App Academy

Overall: if you're looking for a relatively fast track to switching career paths or accelerating your preexisting programming experience, App Academy is a great option to consider. The main caveat is the extreme time commitment required by the course. 80 hours per week of work is realistic; more if you want to excel. If you have other non-negotiable commitments such as family or volunteering responsibilities, accept that you may fall behind and have to work harder. 

The App Academy curriculum is excellent. Teaching competency of instructors varies – some are excellent, some are mediocre – but honestly it's probably as good as you can expect from any coding bootcamp. Instructor support overall is very good. Everything you need for a solid foundation to begin the cohort is provided throughout the application process; what's key is setting aside enough time to properly absorb the material (at least two months prior to interviewing, a month between the first and last interview, and a month between admission and cohort start time). The provided prep material is time intensive in its own right, and most who struggle to keep up didn't spend enough time preparing. Time to catch up after beginning the cohort is almost non-existent. 

What makes aA stand out: 
- Rigid structure of accountability through roll calls, assignments, and assessments. Like having a good physical trainer, you may often hate the diet and the workouts in the moment, but in the long run you'll be surprised how much you progress. 
 - Constant pair programming and collaborative work. Especially taxing for introverts, but enormously helpful in learning how to communicate effectively. A significant advantage over solo/remote study options, and even most university curricula. 
- Outstanding job search curriculum. Lots of very helpful workshops, application prep, and interview practice. 

Can you learn everything taught in a bootcamp on your own? Almost certainly. What you're paying for is the opportunity to learn it faster, make connections with other students/instructors, and receive solid career coaching. Most motivated individuals would still take at least two to three times longer to cover the same amount of material, if studying full time. That's worth considering in the cost-benefit analysis of money versus time. 

App Academy as a 3 month boot camp intensive is without a doubt one of the most difficult curriculums I've gone through. You will continuously learn new material and review previous material so be prepared to plan your time for this camp. The staff here is incredibly helpful with questions, kind, do try their best to accomodate. The material provided constantly updates to try and be up to date with the latest technologies to provide the edge to students competing with CS graduates. In regards to the curriculum, most of it can be self taught, albeit nowhere near as fast and instructional help and networking is a plus.

Some things to note:

While the TAs are a great resource for questions, it is important to know many are App Academy graduates, so some deepter questions regarding the material may not always be provided. I believe the instructional curriculum is thorough, but there is a drop in instruction during the job search curriculum.

Overall, App Academy has been a constructive experience for me and I would recommend this bootcamp.

Let me preface this by saying that this will probably be the hardest 13 weeks of your life. That being said, I loved every part of it. Most of your time for the first 9 weeks is spent between pair programming and attending lectures. The majority of the people enrolled are fun to work with, and the TA's are always there to assist you both in person and on Slack. The entire atmosphere is quite casual yet serious. Everyone is here to get a job and everyone is aware of that. I made it in and made it all the way through with absolutely no prior coding experience (I worked in Real Estate before this). 

After the first 9 week program, there is a 3-4 week job search program that focuses on algorithms as well as job search material (cover letters, resumes, negotiations, interview skills, etc). 

You will not have a lot of free time. People in my corhort spent about 80-100 hours a week studying and completing homework/projects. However, you learn a ton from it, and it is an incredible experience.

App Academy is an incredibly fast-paced environment where concepts are thrown at you very quickly in a sink-or-swim environment. That said, the culture inherent within the program as well as the assistance provided by the TAs and practice assessments give you the tools to succeed. I commuted from Concord for the entire cohort, my average week looked like: 
M-F 
7:30am - Leave for school
9AM - Start the day 
6PM - End of Instruction
8:30PM Leave school after studying/watching videos of material, study on BART as much as possible
10PM Get Home, review everything, maybe have a beer
11PM Sleep

Sat - Study 10am - 3pm
Sun - Study 11am - 10pm

I did fairly well through the course by sticking to this schedule and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge presented by the course. That is not at all to say this is easy and that if you put in the hours you're fine; you need to be productive during that time and make sure you are maximizing your time.

