App Academy

Before deciding to attend a bootcamp, I did the same thing you are doing. I read review after review, trying to gauge the value a program like this one might offer me. My previous experience with coding was a grand total of one Intro to C++ class at a local community college, and a few of UC Berkeley's online Software Development Certificate classes (none of which I personally recommend, but that's a story for another day). Once I had decided that the bootcamp path was one I would take, I began the arduous task of selecting the RIGHT bootcamp. Ultimately, I decided that an in-person program was the right fit for my learning style. Living in the SF Bay Area, there seemed to be two choices. I asked friends and family, that work in the tech industry, to take a look at the syllabi, read all the reviews, and had a few sleepless nights. I ultimately chose App Academy as the school I wanted to attend, participated in their online bootcamp prep program, and a few months later I was rewarded with acceptance into their program. Then the really difficult part began . . .

This program is intense, it's designed that way and they make no apologies about it. You are forced to constantly learn new material, never truly feeling comfortable before the next topic is laid before you. A week into the course, I was sure that I would not make it. I came home everyday to my wife and told her that I had no idea what was going on, that I was barely hanging on, that many other people surely had a better grasp of the material and I was doomed. I spent hours each day after class and every weekend up at the school, working on homework or studying for assessments. App Academy is quick to point out that almost everyone has these feelings, and it's Imposter Syndrome in full effect. They chose you for a reason, they say. You are supposed to be here. For myself, these feelings of inadequacy continued through the course. Though you do get comfortable with a general feeling of unease and helplessness. I will also say, that despite these feelings, I did feel supported throughout the program. I could ask questions whenever I wanted, help was available from TAs and my fellow students. The bonds formed in this stressful situation, and the assistance that you are able to both receive and give to those around you helps keep you grounded and headed towards the finish line. I've heard a lot of talk about the structure of Assessments, and the policy of being asked to leave if you fail 2 of them. Is the system perfect? No, it is not. Is fear an amazing motivator? Yes, it certainly is. Is watching good, hardworking, smart people walk out the doors early a painful experience? Without a doubt. Is there a better way to do it? I truly don't know. But that is the process that App Academy has chosen, so just know what you are getting into. If you are not able to calm yourself down in extremely stressful testing situations, these tests are going to be hard. But, if you do the work, if you go over the practice tests and make attempts to understand the material to the best of your ability, if you are honest with yourself about the information you do not understand and ask questions, you will be fine. If I made it through, you can too.

As I write this, I am at the end of the program, with just a few days left. The Job Search part of the program is much different than the instructional portion. There is much less structure, the occasional lecture on soft skills, networking, reumés, interviewing questions, and further work on some algorithms and data structures. Some people enjoy this portion, some hate it. Some feel abandoned, some use it to finally focus on what they really find interesting. I don't really have any issues with it. I'm happy to be provided with the school's perspective on how to get a job in a very competitive industry, but the quick switch from an extremely structured environment to one where you drive the process can have one feeling lonely. In the end though, you are the only one responsible for your career and you have to start providing yourself with motivation and guidance at some point in time.

Overall, I can honestly say that I would make the decision to come back to App Academy again. I have learned invaluable skills, and I have a path to a job doing something that I love. There is still a lot of work left to do. I will have to go back and dive deeper into nearly all of the concepts covered in the course. I don't believe that most people come out able to get a job the next day, but I would never have made the progress that I did without the rigor and stress that came along with the program. The bootcamp experience is definitely not for everyone. But if you do chose to take this path, I believe that you will find it very rewarding. As others have stated, and in the interest of full disclosure, I am being offered a sweatshirt as motivation for writing a review. I believe everything that I have written, and it is my honest assessment of the program and my experience in it.

Best of luck in your search, and in making a life altering decision. Happy coding. . . .

This program is difficult. You have to set yourself up to succeed. You should have good work ethic, you basically have to clear your calendar for 3 months dedicated to it (including holidays).The tests are a mixed bag. They can be very hard and feel somewhat contrieved. But in all honesty if you study for them you can not help but learn the material.

