App Academy

By now there are tonnes of reviews for a/A and they are all true. The problem lies in who exactly they are true for. We all come from so many different backgrounds and lifestyles that our experiences can vastly differ from the reviews we read. However, there is one constant among us, the will to learn software development and the hope to get a great job in the industry. While I can't really comment on the second aspect (haven't actually begun job hunting yet),  at the end of the day if you want to learn how to quickly and effectively develop software AND have a great time with your cohort mates and TAs, a/A is undoubtedly one of the best places you can choose to attend. 

A few caveats that you should pay attention to. You have to eat, sleep and breath code. You have to constantly give more and more of your time and effort as the course progresses. As soon as you think things might start slowing down and you might have room to breath, the course will get more intense. So one of the best advice I can give to any one who gets accepted into a/A: KEEP UP WITH THE WORKLOAD, regardless of your daily schedule. The curriculum is one of the best, believe in it to teach you the skills you need as long as you can do what it tells you to do. On top of that the TAs (atleast in my "pod") are some of the nicest, smartest and the most knowledgeable people I have ever met. Use them.

The job search curriculum seems to slightly drop in quality (Not the lectures on actual job search, those are great, but the organization and content of that part of the overall course). The intensity never drops and you are forced to be more independent in your work, though do note that this is by design. You still learn buttloads of good stuff, especially on how to actually get a job which is what everything led up to. Despite that it feels a bit lacking coming from the main curriculum.

On a final note. There will always be times when you feel in over your head. There will always be times when you doubt your own ability. But if you are willing to ignore those thoughts and keep pushing through with the right mindset, trust me, you will become a software developer.  Hopefully I'll remember to update the review once I get a job. Until then, good luck.

AppAcademy - the best place to learn to code, pair-programming and become a software developer. 

Pros:
Great resources and environment - Curriculum is designed day by day and it is clear what to learn and practice every single day throughout the course, and it will lead you to be able to build the full stack application by the week of 10. If you get stuck (especially debugging), you can ask TAs and circle leader for help anytime, and they are experienced, welcoming and awesome to work with!
Cons:
Workload and assessment pressure - Even though the course ends 6pm, there are a lot of readings and homework everyday. If you can't commit 70 - 90 hours a week, you might feel behind or not ready for the assessment. Failing the assessment twice means having to leave the program, so there are a lot pressures to handle. 
Context:
I attended May cohort 2017. Prior to the actual program, I attended the 2 weeks program called Jumpstart, that teaches the basics of Ruby language to pass the border of admission. After receiving acceptance, I went through the online a/A preflight materials called Alpha course for about a month. Once the actual course starts, time flies so fast. I gave up a lot of things on weekends for the course, but making apps and solving problems is exciting and I currently enjoy working on the flex project with my awesome classmates. 
I could have done this much without a/A.

I entered App Academy in the May 2017 cohort, and it has been a great experience. The courseload is heavy and requires a more than full time commitment. I spent many days past 6 PM, especially during the project days towards the end of the curriculum, but I learned thoroughly all the topics covered.

We covered the fundamentals of programming to creating higher level applications and complete products. The workload was immense at times, but the reward matches the time put in. The instructors are extremely helpful and qualified, and are great people.

App Academy has life changing potential.  I think we can all agree on that given that the program offers to make you eligible for Software Developer jobs in the span of three months.  There are some caveats though.  I'll address the negatives of the program before I delve into why I think it is a fantastic program that everyone should consider.  

The a/A lifestyle is not for everyone.  Whether you are invited to Jumpstart, or make it through to receiving an offer, it becomes quite apparent that a/A does its best to recruit the best, brightest, and youngest to their program.  Completing this program fortified my passion for coding.  If you can't picture yourself coding from 9am-6pm (with a lovely 75 minute lunch) and then doing homework until 10 or 11PM every night, then you may want to reconsider.  The material itself is not super, super dense, there's just an absolute ton that they shove at you in 8 weeks.  In essence, be ready for your lifestyle to be a/A all the time.  Myself, and a lot of my cohort mates would take Saturday off and play basketball Sunday mornings - so I want to be transparent when I say that although it consumes your entire life, there are patches of time to catch your breath.  