For those interested in attending go ahead and apply. They will send you some material to help prepare you for the course, work through that and see how you feel. If you have fun and are hungry for more then continue with applying, if not leave it at that; software is not for everyone and thats ok. 

If you're looking for resources to practice, I recommend CodeCademy's Ruby course for a crash course on the language, then working through Project Euler, Code Wars, Code Fights, and if you're comfortable enough, LeetCode for practice problems to get you in the right mode. 

I was a part of the NYC March cohort (Mar - Jun 2018) and purposely waited to write my review until I accepted a job after completing the program.

App Academy has changed my life; within 8 months, I quit my old non-technical job, took the course, went through interviewing and accepted a job as a software engineer (have been working for 1 month now). I think very favorably of the program overall, but want to provide some quick bullets to answer questions that I know I had when considering if App Academy was right for me:

1. How long does it take to get a job after finishing the program? 
- I feel very fortunate in that I was connected with a company with an App Academy alum at my graduation night (the final week of the program) and wrapped up my interview cycle with them in 2 weeks. This is not the norm, though. Expect your search on average to take anywhere from 4-9 months.

2. What is the average starting salary? 
- My offer was just shy of $100k at a company in New York City. Friends of mine from App Academy who have gotten jobs in the past few weeks have all been offered slightly more than me, but I hear the average range is closer to $85-90k for App Academy graduates in the New York area.

3. What are the payment plan options? 
- There are 3 choices: (1 - upfront) $17k all up front, (2 - hybrid) $9k up front and $14k in scheduled payments after accepting a job, and (3 - deferred) $5k upfront and $23k in payments after accepting a job. For #s 2 and 3, how you pay off the larger second amount depends on your starting salary; if you sign the alumni engagement agreement (you agree to mentor future students and show up at a/A events), your tuition will be capped at either 23% (hybrid) or 28% (deferred) of your starting salary and you'll pay the lower of that amount or the written amount that you owe. For example, if you accept a starting salary of $85k and you have chosen the hybrid plan, you'd only have to pay $10.55k back instead of the full $14k. Your payment schedule depends on your starting salary as well, but expect to pay between $1500 and $2000 monthly until you've paid back what you owe. If you don't accept a job after a year from when the program ends and you've been looking with a good faith effort, you get your money back. 

4. Does App Academy force me to take the first job I get? 
- No. You can choose to turn down offers that don't make sense for you, but I'm pretty sure if you do that and don't accept a job by the time the year after your program ends, you're still on the hook for tuition since you technically did get a job offer.

5. Will I feel prepared to join the workforce as a software engineer when the program is up?
- Imposter syndrome will tell you no, and that's not totally wrong. There is still so much that I want to learn about software development where I feel like I'm currently just scratching the surface. But, I do feel qualified for my current job. App Academy did a great job of teaching me both the fundamentals and how to learn things quickly that I don't know (Google is your friend! All developers, bootcamp or not, use it daily!). There's been nothing I've encountered at my job so far that I've had no idea how to handle.

6. Who are the instructors?
- The instructors are former App Academy students that most times are hired while they are still students, so they know the material very well but have not yet worked as developers outside of App Academy. The curriculum is developed by lead TAs who take the job very seriously and travel to conferences/attend meetups to make sure it is up-to-date and relevant.

7. Who will my classmates be?
- Students seem to vary in their backgrounds. Expect a cohort in NYC to be around 40 people though, and maybe 5 of them will have a CS degree. Closer to 1/3 might have previous light coding experience (SQL, basic JavaScript) from another job. 

8. What languages will I learn and are they useful in the job market?
- App Academy will teach you Ruby, JavaScript, SQL, HTML and CSS as languages. More specifically, you'll learn Rails as a backend framework and React/Redux as frontend libraries to help you render web pages. Ruby is not used heavily anymore but is a great semantic starter language to help teach you how to code. React, from what I've seen, is where job demand is right now. My current team uses React.