I was doubtful at first about pair programming. It seemed to me just a way to offload the workload of teaching a student by having other students teach each other. I wondered how much can I learn off someone who doesn't know any more than me? Or how useful can I be to someone else when I have no idea what is going on? But what actually happens is both of you work through a problem together. There are times when know/understand something better and are forced to explain that. That process of having to explain  your though process is invaluable. It cements your undersand and proves that you know what you are talking about. 

All in all it was a good experience. For best results take it seriously and study before hand. Its insanely fast paced. I doubt how sucessful you can be if you come in to it blind.

App Academy is not an easy program. That being said, you will be able to learn an incredible amount in a limited amount of time. The program will definitely push you to your limits, so you have to be ready to put in the work. While challenging, App Academy has also been an incredibly fulfilling program. Although you will feel behind at times and like you have no clue what is going on, that is ultimately part of the process. Assuming that you put in the work that is required, there is no reason you can't be successful in completing the program.

PROS:
Exceptional classmates --> First and foremost, I have to recognize how lucky I was to have such an amazing cohort. The degree of talent in the room, the relentless work ethic, the shared positivity, and the fun! I'm very thankful for the lasting connections I've forged throughout the curriculum.

Rewarding projects --> I dare say you'll work harder than you've ever worked in your life when approaching your solo / group full-stack projects in the back-half of the curriculum. If you take the projects seriously and approach them as learning experiences, you will 100% grow as a person and as a software developer.

Knowledgeable teaching assistants --> I was fortunate to have an extremely knowledgeable and passionate TA as my circle leader; he consistently did a terrific job of reinforcing the learnings from the curriculum and ensuring that we felt prepared heading into our assessments. The rest of the TAs, some more experienced than others, did a fine job of designing/delivering our daily lectures as well as helping us all out on the floor each afternoon while we tackled our pair-programming assignments. 

CONS:
Absence of Feedback --> As a new student, you'll be required to provide daily feedback on a  variety of topics: quality of the curriculum, how well your pair-programming experiences go, your satisfaction level related to the support of your TAs, etc... and yet (to my knowledge) none of us ever received a single piece of feedback in return. I was very vocal about my desire for someone with experience to review my code or even my progress at any point in the curriculum... sadly, this did not come to fruition. If I'm honest, App Academy did not faithfully deliver on the expectations it set regarding the amount of support we would receive throughout the program. There were times when I was either seriously concerned about my own performance or extremely frustrated with aspects of the curriculum, but no one representing the program ever extended an opportunity to have a conversation about this.
 
Excessive emphasis on passing assessments --> Expect to take tests constantly (at least 1x / week for the first six weeks, not including practice exams). As of this moment, if you fail more than 2 exams, you risk getting dismissed from the program. The pressure was extremely high for almost all of us leading up to the assessments; we were concerned for ourselves and the possibility of losing the friends that we became close with. While I don't have a problem with designing a system to ensure that students are keeping up with the course material, I do seriously question each test's ability to accurately (or even roughly) gauge a student's understanding of the material. In hindsight, it felt like a lot of success was derived from a combination of memorizing code and test-taking strategies that were aimed to prioritize passing unit tests (i.e. scoring points) over genuine understanding of the course material... this last point being especially frustrating because it lies in direct contrast to App Academy's emphasis on prioritizing understanding over finishing assignments / projects. 

Poorly designed online educational materials --> Over time, I found myself increasingly frustrated by the quality of App Academy's online educational materials. As a full-time in-person student, you will rely on this online program to supplement the daily lectures and help you complete the daily homework assignments. As a visual / tactile learner, I have no problem admitting that I regularly found myself completely discouraged by App Academy's approach to online learning: giant blocks of dense (often highly technical) text, static (non-interactive) code-snippets, poorly edited videos with outdated material, UI that lacks search functionality, etc... and you'll frequently find topics that App Academy decides to send you elsewhere on the Internet to learn about. 

HTML / CSS education needs (a lot of ) love --> I would not recommend App Academy's HTML / CSS education above any of the most well-known and freely available resources on the internet. The curriculum peppers in bite-size doses of these topics with several half-hour projects & only 1 lecture entirely devoted to CSS. Almost all of us reached intermediate levels of competency in these topics exclusively through self-learning while working on our full-stack projects.

