to prosper in your chosen field, but you HAVE to put in the leg work or you'll be just like the other PLENTY of Americans that aren't using their degree for a better, more intriguing life, and now owe thousands of dollars in student loans. My advice, only go if this is something you TRULY want for yourself & be willing to put in the WORK. If this is you, I would highly recommend Full Sail Uni to anybody!

One of the most honest review about Full Sail University. Thank you for this review my friend.

Great video. One thing about Full Sail that is understated is how much you can learn by you, and all the people you hang out with, being in full immersion of that specialty for a few years. Class 8 hours a day and then you go hang out with friends and talk about what you did in class. Regardless if you learn some of these skills online on your own time, having those skills be all you talk about for two years has an obvious benefit. A decade later, I use what I learned there often; but ultimately you're going to get what you put into it.

I am a full sail student earning my bachelor's in music business. Here's the thing it's not a scam the courses are no joke and the professors are diligent in holding you to deadlines and responsibilities and a code of ethics. They do give you the tools you need to succeed but it is up to you whether you apply them or not. A, Since I started it's been drilled into our heads internships, networking, mentors, These are things that will help you succeed and find a job after graduation. Just about any management or even office-held position within the music industry requires a bachelor's minimum these days and you're not going to get that teaching yourself online. l for one say not a scam and am very glad I chose them to do my schooling.

I think, personally, after spending about 10 years in the music scene and how it works and now I left that behind me and moving towards Computer Animation. It honestly depends on the person and what they have for discipline, focus, drive, and striving. I agree with what you said about the industry IS hard to get there high up. I'm optimistic about getting my Computer Animation bachelor's degree. I know that what I will be going up against will be tenfold to what I output. But to some people, they love that challenge, myself included.

In 2010 i had to go to a psych hospital because of bullying i had to endure in high school. None of my teachers were allowed to do anything about it because the bullies were kids of high ranking members of the PTA. And they hated the fact they couldn't help me when i needed it. So as an appology, they looked up what colleges i could do incredibly well in while my entire class was in in school suspension. When i came back i was given a stack of appology letters from my class, and a bunch of Full Sail university pamphlets and info. My first day back at school from the hospital was my teachers telling me how sorry they were and how they thought Full Sail could be the perfect school for a creative student like me. But i kept hearing that Full Sail is a scam and not worth the money spent on student loans and tuition. Watching videos like this helps reassure that the school, despite some marketing hiccups, is the school for me. I come from a family of creatives, my grandfather used to sculpt and edit videos, my uncle is a professional bronze and clay sculptor, a painter, and a gourmet chef. My aunt is a writer, and my cousin is going to school for a career in animation. As for me, i have a deviantart with a lot of hand drawn fanart. It's not amazing but people seem to really like my artstyle. Some calling it show accurate to an extant when it came to my brony related works. I want to get into the animation industry, to help bring a certain passion project that would require a certain company to admit their flagship mascot had been tied up in the basement while his Archrival has been ruining it's public image and contributing to the crap animators and writers and actors are going through which lead to the current strikes going on in LA, to bring to life. I was raised with the belief that no art is perfect and that there is always room for improvement. And i will admit i have an ego sometimes and can get overeager with my ideas. I have autism, ADHD, OCD, social anxiety, and PTSD so interacting and working together with others can be very hard for me. But i want to work to gain the confidence to overcome those hurdles while at the same time not turning into the next Butch Hartman or Thomas Astruc. And i think, despite the price, Full Sail can certainly help me. I will admit a lot of the physical activity may be taxing given 4 foot surgeries i have had over the last decade, and yet it only makes me want to prove myself more. I couldn't go to this school due to the price and my parents really did try their hardest to find ways to help pay for it only to be constantly turned down and denied because of it's unaccredited status. Given recent developments especially with the Strikes in LA, i think the creative industry needs as much support as possible. And giving Full Sail the credentials it needs to be taken seriously could be a good start...at least in my opinion.

Wooow that old footage you had is so awesome! Thanks for sharing this

I looked at Full Sail before after I graduated from Purdue in 2004. I did Interior Architecture (haven't worked a day in that industry) and we had a starting class of 130 and I graduated with 13. The "great filter" came at then end of the 1st semester of the 2nd year. I am now looking at Full Sail for my daughter to potentially go to.