9. Is it really possible to be successful in this program with no coding background?
- Yes. I had no coding background. That being said though, it takes a lot of work and determination to get up to speed. I did the JumpStart program through a/A which taught me coding basics for free after work over 4 weeks. Then once I was accepted, I meticulously when through the pre-cohort prep course (alpha course) before beginning classes. Take alpha seriously and make sure you understand it thoroughly; there's office hours for your questions.

10. Cons?
- It's a stressful environment where you can fail out if you don't pass 2 of the weekly exams. There are only 6 exams total so they don't last for your whole time in the program, but they are very high stress and require a strong ability to focus and mitigate any anxiety that this may induce for you. The prep resources are there to help you (there are always practice exams for you to take and TAs will occasionally have test walk-throughs to attend before the assessments) but you need to put the work in to succeed. My one complaint about App Academy is there is still room for improvement for how TA's provide emotional support to students who do not handle stress well. If that is you, you can still do this program - don't be discouraged! But you will have to go out of your way to ask for emotional support and feedback from your TAs and peers.

I thought the curriculum was good, and the program was intense, but not worth paying 28k for. 

I paid 5k upfront, then paid 23k after I got a job (paid over a year). 

A little about me — I moved to San Francisco with no job and $1,500, so I had to deliver food in the evenings to make ends meet (and pay for App Academy). I attended App Academy from 12/17–3/18.

It took me 6 months to get a job, and the salary was only 67k, which is very low for graduates of the program.

I would say, if you can pay for it upfront (which would only cost you 17k), then you should do it.

If you can’t afford it, just do tutorials from these individuals: Wes Bos, Scott Tolinski, and Stephen Grider. Stephen Grider’s videos are here: https://www.rallycoding.com/. (2/3 of my projects were built with tutorials). Also check out watchandcode.com from Gordon Zhu, which is also fantastic.

The reason I say just do tutorials is because I spent a lot of time just saving up enough money to go to the bootcamp, when I could’ve used all that time to just code and build projects.

Another couple of reasons you should consider just doing tutorials are: the alumni network isn’t as helpful as you think, and being self-taught is much more impressive going to a bootcamp.

I was surprised that doing only 3 projects in your portfolio is enough to get a job, but it is. Obviously doing more would just improve your chances.

If you are struggling with interviews, check out https://www.outco.io/. What might even be a good plan would be to do several projects with tutorials, then go to Outco. Or check out Haseeb’s blog: https://haseebq.com/how-to-break-into-tech-job-hunting-and-interviews/.

Quick disclaimer- I just finished the course, so I don't have a job yet. I'll just talk about the experience I have to this point. 

The way the curriculum works is that you have 9 weeks of  the learning curriculum. You learn Ruby, Rails, JavaScript, React, Redux, SQL, and more. You also create your full-stack project.
The next 3 weeks is the career curriculum. Here they teach you what you need to do to get a job, and what you should expect. During this time, you create a javascript project.

First off let me say, it is a difficult program. When they say 100 hours/week, it's literally 100 hours per week. It is a pretty hard thing to get used to. Also, during the first 9 weeks, there are 6 assessments that you have to pass. If you don't pass 2, your out. So kind of harsh. However, at the end of it, it's a really accomplished feeling.
I would recommend planning on not having a life for the 3 months you are in the program. 

We had really great TA's to teach us the curriculum and help us with all our questions. The support that they give is really great! It's crazy how much you can learn in just 12 weeks!

At the end of the 12 weeks, you have 2-3 projects, a personal website, a resume, linkedin profile etc etc. They make sure you have everything in order for you to get a job.
I just graduated so I don't know if how prepared we are, but all in all, it was a great experience.

App Academy is really hard. I repeat. It is really hard. There is a lot of work. You will not be able to complete everything, but that is not that goal. The goal is to understand and be able to integrate a lot of what you learned into a full-stack and then eventually be a strong candidate enough to get a job. You will learn algorithms, recursion, Ruby, Rails, SQL, React and more. You learn mainly applicable skills, but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of theory being taught too. Overall, a good experience. But, it is really hard, so be ready. You will inadequate a lot. But you are not. You will surprsie yourself how much you know. It just happens, But only if you put in the work to understand.

