F.I.R.S.T. Institute — Local services in Maitland

Seriously check out the program and school before applying I know it’s tempting to come to the school for what they call a creative pack but with the money you pay for tuition you could purchase your own equipment and more . Honestly for all the time and money you invest on the course you could learn it all on YouTube . Yes they have great and amazing instructors who if you ask me are overly qualified and underpaid, They are the absolute only reason students continue coming to the school . I thought about leaving because it just felt like a huge waste of time and money midway through the program , The school feels like a cash grab more than a place to help students grow and excel in their craft of study and for the amount of money you pay for tuition I couldn’t understand for the life of me why wasn't cap and gown included in the tuition . Going here will keep you more focused but honestly everything I’ve learned I could’ve got it all from YouTube . A Few times throughout the course YouTube taught me a lot because the course work would be mashed together and rushed along to keep up with the course schedule, from being out a few days for bad weather . Also this is my truth i wrote this to help someone else who may be on the fence with making a choice and confused to see only one image of the institute ,The staff does an amazing job at making the school look good, As it is does have a film department to do so. I appreciate everyone at the school who did welcome me and help me to my academic achievement . Absolutely and I mean Absolutely do not if you are thinking about moving into there student housing please I urge you to find another living arrangement there is someone Named Mike who is very unprofessional ,rude and egotistical, from my understanding they are in charge of student housing I could go on about the nightmare it was dealing with that individual and student housing I’ve reported him to the school as well as several students, Nothing seems to change .The school turns a blind eye to alot of the strange things that go on in the student housing ,they will say its a Third party provider and put responsibility on the student, Its draining getting to the bottom of things and to be honest someone should call the BBB on them edu rent its horrible ,ima leave that there , this is my truth i didn’t write this to spread negativity but share my experience as I would have loved for someone to share there’s . You can create your own experience this was just mines it wasn’t all bad but if you ask me would I do it agin It would be a big No I would do a lot of things agin in this lifetime but going to F.i.r.s.t would not be one of them sorry I hope this...

When i first joined the program for Digital Filmmaking and Video Production i thought it was going to be something different but when we started editing and actually working on projects i realized i was so far ahead of what the curriculum taught and it was obvious even the teachers realized it.(because i was a self taught editor who just followed youtube tutorials, every edit on my ig @unluccylucki was just me applying techniques from yt tutorials this is just me backing up what im writing in this review.), every single project was easy for me and i did not learn a single thing other than how to actually use a camera (you can just youtube this) and the history of film and importance of early filmmakers (again just youtube it lol). I loved my teachers tho!! respect to all of them and my classmates it was nice working with them and honestly wish i took this course in person (it was online because of covid). I took this course / degree thinking i could land a job with it but i did not(had a couple freelancing gigs but it was not worth it for me with enough dedication people can prob make it work and get farther than me), I gave up and just started working for ups because i have bills to pay and a student loan smh!!. If your thinking about going here because you want to work in the industry i highly suggest to just try your best to learn the fundamentals of cameras(youtube, google, everything you need is online and searchable any question you have can also prob jus be answered by someone on reddit if you find the right subreddit apply this to anything tbh and you can learn about anything), follow video editing tutorials / learn audio design and then go outside or check if any of your friends need any camera work / editing done. DO IT for atleast 1/2 Years maybe even 6 months if you get alot of work and apply for alot entry level jobs you will have as much of a good chance of getting hired as a person with the degree and same amount of work (skill and experience is all that matters in this field). Whenever you apply to jobs the Degree is most of the time overlooked and they mostly care about the projects you have done and if you fit their needs. The school tried to provide us with projects and the equipment but i think since covid was a part of the problem it was not enough to land an actual job (the equipment was nice tho!! definitely used it during freelancing and i use the GVM led lights every single day as LED lights to light up my room purple at night.) I hope this helps someone from getting into the situation i am in, stuck with student loans and a non...

I am glad I achieved receiving my diploma from F.I.R.S.T Institute. The school is a much shorter way to obtaining your certification in your desired industry rather than attending a 4+ year university and having to take basic classes that are not your focus. For my IDL class, we mostly built a good connection with each other as well as with our teachers. The only advice I would give to anyone thinking to attend FIRST is to please be SERIOUS and persistent in attending the school. Speaking from experience, they are teaching you so much in a short span of time (11 months) so the courses move along QUICKLY. This is why I noticed many of my classmates did not make it to graduate unfortunately, and i too almost gave up and quit at one point but I didn’t.. The only thing I believe that could be improved is more consideration into the students learning schedule (such as, giving more time to allow a week/or two breaks, aside from Holidays, in between classes to restrain from student feeling smothered by constant assignments and projects). Sometimes student’s can carry a lot of weight trying to manage school and the real-world. We need time to breathe without every week there is just yet another project to submit within a short amount of time. Besides this, the school has done really well by enforcing “tutoring” days for those that need it on days there are no classes to catch up and get help with projects. I would also like to add that there were multiple times the school did change teachers for my class throughout the 11 months. Sometimes it was a bit frustrating on the students because of how every teacher teaches differently and it can be hard to adjust so abruptly. But if I’m correct, I believe this was done in this fashion to introduce the aspect of the film industry to the students and how often your directors and superiors will be changed around. So please be prepared for things like this. This school is a great way to go if you want to dive deeper into the aspects of the film industry the quickest way. And they DO prepare you and follow-up with you post-graduation to ensure you can obtain a job in your desired career field. Lastly I am also really appreciative of the equipment I received from Creative P.A.K., it has given me a jump-start to building my business. You will not be disappointed with this school if you apply yourself and...