Insufficient guidance --> This criticism is specific to the back-half of the curriculum, when you'll transition to working on projects and preparing for your inevitable job search. Some examples come to mind: the shortage of TAs to support our cohort and the lack of organization / awareness / preparation regarding project-related lectures & availability of related online resources. I would also recommend regular check-ins between coaches and students in either a small group setting or 1 on 1 (if time permits); the program can often feel like such a whirlwind and the burden is so often laid on the backs of the students to figure things out themselves... I can't speak for everyone, but I would feel SO much better at least having the perception that there's someone here that is willing to actively guide me instead of just passively being available in the shadows. 

Final Thoughts:
Though this opinion is subject to change once I leave the program and make my way through the job search... despite all my criticisms (no bootcamp is perfect), I have ZERO regrets about enrolling in this program. It challenged me to grow in ways I have never experienced in an academic or professional setting. It gifted me some amazing new friendships and connections that I'm extremely grateful to walk away with. It's worth noting that bootcamps are absolutely not made for everyone... the firehosing of information, the lack of sleep, the pressure, the impostor syndrome... this can often feel like an extremely stressful environment (on your body and your mind)... but if you're up for the challenge, this could very well change your life.

Simply put: App Academy was worth my time and effort (and it requires both in huge quantities).  I do have specific issues with the program, but as you attempt to weigh those against the first sentence, remember that no bootcamp, no undergrad, no educational program will ever be perfect.  You know the old adage 'you get out what you put in?' App Academy will absolutely convert your effort into the desired result.

One piece of advice that I don't think is specific to App Academy:  only compare yourself to yourself.  I guarantee there will plenty of people who seem smarter or better at everything.  Ignore them.  Only you know if you're putting in the time, if you're staying engaged throughout the day, if you're holding yourself accountable to be the best that you can be.  Do your best and the rest will take care of itself.

PROS:
 - The staff - the TAs (catchall term for instructors) are uniformly knowledgeable and excited to teach.  Nearly every lecture was well presented, well communicated, and directly relevant to the material.
 - The material - the curriculum is rigorous and challenging.  Many of the projects that we struggled through in the first weeks will make valuable portfolio additions when we go back and attack them with everything we've learned.  
  The rhythm for most of the curriculum section is learn material - > assessment -> pivot to new material.  This can give you a feeling of whiplash, but what remains constant is the idea that you 'always be learning.'  I feel much better equipped to learn new things in a short period of time than I think I would have had the transitions been more gradual and forgiving.
 - General culture - For 12 weeks the fellow students in your cohort will be your allies both in learning and life.  Nobody else will really understand what it's like to go through the program.  This might be specific to my cohort, but from what I've seen of other cohorts the sentiment holds true.  Beyond that though, the general culture, the interaction between students and students, students and staff, and aA employee culture are all just really positive, really goal oriented and at the same time really forgiving.
 - Project phase - After the curriculum, you'll work on projects.  Working on full stack projects was just a fantastic way to tie together all the things we'd spent the last 8 weeks learning.  There is, however, a somewhat stark drop off in how much help you'll get from staff from the course curriculum phase to the project phase.

CONS:
  Feedback void - Every day you'll be required to give feedback on your partner for the day, and several times throughout the course you'll be asked for feedback on the experience as a whole.  At no point was I given any indication that my feedback was considered.  Several times throughout the course I specifically asked to hear the general sentiment of feedback people were leaving about me, and I got no response (beyond 'yes we can do that' but then nothing).  To be clear, I do believe that feedback I left was at least read by human eyes, but that's just a hunch because again, communication was an entirely one way street of me to anonymous form.
 Further, beyond assessments testing basic functionality of your code, there is no feedback around code style, code smell, or overall code practices.  The code we're exposed to in the project skeletons and demo is generally good and tightly written, but there's no checking to see if any of that has sunk in.  I was particularly disappointed by this because on day 1 a TA made a point of saying that aA graduates write more readable, cleaner code than CS graduates, but then there was just no system in place to ensure that.
As far as I know no human ever evaluated the quality of my code.  Maybe the lesson there is, 'if it works, it works' but that seems short sighted and not in keeping with the idea of producing quality software developers.

