CS Prep

Before CS Prep I would watch a solution video in CSX or FreeCodeCamp and understand the solution but would always have trouble coming up with the right 'idea/approach' to a problem on my own. I had already worked my way through most of CSX, often times getting stuck on some of the harder problems in the closures and higher order function sections. When I say stuck I'm talking like trying multiple different approaches to the same problem for an hour or so for a day and having to come back the next day. CS Prep helped me bridge that gap. Now I don't feel lost for ideas when I see a problem and I also don't find myself going down rabbit holes with a wrong approach. I learned a lot about how important it is to pseudo code and talk out loud through your logic.  I used to spend about 10% of my time on pseudo coding, 50% coding, and 40% debugging. CS Prep helped me shift my mindset towards more pseudo code which has lead me to much less debugging and frustration.If you've been to the Hard Parts workshops you will be familiar with the style of teaching. It's an engaging style of teaching where the instructor calls on different people to walk/talk through code line by line while giving advice on technical communication. Look, if you've made headway on some hard learning and really want to boost your confidence and analytical problem solving abilities then I think CS prep will help you like it helped me.Not only that but you'll meet some great people of all different skill levels, improve your technical communication, become a better pair programmer, and be on your way for a technical interview for an immersive.Shout out to our instructor Chris who personally helped me work through some tough problems and prepare for my technical interview.

It was such an excellent experience going through the course. They cover fundamentals & advanced Javascript topics, CS fundamentals(recursion, closures, asynchronous javascript, callbacks & higher-order functions, algorithms, etc.), CS fundamentals, pair-programming, coding challenges, video recordings, slides of all lectures so you can review, helpful recourses, the slack community where someone is always there to answer questions. The Codesmith community is so supportive and respectful. Their teaching style is the best I've seen so far and you gain a much deeper/in-depth understanding of the under-the-hood/inner workings of Javascript. The instructor, David, explained everything in such an easy to understand way so as to be able to grasp advanced concepts and was also very respectful and patient. I can't say enough good things about Codesmith-they rock!!!!! 

This is a fantastic class that lights a fire under you, coordinates you with like-minded folks, and pushes you to actually learn and practice introductory Javascript & Programming.Who am I? I'm a 27 year old who's worked in the Advertising Analytics industry (at a big 4 Advertising Agency). I decided to finally pursue software engineering and programming, but personally I like a little bit of structure.For a good idea of concepts you'll master (if you put in the work, of course), you can head over to CSX, which is Codesmith's free online learning platform. But you can come in as a total beginner ==>  to implementing higher-order functions, recursion, and closure.I've taken intro classes before, and am a college graduate who took a couple of programming classes. But those were usually mostly theory and overly-complicated.On the other hand, CS Prep's:1) Immediately practical (I built a basic "Meal Preparation" calculator with 4 other classmates within a couple of weeks)2) Humbling, and with an authentic instructor. Always pointing you to resources outside of CS Prep to enhance your curriculum and help make things click.3) No nonsense, no-spoonfeeding, and VERY rewarding to those who participate in class, ask follow-up questions, and combine your studies with other things like MDN references, or your own flavor of other outside coursework. (I'm partial to Team Treehouse).Our instructor even insisted with supplement with resources outside of CS Prep because he encouraged us to make sure to keep digging until material "clicks", and sometimes different instructors just phrase it better for others.-The instructor does white-boards to walk you through concepts.-You're provided power-point slides after every session, as well as video recordings (Which was pivotal for me, since I had to miss one class).-The hours are intense, but fair. With 3 hour sessions 3x a week, and 6 hour sessions on Saturdays.-A slack channel is provided to keep things tidy and accessiblea) 5 stars for Overall Experienceb) 5 stars for Instructorsc) 4 stars for curriculum (I'd give 4.5 if I could though).Reasons I'm not leaving 5 stars is sometimes people don't take reviews seriously if they're ALL 5 stars, and also the curriculum did slightly leave me feeling that the difficulty spiked randomly, or led me to finding resources elsewhere to fill in knowledge gapsd) No job assistance, as this is a short-term prep program -- but I'm confident it's given me the skills and knowledge and grit necessary to thrive in intensive, long-term bootcamps now.

