I understand that many people have had a “great” experience at Full Sail University. Initially, I assumed that complaints were from individuals who struggled with the material or had other issues. However, I’m dropping out, not because of difficulty—my GPA is strong and I only had 5 months left—but because I believe the program is a waste of time.

By the 17th month of a 22-month accelerated Bachelor of Science in Game Design program, you’d expect students to know basic skills, like moving a block in 3D space. You’d also expect them to have a solid understanding of blueprint functionality, or at least be able to communicate their goals using pseudo-code.

Instead, I was placed in a group with two students who, at this stage, seemed to lack essential skills. It appeared to me that they couldn’t have passed their previous classes without the staff passing them fraudulently.

My experience at Full Sail was mostly positive, and the program was useful for providing a general overview of game design, helping me identify areas to research further. However, towards the end of my time there, I encountered many students who, despite being halfway through or in other classes, clearly hadn’t grasped the material from their previous courses.

There are key classes where demonstrating knowledge is crucial to progress. It seems to me that the faculty might be pushing students through the program and finding excuses to give passing grades to maintain their statistics.

When I voiced these concerns in public spaces, I was met with strong resistance from Full Sail supporters, which felt unusually defensive and almost cult-like.

Given these issues, I struggle to see the value of a degree from Full Sail if students who don’t meet the minimum standards are still passing.

But again since @tom sloper struggled to find the nexus of this post…. how much blueprint scripting should a student in month 17 of a 22 month bachelors program understand? (assuming it's game design and they use unreal engine for their class curriculum)

Gylden_Drage said:
I’m dropping out, not because of difficulty—….but because I believe the program is a waste of time.

Okay, so is that the thrust of your post? You're just telling us why you're dropping out of Full Sail. So what's your plan now? Going to finish your college education at a different institution? If so, which one(s) are you thinking of? Are you looking for advice, or commiseration, or validation…?

@Tom Sloper I am retired and have multiple incomes from property rentals. I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing.

I was in a unique position as this was my “hobby degree” but I can't help but think this school is largely a fraud if they are passing people arbitrarily.

I'm asking, how much blueprint scripting should a 17 month of 22 month bachelors game design program understand? If they are in fact just giving away degrees to people who have money, what does that say about those that do put in the work there?

Why does everyone seem to get so defensive and triggered by this?

Everyone seems to focus on why I'm asking this, or going around my question. Interesting gamedev.net would be hostile in receiving this question.

@Tom Sloper Perhaps I am looking for validation, because I can't be the only one that thinks this institution is a fraud.

Gylden_Drage said:
I'm asking, how much blueprint scripting should a 17 month of 22 month bachelors game design program understand? If they are in fact just giving away degrees to people who have money, what does that say about those that do put in the work there?

Why does everyone seem to get so defensive and triggered by this?

I was not being defensive or hostile. I was not triggered. It just seemed to me like your real point was that Full Sail was a disappointment so you were dropping out, so I asked a follow-up question, NOT assuming that you are a retired person. How could I know that? I can't answer your blueprint scripting question myself. When someone does tell you how much blueprint scripting you should know, what then? (Still asking a follow-up question.) I don't think a retired person needs to be validated for deciding to drop out of college. I'm sure you make perfectly good decisions, including this one.

Full sail is a disappointment, but if you are a manager of a studio looking at resume's applications and say many of them have full sail bachelors in game design listed.

And none of them seem to meet the bare minimum on what you would expect, is that degree worth anything?


I get it someone posting that might sounds like a 20something kid just dropping out because big mad. I recognize I am in a unique situation. but isn't there some ballpark in what kind of functionality a student in a bachelors program should be able to script?

Okay, so is that the thrust of your post?

Trying to find out if I'm actually crazy here because while your questions merit, I was met with similar questions but with much more hostility among FullSail faculty and alumni.




You're just telling us why you're dropping out of Full Sail. So what's your plan now?

My plan is to continue learning on my own. I already have a part time job with a professional studio and they share the same sentiment about most for profit college mills. Again, a very rare and unique situation with the company I found. I get it I am a very strong edge case, outlier, and I probably should have prefaced with that and dug more into the focus on questioning how much the degree is worth or it's validity rather than venting my frustration as really explaining why or the fact that I am dropping out is pointless in this discussion.



Going to finish your college education at a different institution?
I've considered just simply learning and demonstrating from projects I develop on my own and with other teams.

Otherwise I'm going to continue learning from what I have gleaned so far and develop more technical design projects and modding with the various gaming communities I am also involved with. My wife was thrilled anyways so I can be home more as she begins to start her masters in psychology.


If so, which one(s) are you thinking of? If I do, I might consider Minnesota State.

Are you looking for advice, or commiseration, or validation…?