I'm resisting leaving feedback on the job search section because I'm in the middle of it now.  That said, thus far we've covered basic algorithms and data structure in greater depth than we did during the curriculum.  We've worked on our resumes, our personal pitch, and what to expect from the whole process.  I think I won't know the true value of the job search support until some time after the program.

PS I did a fair amount of research into various bootcamps before I decided on aA.  Obviously my experience is limited to the one I choose, but investigated Hack Reactor, General Assembly, and Berkeley Boot camp in addition to aA.  Of those, only Hack Reactor seemed up to the same level as aA.

How does 4 stars in curriculum and 4 stars in job support get an overall 5 stars? Simply, you have to look at the whole package, my only critiques with the curriculum are the tech stack. I was looking for a course that offered python in its curriculum but had to compromise for what I felt was the best instruction and program. I don't want to gush or be over the top, but through people I know in industry and from reading on forums I came to the personal conclusion that App Academy was the best holistic package, setting me up for a career in Software Development. All I can do is point to their self proclaimed acceptance rate of 3% and their longstanding subscription to the pay-after-employment model they pioneered. It truly shows that they are invested in their students and have faith backed by dollars and success stories to show that this model works.

I personally believe my experience at app academy was very unique, as I was the youngest of my cohort and I was 1 of 4 African American students, so on top of the stress of the curriculum and assessments  I had a series of other problems. But, the first sign of distress the staff picked up and wouldn't let that effect my performance through out the course. This open line of communication between the director and my circle TA allowed me to be prosperous through out the course and grow not only as a developer but as a person. 

-Darian P. 

I feel like I could write a novel on my time at App Academy, but I'll try to be brief. Without question, a/A was the most intellectually stimulating, intense, and overwhelming experience I've ever been a part of. If you're only reading this review because you heard elsewhere that the curriculum requires about 90+ hours of work per week and you're just trying to ascertain whether it's even possible to work that much, you can stop reading here. It is absolutely in that ballpark. Of course, it's different for everyone and some topics will come easier to some folks. I didn't find that I was spending 90 hours every single week, but the time really begins to add up quickly between the 45-minute commute there, morning lecture time from 9 AM - 12:15 PM, afternoon pair programming from 1:30 PM to 6 PM, another 45-minute commute home, and then any required readings, videos, and homework for the following day's material which could often take up to 3 or 4 hours. All of that happens 5 days a week, with no holidays or time off. It also wasn't completely unheard of for members of my cohort to be in about an hour early or to work through lunch in order to solidify some of the concepts.

I can say that I WAS able to carve out a little time on the weekends to maintain my sanity, but for at least the first half of the curriculum (when assessments are on Mondays) every minute you spend on the weekend not studying is just going to fill you with a combination of guilt and dread on top of the stress already placed on you by the rigor of the course. As other reviews have mentioned, the assessments are not easy but they are always very fair. It is definitely not subjective in any way and assessments are graded solely based on how many test specs you can get to pass before time runs out. The quantity of material you need to know for any individual test is large and studying will sometimes feel insurmountable. However, it is absolutely possible for every person in the cohort to get a perfect score since the tests are not designed to trick you or test you on something you weren't explicitly told to study for.

Anyone who isn't scared off by the absolutely massive scale of the curriculum and the short timeframe you're afforded to cram it all into your brain in a useable way will be rewarded with an incredible toolkit and the confidence to apply for any software developer job. I'm in the middle of my job search currently and I'm applying to tons of stuff, including and especially jobs that work on a different stack than App Academy teaches, strictly because I am now confident that there is nothing I can't teach myself using the skills I gained at a/A.

Lastly, I can't say enough good things about the Teaching Assistants at a/A. They are super knowledgeable, great at debugging (as they likely see similar issues from cohort to cohort), and are genuinely invested in your success. I asked for help often and was never made to feel inferior or bad about it in any way. I expect that the curriculum may change as long as new languages, frameworks, and technologies are always popping up in the tech world. However, a/A will remain one of the elite coding bootcamps as long as they continue to train their staff the way they obviously have been.