I loved CS Prep! CS Prep is a two-week course offered by Codesmith for people considering applying to their immersive program and who want to improve their technical communication and pair programming skills, and expand their knowledge and understanding of core JavaScript concepts. Honestly, I was so nervous going in -- I barely had any experience pair programming and there is a group project during the final weekend of the course -- this course definitely pushed me beyond my comfort zone (exactly where I needed to go!) and I experienced more growth in these two weeks of CS Prep than over the past several months trying to study on my own. The instructor (Chris) was excellent as explaining each topic, and calling on students to whiteboard code and technically communicate line by line, as well as daily code reviews of previous "Problem of the Day"s, I gained so much insight into the inner workings of JavaScript. He also gave super helpful feedback on my technical communication video and pair programmed with me outside of class. There is also a course Slack for questions, code review, and the instructor is available to answer any questions you might have between the classes. The culture of Codesmith is built on community, empathy, kindness and passion -- all which the instructor and classmates embodied, and without these things, I don't think I would have been as engaged as I was in learning. I felt supported, encouraged every step of the way. If you're not sure if you're ready to apply to CS Prep, don't let fear of not knowing enough hold you back! Just do it. You will learn a ton, and meet some really kind, compassionate people on the same journey! Highly recommend CS Prep!

Codesmiths CS Prep program was helpful in giving me the exposure that I needed in order to help me understand the things that I had to improve on to become a better me. The best part of CSPrep was the group project. It was amazing building something from scratch and applying all of the things that we learned in CS Prep in order to create a project that we were able to share with our CS Prep Cohort. If someone told me a few months ago that I would be able to complete something from scratch by coding it out, I would've never believed them, which is why I highly recommend everyone do CS Prep.

I found the CS Prep course very worthwhile and surprisingly fun. I've been teaching myself JavaScript from the Team Treehouse curriculum, Udemy courses, and Leetcode; CS Prep however, took my learning to a practical level I feel I couldn't have gotten alone with a course. That has to do with the community involved with CS Prep. Pair programming and code review were by far the most beneficial aspects of CS Prep for me. Working with other people pulls you out of your comfort zone and forces you to appreciate perspectives and implement solutions you otherwise wouldn't have investigated. Also, the soft skills of communication, listening to a person intently, or explaining a solution clearly are in fact skills that must be practiced and developed. Support throughout the course was very impressive. Any questions I had or assistance I needed someone was always available through Slack. My instructor Chris was great, very knowledgeable and down to Earth and always ready to help out or answer questions.All in all, I would definitely recommend this program for anyone interested in attending CodeSmith. There are PLENTY of free resources online, but none were you have to ability to interact with other would be engineers and work on the soft skills of doing so professionally.

I went through CS Prep and was very impressed by the overall curriculum. My instructor, Dave O'Sullivan  crushed it! I am now in the full time immersive LA and can say that without a shadow of a doubt I got in because of the things I learned and solidified in CS Prep.

I had a great experience with the CS Prep class from Codesmith. I attended Cohort 23 from Jan 6 to Jan 22. I'm expecting to take their Immersive program, and took the CS Prep course as it's recommended to learn what's needed in order to learn the skills and concepts required before entering their program. It also provided me the chance to try out Codesmith remotely, since I don't currently live in either New York City or LA.My experience prior to the course had been self-learning through a book that had been highly rated by several websites, FreeCodeCamp, and YouTube videos. I also used CSX, which is the free lessons provided by Codesmith at csx.codesmith.io. The lessons provided good exercises and explained many of the basic concepts and keywords used by JavaScript. Only about 50% of CSX is necessary to be ready for CS Prep. Going into the class, I felt fully prepared to make the most of the class, having completed all of the CSX exercises.I was a little anxious going into the class. I was unsure of how the lessons would go, considering I have never taken an online course. I was also initially nervous about the class size. My cohort had about ~35 participants, and I was worried I wouldn't receive individual attention should I have problems or questions.These concerns were quickly relieved after the my experience on the first day. The instructor, David, alongside an assistant, Chris, did a great job of making sure everyone was involved and felt included. During the lessons, they rotated asking questions of everyone involved. They answered all the questions we had in the chatroom, and made sure that people were clear on everything they were teaching before moving on.Each day was about 3-3.5 hours. Other than the first day, each class begins with a problem you tackle individually. The next portion deals with the previous day's problem, going over a couple of different ways of solving it. The next hour or so is instruction over a concept of JavaScript. After the lesson is over, we split into pairs and programmed together, splitting the time between being the "navigator" and "driver" roles. The navigator takes care of most of the conceptualizing, while the driver is the one actually writing the code, but there is always discussion about the best approach to take. Each days lessons were recorded and provided in the Slack channel everyday, as well as the slides from the presentation.Speaking of the Slack channel, this is really where I think the course goes above and beyond. Alongside a general room, we were provided with a #pair-programming to find partners to practice outside of class, a #questions room for any code related questions, a #code-review room where we could post our solutions to the previous day's challenge (or really any code problem we tackled and wanted to share). We were also assigned a #tech-comm channel, which I'll describe below.One of the five things Codesmith looks for in a student is technical communication. We were all required to record ourselves tackling a problem. Some of us chose easier challenges. and others tackled more difficult ones, but the key thing to do is to explain your thought process while going through the problem. Rather than think about issues silently (as we all so often do), we were encouraged to speak through our thinking, even if we are totally wrong about the approach. The instructors reviewed everyone's recordings (which is no small task for a class of 35).The last day of the course, we presented a final project that groups of 4-5 worked on. It was very freeform, and it was great seeing all the different ideeas people had to show off their skills. My group worked on a JavaScript-themed text adventure with a Rock-Paper-Scissors combat system. I was proud of the work my team did, and how well it was received.I had a great experience in the class. While I already studied some of the things taught prior to starting, it was great to go over them again and even stuff I thought I knew would be better explained. My cohort is still active weeks later, pairing up to continue learning JavaScript. I'd encourage anyone thinking about taking a dive into coding to give this class a shot.