I'm not certain really, I'm just very taken aback and disillusioned by the experience with FullSail recently. I've mostly had great things to say about it's instructors and curriculum.

But over the time the fact that I have seen online students treated like second class citizens by the faculty. The fact that they are passing people from classes I cannot fathom how they are passing when they can't even manage how to navigate folders on windows 10/11. Click a block and drag it into a spot in the viewport in the level. Or understand how to pass basic variables. I think this is a problem that needs more visibility.

I think this overall is worthy of discussion as many prospective game designers and developers look to fullsail a great option for breaking into a new career. Though I think the game dev community should consider my experience and perhaps put collective pressure on institutions that seem to be printing degrees, as a fake degree flooding the application pools of many companies. Giving prospective designers a false sense of confidence if their instructors are not properly grading their material if it's sup par.

Maybe I'm wrong.

When someone does tell you how much blueprint scripting you should know, what then?

I suppose it's either “Yes they don't need to know that much” and I have to agree to disagree.

or “No they should know the basics if they're toward the end of their program” then I feel like I'm not as crazy and gaslit as I feel like FS has made me out to be.

Gylden_Drage said:
When I voiced these concerns in public spaces, I was met with strong resistance from Full Sail supporters, which felt unusually defensive and almost cult-like. Given these issues, I struggle to see the value of a degree from Full Sail if students who don’t meet the minimum standards are still passing. …. how much blueprint scripting should a student in month 17 of a 22 month bachelors program understand? (assuming it's game design and they use unreal engine for their class curriculum)

Like all schools, what you get out of education is almost entirely about what you put into it.

From my perspective with a couple decades industry experience, grad school, and have worked as adjunct university CS-department faculty, Full Sail is one of the better video-game specific schools, however, it is sub-par relative to traditional degrees.

I've worked with several fresh graduates from the school and while each had a decent enough understanding of game related topics, there was always a lack of broader topical knowledge that showed up as complete blind spots. I've worked closely with two who wanted to get into grad school in Computer Science only to learn the school has had difficulty with FS graduates and doesn't consider FS students fully qualified, they were required to take an additional entrance exam in addition to the regular GRE and CS GRE expressly covering topics like computer theory, compiler theory, signal processing, and math. Neither of the two I knew were able to pass, while FS covered game-specific stuff in depth, it simply didn't teach the theory background needed for more advanced studies. In both of those cases we talked in depth about the problems they struggled with, and they really didn't understand the theoretical side of computing, they were only taught enough for the “what can I use right now today”.

Which gets to your amended question: “How much blueprint scripting should a student in a bachelors program understand?” Realistically, in a CS degree, the answer is zero. It has nothing to do with the core science elements.

Full Sail is a trade school. While it is an accredited university, it is focused on the trade of video games, not the science of computer science.

Gylden_Drage said:
I can't help but think this school is largely a fraud if they are passing people arbitrarily.

It is a for-profit school, which always gains a lot of criticism. I tend to agree it is largely justified criticism, but there are families who are loaded with funds and are more than happy to further enrich other people in addition to paying for education. Generally for-profit universities are a bad fit for the 99%, but 1%'ers and anyone with an awful lot of throw-away money can do what they want. Generally the costs to attend are much higher than non-profit schools, and generally the education is more in depth elsewhere.

Gylden_Drage said:
I'm asking, how much blueprint scripting should a 17 month of 22 month bachelors game design program understand? If they are in fact just giving away degrees to people who have money, what does that say about those that do put in the work there? Why does everyone seem to get so defensive and triggered by this?

I don't feel threatened by it, instead I see the person asking doesn't understand what they're saying.

It is an uninformed question to ask. The supposition doesn't match. The two are only tangentially related, a successful graduate could have been taught nothing about them and still succeed, an unsuccessful graduate could have studied it in depth and failed, it is mostly irrelevant.

If you asked different questions specific to Unreal Engine then it would match.

Gylden_Drage said:
Perhaps I am looking for validation, because I can't be the only one that thinks this institution is a fraud.

From what I've read in your posts, yes, it seems to me you're looking for validation and behaving as a victim. Mostly “poor me” as opposed to looking forward and growing. No, you're not the only one who feels victimized by a for-profit school nor the only one who thinks they're a fraud. Lots of people who drop out of their programs feel the same way. Lots of people who can't afford the for-profit school feel it too.

As far as trade schools go, they are a relatively top performer, and graduates generally have the trade skills they need for the industry, and the ability to learn the pieces they don't. I don't think they are fraudulent, but I also think they historically have taken advantage of people's naiveté about the field and are overpriced for the services offered, but not to the level of fraud. They are straightforward about what they offer, what they don't, and the costs involved.

Fair enough. I concede.