App Academy was a great experience for me to transition into software development from an engineering background. The curriculum is rigorous and more immersive than attempting to learn on your own because you will spend a minimum of 70+ hours a week on the material. Many of the TAs are great educators and are invested in your success. If you are willing to have no life for three months but come out as a real software developer then this course is for you. 

Pro-tip:  Study some programming such as algorithmic problems on Project Euler and Codewars beforehand, it'll help a lot.

I'm really glad I made this decision to change careers and to attend App Academy. The whole entire journey has so far been very challenging, yet extremely rewarding. From studying throughout the application process, to the nerves of interviewing, to getting accepted, to studying some more during the pre-course work, and to non-stop studying throughout the curriculum. The structure during the technical curriculum (weeks 1-10) can be taken for granted easily, because a completely new, but equally (if not more) stressful challenge arose once we moved over to the less structured job search curriculum. 

Much of going through this program is self-directed and self-taught, with guidance from the readings, lectures, projects, and homework. The instructors are not as hands-on with the students as some may expect, but they are available for questions at all times. This should be taken advantage of to the fullest. The assessments are extremely challenging and stressful, as if you fail to pass two of them, you are dismissed from the program. Be ready to feel behind, feel stressed, question multiple times your decision of choosing this path, but be ready to also enjoy coming in everyday, and feeling like this was the best decision you've made for your career so far. I would absolutely recommend App Academy to anyone trying to decide if they want to pursue this career path.

AppAcademy's program is rigorous and intense, anyone thinking of attending the program should be ready for the fast paced nature of this course.  The experience at App Academy was definitely worth it though.  There is a strong sense of community that is fostered by the caring TA's who go above and beyond to make sure students are ready for whatever faces them throughout the curriculum.  Students form a sense of camaraderie throughout the coursework which is rewarding in itself.  All of that aside, the program allows for someone with practically no knowledge of coding to being ready to create full stack websites on their own.  The availability of resources is great, so an individual will always be able to get closer to a solution provided they are willing to try.  Going through the program, I felt as if all the staff wanted the students to be ready  for whatever faces them in any job opportunity  and that they are ready for what comes next.  The only downside I experienced is that the curriculum itself does not cater to platforms other than MAC OSX.  Being one of the few with a windows laptop, I had to set up Ubuntu on my laptop before the program started by myself.  Other people who did not have MAC systems eventually caved into buying a macbook during the program to make life easier.

To start, I want to say that App Academy is as challenging as everyone makes it out to be. Be prepared to spend 10-12 hours a day studying, 7 days a week for the first 9 weeks. Although there were many stressful days and sleepless nights, the amount of knowledge you accrue throughout the curriculum period is crazy. One of the aspects that I really liked at app academy was just being able to surround yourself around incredibly talented individuals, who are all working towards the same goal as you. It really fosters an environment that allows you to push yourself further.

A typical day at App Academy during the curriculum period consists of checking in at 9am, lecture, pair programming, and flex time, which is pretty much a circle time where you discuss with your designated group about what you learned that day. Some of the TAs were previous students and were very approachable, though at times during pair programming, none are on the floor/available. There are lecture videos and homework  you are tasked to watch and complete every night, which usually take a few hours to complete. Assessments are given almost every week during the curriculum period and they require tons of studying. Be prepared to simply eat, sleep, code, repeat. I will definitely miss struggling with the friends I have made here - it's like graduating college all over again.

If you are serious about a career change to software development, then I would recommend you go to App Academy. Before the course, I did not know too much about coding coming from a background in science and doing some self learning. In the short amount of time, I probably learned more than a year's worth of self studying. 

For the first 8 weeks, you are going to be going to a/A and getting a lecture in the morning and then coding until 5:30PM with some exceptions. After that, you will have homework, which includes assignments, readings, videos, which generally take about 1-3 hours in the earlier weeks and going up to 5 hours as you progress through the course.