At no point will you feel like what you have to do is humanly possible, like learning javascript in a week, react in a weekend, redux in a day. but at the same time you will never feel like you are alone and have no help. It is easily both the hardest and most rewarding thing Ive ever had to do in my life. IF you can actually get in then you have to just suck it up and put in that 100+ hours week because If you can get in then you can finish the program.. it all depends on your dedication.

A little about me, I came from the civil engineering field with no experience with coding except one or two courses in college. I went to App Academy looking to learn a new skill and shift my career towards software engineering. Below is my  experience of the course.

Pros:
- Large amount of materials, everyday is a new topic. They make you learn continuously with time practice and put concepts into use.
- Staffs are supportive and helpful. Staffs are always there to answer a technical question or to talk about other issues like handling stress. Most staffs have gone through the course and have great ways/tips to help jiggle all the different tasks.
- Lots of pair programming. Gives the opportunity to work with different people and to practice talking about programming and explaining things in easy to understand ways.

Cons:
- Tons of work. In addition to lecture/pair programming during the day, there are hours of work on most nights like readings, homework and reviewing the day's solutions. There is really no time to do anything besides learning.
- Stressful, physically and mentally. It can be difficult to get enough sleep trying to keep up with the program. Also, it's rare to completely finish a day's problems during the day, so there's always the pressure of falling behind.

Even with all the work and stress I had to deal with, I think attending App Academy was the right choice. It has taught me a lot and I feel like I have a better chance to change my career afterwards.

A bit about me, I came to App Academy from 6 years in a non-software engineering career, with a bit of HTML, JavaScript, and CSS experience.

Pros:

- You will learn a lot and very quickly. The schedule of lectures and projects means you will be learning new things and practicing them constantly

- Excellent staff. Supportive, knowledgable and fun

- Tons of additional resources for you to go back to when you complete the course

Cons:

- It is stressful, the volume of work combined with the pressure of testing will make you stressed.

- A lot of outside work is necessary. You will need to be able to self-motivate to get through the hours of homework each night

I found App Academy incredibly rewarding. I learned more than I thought was possible and collaborated with a passionate and intelligent group of people. If you're prepared to put in 100+ hours a week, they'll prepare you to change your life.

I already knew App Academy would be tough before I applied, but I never would've thought it was the most difficult experience I had ever imagine. As someone with no prior coding experience, I would say the first few weeks were really hard on me and it doesn't get easier. Eventually, it's something that everyone gets accustomed to. Before I knew it, it was 3 months already and I can finally tell people that I'm a software developer.

To sum things up, App Academy is harder than anything you imagined, but it will also be the most rewarding experience in your life.

Scroll through the other reviews, but stop Here.

App Academy is hard, they tell you about not knowing the difficulty and it’s kind of true, the problem is the exams get longer and your more at risk of being behind so probably on average it does get harder. I don’t know why they say that but it’s probably rooted at the top level. This is what you need to know.

To get into App Academy it will be pretty hard to just apply and pray...you need to Study. If you do study than look for the app academy problems online or go on GitHub(entry level) and search for them. Jumpstart can help if your background is weak(only couple months), but I certainly noticed an edge for those who did Boot Camp Prep(I didn’t and I was a little envious). 

So who Am I ? Well I just graduated Today...take my review with respect to that aspect of App Academy’s curriculum. Reviewing them is a little tough because everyone is different, some people pick it up faster(I’m diligent so it’s at what I call a normal pace) and others pick it up faster, but those people which will be in Your cohort have some type of strong technical background most likely. The tests are hard and it is true you can’t tell which one is the hardest normally due to the differences in people. They will overwork you on purpose and try to see if you can pass because if you can’t they want you to fail out. Part of the reason is the last ten days of the main part of the curriculum they let you work on the full stack, but it’s an extremely expensive operation and probably not profitable for them if you can’t do the basics of coding. Not to mention once you start the Full Stack project you need to be able to do it mostly on your own so you can put it on your Resume and say “I did that.” 