Thank you so much for this, so far I've really only heard one opinion about Full Sail, and it was generally really positive! However, I'm aware of how expensive their tuition is alongside a few other factors. This video really helped me rule out what aspects I should take into account, and instead of jumping straight into it, taking things into consideration first is very important. 💖

nice honest take. just got in for the recording arts bas. i think i wanna go through with it now based off of what you said.

Everything you’re saying is 100% accurate. I graduated in December 2022 from the film program and so many kids who complained about the school had no technical ambition and rather told me straight up “i like movies so I figured I’d come here and work on them.” They had no idea what a grind these type of career fields are. One girl didn’t even like movies, she just enjoyed music videos. That being said, If you look hard, there are some really talented and driven kids there who are great connections to have.

Full Sail has improved however they are NOT accredited like S.F. State university or LSU, or any Regionally accredited school. No Credits WILL Transfer to a State University!!! That Is A TRUE Fact! If you work hard and succeed at the training you will have a good shot at a career! There is no auto connection to the network.

Very similar experience for me. Attended for the Simulation degree, a sister program to the Game Development degree. Started with 120 some odd folks, ended up graduating with me and 2 others. Most people got stuck when the harder programming classes started, then over the months more and more people either switched degrees, dropped out, or got held back because they didn't get a passing grade. I will say that I graduated in no short part due to the fact that when I knew I was going to fail on my own, I would relentlessly pursue the teachers and lab instructors for more help and guidance, and for literally 99% of the teachers there they were awesome and we're more than willing to help me out with scheduled 1-1 sessions, general questions over discord or email, and just staying late to help me burn through and assignment. Its a tough learning experience and you have to be careful on deciding on any college, I spent a year in community college trying out different classes before I went to full Sail since I didn't want to feel like I wasted my parents time and money sending me to some Purdue type college where I realize 2 years in that I hate my degree.

Hell Yeah man!!! im currently a student; recording arts matter a fact. And i do love this school.

I am currently in the process of enrolling for the game development program. I must say, yes, it looks very expensive. However, the person I am in contact with regarding enrollment has been very helpful. She has been helping me find scholarships to apply to and is working to see how many classes I can skip due to having an associate's degree in general studies (which I did to skip having to do fundamentals in whatever bachelor's I chose to move toward). So while their classes don't transfer, other classes transfer there. So, if you want to attend there, but want to pay less, maybe see about getting fundamentals like writing, and algebra II and such out of the way at a different school. Maybe a community college. If you can, take calculus at a community college before entering if you want to enter a math related field. I am drawn to this place due to the fact that they 1) are very upfront about the costs, the other colleges I've been to show credit per hour then have lots of other fees and such you only learned about when you got the bill. Which... while I expected the other fees... was a bit of a bummer. 2) The fast pace, I find that if I'm forced to constantly work on something to succeed, I do WAY better. My best semester at college so far was when I had a full 28 credit hour schedule, plus a part time job, plus a writing club, plus marching band. I was so busy but for some reason, I did so much better. When I have time to goof off... I goof off too much. So I'd much rather be staring at my screen like: next next next. 3) I have talked with people who graduated from there for game development that work for game companies and while maybe the degree itself doesn't solidify entry to one of the companies, it does give them opportunities to actually present themselves to the companies and show off what they can do if they play their cards right. They used the college to leverage their ability to communicate with them. I don't think right now that I'm particularly... special. Heck, I kind of have a lower self esteem than ever at this point in my life. I messed up so many times. I already have 20k in loans. Haha... ha. All because I could never decide what I wanted to do with myself. Taking classes... more classes... and never choosing my final degree. But I want to try, and in an environment that will force me to work hard. I think that Full Sail will do that. I have seen many bad reviews of full sail. But the good ones kind of spell it out a little like this video: you have to work for it. You can't expect success to be handed to you. It feels like several of the bad reviews were saying: "it's impossible". Or one of them had such bad writing you couldn't really tell what they were mad about. So yeah. That's my take on it and why I'm planning on attending in a month's time.