You spend your first 2-3 weeks, going over Ruby to practice/learn coding fundamentals. The next 3 weeks are spent learning SQL and Ruby on Rails, where you can create your first website! After creating your website, you learn JavaScript for about a week and then React/Redux to learn how to improve your website. I honestly wish more time was spent on the JavaScript portion of the curriculum, but at this point everything is moving along even faster. You spend weeks 8-9 creating a clone of a website like Instagram, SoundCloud, Facebook ect. This is probably the first time where you are actually building a project from scratch to finish and its great once you accomplished it! However up until you finish, it will most likely be a struggle and a big learning experience.

After that is done, you get to move to the job search portion, where you build another solo project and a group project of your choice, which was also pretty fun/struggle! During this time you also learn and work on skills not related to coding such as resumes, cover letters, salary negotiations. After that you have around two weeks to work on learning algorithms, which are key to getting a job. You pretty much self learn/have limited help during this time and you basically set your own schedule more or less.

Overall App Academy is great for getting introducing you to being a software developer. You should be fine if you put in the work. The assessments you take are similar to the practice ones they give you. Depending on how fast you learn/study, you might have some time off on Fridays and maybe a couple hours on the weekend to relax and do whatever you want. Good luck with the grind!

Before I attended App Academy, I read all these reviews and thought everyone was being dramatic about the intensity. I have a degree in engineering and thought that was pretty difficult to obtain. My degree did not aid in any kind of way with getting through this program. It was actually more intense than my engineering degree. You are so limited on time that you must push through no matter what. There is no time to procrastinate and catch up later (college). 

My daily schedule consisted of starting class at 9 AM and go to sleep at 1 AM/2 AM. There are homework and readings every night. Rinse and repeat. Don't be scared though. Anyone can get through this program if you work hard. Don't give up! Ask yourself at the end of each day if you did everything absolutely possible to understand it. We all learn at different rates, do what you need to. Oh yeah, try to get some sleep...haha

So I am writing this review while still in Job search curriculum at App Academy and I just wanted to give some advice to people that think to apply. First, LEARN TO CODE before you apply. I spent two years learning Java and CS topics like data structures and algorithms in Foothill college. That helped me to understand concepts of programming while preparing for coding challenge and later in the program. This doesn't mean you have to spend two years, but few months of intense learning will help a lot, and I would also strongly recommend to take Ruby course on Codecademy or similar website. Second thing, if you get accepted to JumpStart, don't just do homework problems and think this is enough. This is huge mistake. You should do a t least three times more than homework. Many people that relied only on homework failed to pass JumpStart assessments. Third thing, WORK HARD. The curriculum in A/a is designed the way that you WILL NOT have free weekend. Every weekend you will have stuff to work on. It's very easy to fall behind. Overall the school is great and gives you practical knowledge to be a junior dev. Course also covers general CS concepts like data structures and teaches you algorithms towards the end of the course. Every day you are required to leave you feedback about instructors, and they read those reviews and take steps to improve   program. 

Getting accepted to appAcademy was hard, and completing the course was even harder. I came from a Theater background with ZERO software development experience. I studied for the first admittance exam, and was conditionally excepted. I went to jump start and failed both assessments. I had to take another admittance test—which at first they forgot to process—and then was finally accepted into a cohort the following fall. And then the real work started. I’ll second anyone who says they didn’t sleep much. It’s mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausting. I failed my third assessment by 1 Point so I spent the second half of my cohort terrified that if I failed again my time at appAcademy would be over. But I did it. I made it through to the end. I made full stack web applications. I made a game in javascript. I learned new technologies like React. I got a job in a field I had ZERO experience in a year ago. In addition to all the technical assets I learned at appAcademy, I also became better at believing in myself. You’ll learn a lot here. If you’ve got the time, and tenacity I’d absolutely recommend it. Absorb everything you can, but don’t lose yourself along the way.