Full Sail University (Florida)

Tomorrow I'll post my essay on UCLA. There are so many schools... Lots of researching. Just to recap; this is an essay I wrote to my parents, that reports the findings of my research of this film school.

Alex Chandler
College Expedition
Full Sail University
September 2nd, 2011

Full Sail University

Besides the big cost of the degree, it's everything you could have asked for! There are three different bachelors degree's relating to film; Film, Digital Cinematography, and Creative Writing for Entertainment. On the bright side of the huge costs, they have many different scholarships that they award (they will be mentioned below in a section called "Scholarships").
Creative Writing for Entertainment is obviously a writing degree, not exactly for me. Digital Cinematography is an online program, where as Film is in an actual classroom environment; more of what I'd go for.

Bachelors Degree in Film:
If I went to Full Sail I would take their Film degree program, and come out with a Bachelors Degree. The big cost is less than it would be to attend a four year university in Los Angeles, but it is still 77 thousand. But from what Joseph says, "most people who attend college don't pay the full amount." Instead they get government discounts, scholarships, and all sorts of things to cut down on costs.
The courses taken to achieve this degree cover a vast number of topics in film production. What needs to be researched a bit more, is whether or not some of my TCC classes can count as some of the courses they show, because I have definitely taken some classes that teach the same things; this might cut down on tuition, or even time in college.
You can scour their website for hours looking up facts and information that make their program seem well worth it. They have numerous success stories, and information on how many students worked on movies that just came out. When looking over the Internet the reviews for this school seem to be fairly good.

Housing:
One of the nice things about the Full Sail degree program is that you get your four year degree in 21 months, which means less cost of living. The downside is that you don't live on campus and would thus need to get a roommate and live in Orlando. On the bright side, Orlando has much cheaper rent than LA. While they don't have on campus living, they have a Housing Coordinator, who can help you find a roommate and get an apartment. According to their website, in the surrounding area of the school, Winter Park, there are over 50 apartment complexes. But they also suggest getting started on living arrangements sooner rather than later.

Scholarships:
Simply put, they have a number of scholarships you can apply for, most of which are for about 3 thousand dollars. It appears I am eligible for the merit scholarship, which is a 3 thousand dollar scholarship to students who have achieved over 30 credits at another post-secondary institution maintaining over a 3.0 GPA. There is also the Platinum Dream scholarship, which is awarded to applicants dedicated to the media industry. The Student Success Scholarship is awarded to students of Full Sail, and can amount to up to 3 thousand dollars.
And then of course I'll have to look at other scholarships to help cut down on the 77 thousand dollar tuition fee. But I have also considered that it might be nice to work for a year doing film jobs around our area, and then go to school. That way I wouldn't have to work while in school and can thus put my best foot forward at being viewed as top of the class.

http://FullSail.edu