I just finished my CS Prep class and had the best experience! I've learned so much more than just coding. My teachers, David and Jinsung, were truly amazing and were always there to answer any question! Just seeing how the two teachers did things differently was good for skill. Learning how to go online and pair-program with other students from all over the world was an experience in itself, not to mention all of the in-depth coding that was done. Then using the Javascript in a real application for the final project was probaly the best learning experience I've had. I am very sad that it ended. Glad to still be connected with my group and continue building upon my Javascript developer skills. I will continue to go to hard-parts on Thursday nights and get accepted into the remote class soon.

I have to admit, I’m usually skeptical about online bootcamps. When I decided I wanted to learn Javascript, I did everything I could to learn for free and in a self-paced manner. I took online courses, some live classes, meetups, study guides, and bootcamp prep exercises from Full Stack Academy, Hack Reactor, the whole 9 yards. I did this for about 3 months part time.  I will admit that these resources were a great introduction into learning Javascript, but up to a certain point I hit a plateau. The new surface level knowledge I gained from these courses were not contributing to my overall fundamental understanding of Javascript. In other words, I was spinning my wheels with these courses. 

I didn't realize this until I was sick and didn't code for two weeks and then tried to jump back into coding and realized I forgot half the things I “learned”. It was clear I had deep holes in my fundamentals that I needed to address before advancing.

I enrolled in CSPrep after I took a FrontEnd Master’s course called “Javascript the Hard Parts”. The first thing I noticed about both instructors were that they had a very distinct way of teaching.

They always diagrammed everything, especially how the Javascript engine processes the code ‘under the hood’. They would speak in a very precise manner and have students weave this vocabulary into their understanding of the subject. This specific emphasis on technical communication and deep understanding is what I think makes CS Prep a worthwhile investment. 

My CSPrep instructor, David, flowed seamlessly through the course making sure everyone was on the same page and that we continuously hit a deeper understanding of the topic at hand. I believe this “training style” is what led to me to pass the interview for the full time Software Immersive Program at Codesmith. After all, the interview topics (Closures, Higher-Order Functions) were not necessarily the easiest resources to find online. 

I would highly recommend checking out CSPrep and Javascript the Hard Parts. If I had to do it over again, I’d go to their free in-person Javascript the Hard Parts workshops held every week before jumping into CSPrep, that way the new knowledge is built on strong fundamentals.

The search is over. I've been struggling to make serious headway in my solo journey to learn Javascript. This is where CS Prep came along to help me improve vastly than I would have alone. Ryan, the instructor, made learning fun and exciting with his pop culture references in each examples of his lessons. I would definitely recommend CS Prep to others who would like a structured and fun way of learning Javascript. If you are a beginner I would also recommend Javascript for Beginners.

My first experience with Codesmith was with CSX and the weekly L.A. workshops, Intro to Javascript and Hard Parts. At the time, I was brand new to coding, my only experience being Code Academy's "Intro to Javascript" course which I had completed in the previous weeks. 

It didn't take me long to decide that I wanted to apply for the three month immersive program. But as much as I had learned attending Hard Parts and working through CSX, I knew I wasn't at the level I needed to be to pass the technical interview. 

