What to Expect on a Behind the Scenes Tour of Full Sail Real World Education
Here are a few guidelines to help individuals prepare for a college tour, especially one at Full Sail.
First, give yourself enough time to tour the school. Generally schools offer specific time frames available for tours so that as a prospective student, you really get to see a good amount of campus, if not all of it, depending on the size of the school you’re touring. The Full Sail Behind the Scenes Tours take all day. You need a good five to six hours to walk the school, speak with tour guides, and see what the school has to offer for you. If you don’t plan your time well, you’ll miss out and miss some of the great features as school does have to offer. Leave time for questions as well. You might find that the one question you have wasn’t answered, but could easily be if you allow yourself that time. I see this often at Full Sail, but this piece of advice is useful on any school tour. By the end of a tour, you might be tired, so it’s also a good idea to write down your questions before arriving. You can check them off of your list as you receive the answer, and even write down the answer if you think you’ll forget. If you’re visiting several schools, you just might refer back to your notes.
Take brochures and other material available that is offered to you. You might need it when you get back home. At Full Sail, all of the tour guides are instructors in some form at the school, either a Lab specialist (one who works generally in small groups, often one-on-one with students) or Course Directors, (a person who manages a course). These are great resources on a tour. You’re going to get the answers that you need, if you ask the questions. All of the tour guides are friendly and want to share the experience of the school with you on the tour. Generally we even give out our email addresses. Keep those handy because if you do get home and have a question, that is a great contact to turn to, to get your questions answered.
Second, consider that if you’re touring a school, you will be walking a great deal. Wear comfortable shoes. I know this seems like a no-brainer, but it isn’t. If you’re traveling it’s easy to forget something essential. Make it a point to bring your tennis-shoes, or very comfortable walking shoes. They will come in handy and make your experience much happier.
Full Sail has different programs available: Film, Computer Animation, Show Production, Recording Arts, Digital Media, and Entertainment Business. On the tour geared for the platform you choose, you will learn how each other platform can help you in your career as a student and beyond. For example, if Film is your area of interest and you decide to tour the school to see the film area of the school, you will still walk the school to different locations where you will learn about computer animation and the importance film has to computer animation and vice versa. This holds true for ALL of the programs that Full Sail offers. We want you to have an understanding how the entertainment world is united and how as a mixer for music (working with recording arts) you might potentially have experience to work in the film world. The entertainment field is a united front. Full Sail wants you to understand this and see what the school has to offer you in all of its fields.
Administrative Representatives in different areas of the school, but specifically Career Development want you to realize this benefit as well as be able to assist you in locating the perfect job knowing your interests and area of study. This can be overwhelming to decipher in one visit to Full Sail, however everyone that runs the tours are experienced with the school, either as a student representative, student, or faculty. These are the faces you will see touring you through the school and answering your questions.
Behind the Scenes tours generally offer you all of the information you need to decide if Full Sail is for you, or your prospective student including seeing the campus, and I mean most of it. (That’s why you really need to wear tennis shoes.) You’re offered a general presentation with coffee/water to start your day, toured around the school to see the different platforms, then are directed to the appropriate area where your interest lies. For Film, you would walk into a soundstage, listen to a short presentation while seeing an exterior set, and then ushered through areas of the Film “world” of the school focusing on what you would be learning and doing throughout your program time. Your day would include transportation by your own two feet, as well as busses to ease sore muscles and quicken your day. At the end of your tour, you have the opportunity to listen to more information about the school and grab some lunch.
During this time you learn about the area, the school, housing, work opportunities, financial information, and everything you need to make a decision if Full Sail is the school for you. It’s important that you do get to visit a school of interest to see what it is like on a typical day at the location. Just don’t forget to wear your tennis shoes! Best of luck.