The best part? The Teacher assistants without a doubt. I was actually surprised at home many there are(around six plus the main instructor). The teacher assistants are highly skilled and during the course you will likely learn the most from them more than anything else. 

When you put it all together App Academy’s program is very good and costs quite a bit of capital to run, remember these teacher assistants are paid well. 

A couple of last notes. They are now like a well oiled machine. They hire in advance, train the next leaders before they leave, prep the next cohort as soon as you start yours, and they do not stop for whatever reason.....in App academy there are no days off and they work through almost all holidays. 

If you want to go to App Academy I recommend it. Better if you can pair it with a degree, but standalone it’s good too. If I was you and you were accepted I would not hangout on the weekends. I went to a wedding one day and felt behind the entire course because of it. There’s so much homework that catching up is really hard and the weekends are for studying the tests since it’s pointless to do the homework if you can’t pass the test. Overall four stars because of the lack of support for stressed out individuals. They say talk to us, but it’s not very inviting and I took it as a clue for an opportunity for them to say to you “this course is not for everyone.”

Students attending App Academy come from all over the world with drastically varying backgrounds, however everyone just loves to code or is passionate about technology. From the moment you walk through the doors you'll start engaging with people that'll make you feel right at home. The curriculum starts off with Ruby and Rails in order to ease students into a programming mindset and learning the MVC architecture widely accepted in web development. It late transitions to pure JavaScript through the MERN stack. Throughout the course you will build projects, utilities, games, things you never thought were possible just through typing a few lines of code. Overall this was an amazing experience, and if you are passionate about coding and don't know what to do about it, App Academy is definitely the right choice.

Full disclosure: AppAcademy promised my a hoodie for this review.

As we took the program, every week aA has asked from 1-10 how likely we would be to recommend it to a friend. Every week I have answered 10/10, and I still would.

I came to aA after having studied CS formally, as well as having a lot of experience working as a developer in the past, just looking to reskill to keep up with the industry. This is not the story for most students, and you certainly don't need prior experience to succeed, although you will probably have to put in more effort before-hand to ensure you understand the basics.

AA is as difficult as everyone says. I have probably spent 100-120 hours working on material every week since the program started to keep up with the readings. Expect to spend every waking minute once you start doing nothing but studying or coding. Your life will be AA; it is a bootcamp after all. No nights, no weekends, no holidays (we were expected to come in Memorial day).

You will come out of this knowing how to develop a full stack application, as well as have a portfolio of several projects to show an employer. You will learn a few basic CS concepts (a very small introduction to DS/A), but without college experience you will probably need to spend a bit of time doing additional independent study after the cohort, during interview prep. Compared to a college degree where you will learn more of the academic CS concepts, but have a lot less to actually show.

You will also get through this much faster, and cheaper, than going for a four year degree. I personally feel that actually being able to build a real app, something a lot of college curricula spend too little time focusing on, is a huge advantage over traditional study.

There are a few negatives. Most of the project work you complete before your fullstack project will not actually be usable for portfolios, although it will teach you a lot. You will not always get a good pair, although almost everyone you work with will become your closest friends for the next 12 weeks. There are also some policies that could use some reworking. Prior to my application, it was not clear that the program also had a
preliminary "foundations" course, four weeks of self directed study to prep for the program (which you absolutely need to do if you don't have experience!! make sure you are comfortable with this material on day 1 of in person), and this could have been made more transparent prior to applying. Some of the material is a bit outdated, which is expected given how fast technologies evolve and new versions come out. The curricula is constantly under development, but some aspects may lag slightly behind.

I still say, given the choice between this and a CS degree, this will be more useful to you practically, as you will actually be building real applications in what is equivalent to less than a semester of college. AA is extremely prestigious, and I would not have decided to come here if I wasn't going to be proud to include it on my Resume.

App Academy was an awesome experience. I think a lot of students (including myself) went in worried about assessments and potentially being dismissed. Although the threat is definitely real, the staff is incredibly supportive both academically and emotionally. Most, if not all of the instructors you will work with on a daily basis are former aA graduates who empathize with struggling students. It's a demanding three months, but your hard work pays off. Best of all, you'll get to work with some really amazing people and make lifelong connections.