So I signed up for CS Prep. The experience was great, and it definitely prepared me for the technical exam. Our instructor Shane was brand new, and there were a couple times when his inexperience was apparent. But overall, he was an excellent instructor - very familiar with the material, attentive and helpful, encouraging, etc. 

I definitely recommend CS Prep if you plan on applying for the immersive program. 

I took CS Prep from June 22nd - July 9th with the hope of getting into the Codesmith Software Engineering Immersive Program; with its money-back guarantee + tuition rollover, applying seemed like a no-brainer. After getting in, I very quickly realized the curriculum was a lot more difficult than any curriculum (mostly Codecademy and FreeCodeCamp) that I had encountered before. CS Prep did a great job of providing information on a lot of difficult concepts that these courses often skip entirely/gloss over, while still managing to make it accessible for a JS beginner such as myself. Also, the curriculum focused heavily on developing skills such as technical communication, pair programming, and problem-solving, all of which are super important for the immersive technical interview.

For me, the best part of CS Prep had to be the course instructor, Shane. Shane’s energy, enthusiasm for both teaching and JavaScript, and his dedication to the success of his students were what made the course such an amazing experience for me. Shane always had a great attitude in class that helped keep us all engaged, and was super easy to talk to when it came to asking questions, both relating to the coursework and outside stuff.

I ended up interviewing and getting into the immersive program soon after CS Prep ended, mostly because of how prepared the program made me feel for the interview. CS Prep's emphasis on developing better technical communication, problem solving skills, and pair programming ended up being a major help during the technical interview. While the actual coursework for the program is difficult, it’s possible to grow into a much stronger developer if you keep up with the work. Overall, I would completely recommend CS Prep to anyone who is hoping to further developed their JS skills and/or is considering applying to the immersive program.

I just finished CS Prep, a two-week online program offered by Codemith. I recommend CS Prep to those searching for a pre-cursor to a full-time bootcamp. 

CS Prep cohorts consist of 10 three-hour classes. Each class follows an efficient structure - first 30 mins are for individual coding practice; following 2 hours are for a lecture led by the main instructor; the final 30 mins are for pair programming.

The lectures are engaging and allow for active student participation. Most core topics are covered.

The pair programming sessions are invaluable. Students pair up and practice coding challenges together. Students alternate roles between challenges - one student verbalizes their thought process for solving a given problem, while the other student writes code to match the instructions. The routine reinforces comprehension and improves student's ability to logic through directives from others.  

Zero complaints. Two thumbs up. Drew

I was very nervous about starting Codesmith. I enrolled in the CS Prep program and despite the fact that I enjoyed that, I was apprehensive about dedicating 12 weeks of my life, 6 days a week to this program. I would do it all again. I started the program insecure about my ability to be a software engineer, but now I have the tools to succeed in this industry. 

What makes the Codesmith curriculum so powerful and different from other programs? First: the people. Seriously. The instructors, the fellows, the staff, the people they select for the cohorts. Everyone is so supportive. In your moments of deepest doubt, they are there to support you and lift you up. I never once felt ashamed about asking for more help. It's really a special place. Second: the production project. Forget the Snake game. Forget the Chrome extension. That is done in week two. Codesmith does something special and the second half of the program is focused on diving deep into a technology and creating a developer tool around this technology. My team and I dove in deep on Chaos Engineering; something I had not even heard of before Codesmith. This project gave me so much confidence going out in to the job market and has given me a plethora of topics and technologies to talk about in interviews. 

If you're even questioning Codesmith versus another program STOP QUESTIONING. You won't find a better place than Codesmith. Seriously. Do it. You'll thank yourself. 

This review is only for CS PREP.

CS Prep is a great way to get your feet wet with the fundamentals of advanced topics such as High-Order Functions/Callbacks, Recursion, Closure, Big O Notation, and etc.. Before CS Prep, I was stuck on the HOF section of CSX and did not know a single thing about the advanced topics I mentioned. After completing CSX, I was able to finish CSX and pass technical interviews for multiple top tier coding bootcamps on the first try!

Disclaimer: I have not taken the Codesmith technical interview yet (scheduled to take soon). I took tech interviews for other bootcamps in order to gain practice for the immersive program that I plan on joining: Codesmith. However, I would not have been able to have the confidence or the skills required to pass the technical interviews without taking CS Prep.

Overall, I loved my experience with CS Prep. I enjoyed learning from the instructors Ryan & Shane. Ryan & Shane are both so passionate about teaching and coding that their enthusiasm permeates throughout the whole course. I learned so much not only from the instructors but also from highly motivated students. 

About me: Prior to attending CS Prep, I had been studying Javascript, HTML, and CSS for about a year on and off. I also developed an MVP web application while working for a previous employer. I joined Codesmith’s CS Prep online course because it was recommended for preparing for Codesmith’s technical interview for their Immersive program.

The CS Prep curriculum emphasizes technical communication. It’s led by Ryan Trontz, an enthusiastic and helpful instructor. Even if you’re not planning to apply to Codesmith’s Immersive program, the practice with learning to effectively communicate with someone else should prove very helpful in an interview or other development related situations.

Each day begins with a coding challenge and a thorough explanation of the solution to each challenge is given the following day. Following that, the instructor gives a lecture. You’ll need to stay on your toes as you might be called on during the lecture. This method really helps you stay on focused and on track, which is important in an online class. In case you don’t know the answer, Ryan will help you reason through how to find the answer.

After the lecture you’re randomly paired with another student to solve problems based on the lecture. While pair programming, you’ll encounter people at various technical levels. This was helpful for me as it gave me the opportunity to teach people at times which meant that I had to think about topics at a conceptual level. At other times, I programmed with people who were more skilled than me and it was a great challenge to keep up with them.

I can’t say enough about Ryan Trontz. He’s excellent! He created and fostered a supportive environment for learning. He’s clearly enthusiastic about teaching and about teaching people about programming.

More importantly, Ryan is available for students. Although there were quite a few of us, I always felt like he was available if we had any questions or if we required guidance. He asks great leading questions instead of giving you an answer. If you have deep questions about Javascript, he’ll give an awesome, well reasoned reply.

Don’t expect that you’re going to learn everything about Javascript in a short amount of time. However, the harder parts of Javascript such as closures and objects are addressed. It trains you to develop your abilities to tackle problems that you haven’t seen before.

Even though the class is online, the amount of time that you spend together pair programming and working on projects with different partners creates a great communal atmosphere.

I’m definitely glad that I took CS Prep.

For anyone looking for a prep course to get into any bootcamp, CSPrep is the ideal preparatory course.  Our instructor, Ryan, is the most passionate educator I have ever come across and his energy permeates through each student.  CSPrep students come from different backgrounds and varying levels of experience, and Ryan does a phenomenal job at creating an all inclusive, judgement free environment to ensure the most optimal learning experience for every student.  The course moves at an relatively high pace, exploring major Javascript and general coding concepts such as higher order functions & callbacks, closures, recursion, and algorithmic problem solving.  Each session consists of a problem solving/live coding session, diagramming of that day's programming topic, and pair programming.  In my opinion, pair programming is the most crucial component of CSPrep as it provides students with an environment to master their technical communication and to learn how to effectively collaborate with others, both of which are vital to an engineer's career.  Lastly, as far as I am aware, CSPrep's course is never stagnant.  Ryan is very open to feedback and is constantly looking for ways to improve the curriculum to best fit his students' needs.  Whether you come from experience or not, CSPrep is a great way to get your feet wet and experience Codesmith's brilliant curriculum first hand.  

The CS Prep is highly recommended for anyone who wants to enter Codesmith fulltime program. The instructor was amazing. He really made sure you feel a part of the community. For what it is, CS Prep content is very good. I highly recommend anyone wanting to enter Codesmith to actually do CSX on top of this program, among other things (such as doing Codecademy etc).

CS Prep is a fantastic resource to get started as a software engineer. Ryan, the instructor, truly has a gift for teaching in a way that breaks down complex concepts into digestable fundamentals. He's also superbly interesting and clearly passionate about what he's teaching. The curriculum itself is pretty standard, covering the must-know concepts before you're admitted to an elite coding bootcamp like Codesmith ... functions, higher order functions, closures, recursion ... but the magic comes during paired programming and Ryan's live coding of each day's problems. Many times during CS Prep I had an "eureka!" moment as Ryan broke down coding challenges and explained each step carefully.

Another great aspect of CS Prep is the community. You'll be coding along other very motivated students, some of whom are working together in the CS Prep Slack after each class. We share resources and even help each other on code review. Learning coding solo is tough, but you'll have a community to help your coding journey with CS Prep.

If you're set on doing Codesmith in the future, then doing CS Prep is a no-brainer. If you're considering other bootcamps or want to apply to junior dev positions, CS Prep will still give you a valuable boost towards your goals. The learning I got not only helped me get into Codesmith's Software Engineering Immersive, but also gave me the valuable tools and mindsets to tackle any technical challenge.