The range of students also varies considerably, but by the end of the program everyone is committed to finishing together.  One fact that I heard a lot, yet still surprised me was how diverse the cohorts are.  Keep in mind software engineering is some really hard stuff.  Learning Javascript in one week is not for the weak, so it makes sense that a majority of attendees come from prestigious schools.  If that makes you wary, don't be.  We had students with backgrounds from MIT, Standford, Princeton, dozens of mechanical and electrical engineers, former employees at firms such as Google, Goldman Sachs, Mckinsey.  But we also had multiple  people who failed college, only attended community college, had never held a job more than 25k.  I think youre starting to get the picture.   The people that have a limited background in tech/engineering/coding do typically do better but that's true with most endeavors in life so I hope that doesn't deter anyone reading this.  What's vitally more important is being flexible and having a lot of drive.  There's not a person above 30 in our group, and it makes sense given that a lot of us dropped everything to come to a city with the highest rents in the country and a full-time curriculum to learn in a matter of months. It's overwhelming, and they specifically design it that way.  Again, I want to repeat that because people will bash a/A for stopping to help them when they're struggling, or going too quickly through the material, but they design the course to make it feel like you're always inches away from drowning.  They don't have time to make it easy because you're competing with unemployed young guns with a fancy CS degree and boatload of knowledge.

Their contract sounds strict, but when it comes down to it they really want to help you find a job.  If they had any loop holes they'd be exposed and taken advantage of.  You can't offer someone a free curriculum without being sure that they will do everything they can to go out and get that job upon completion.  Again, you have to be ready to work and that is even truer during the job search curriculum.  It's also worth mentioning, because people read too many marketing materials and get a ridiculous thought in their heads, that they will make 100k in 12 weeks.  There are probably 2-5 people in our graduating cohort (out of 70) that could obtain that.  The majority of graduates take 90 days to find a job so take that into account as you're doing your preparation.  

A few parts of my a/A experience that I am forever grateful for are the relationships that you make and the material that you learn.  It's actually pretty easy to show up to a place that day in and day out keeps trying throw more and more work on top of you.  The biggest reason is because you develop extremely close relationships with a lot of people as you tackle trial and tribulations together.  In the end, you enter the job market with a network of 1000+ a/A grads that know everything you went through.  Don't underestimate the people in your cohort.  A lot of us all came in with the same mentality of buckling down and getting the job.  Like actual software development, you need to rely on your team in order to achieve.

Every day is long and tiring.  Every day will waver your self-confidence and raise your level of impostor syndrome to unprecedented heights.  But every day is also extremely riveting and fulfilling.  You will do and create things you wouldn't imagine.   You find a way to get it done, and then you do it.  That's engineering.  That's innovation.

Any questions, feel free to shoot me an e-mail.  I was once in your shoes but somehow after twelve weeks of telling myself to take it one day at a time, I finally emerged as a software developer - and know that you can too.

App Academy is one of the most difficult programs I have ever attended. Not only does app academy tell you all the fundamentals to succeed in the tech industry, it also teaches you how to learn a lot in a quick amount of time. If you do get in, you not will not much time to do anything else besides program for the next 3 months. It is one hell of a journey. There could be a lot of improvements to app academy's infrastructure, but what made my experience amazing was the people. You will meet tons of individuals with different backgrounds and places in life, but what makes you guys similar is how hardworking everyone is. There is lots of learn in a/A both interpersonal interactions in pair programming and software engineering knowledge. It is not for everyone, Best of luck if you do attend!

I attended App Academy in May 2017. It is a 13 week course that trains you to become a web developer through their rigorous program. I came into the program knowing little to no coding. I attended jumpstart before hand which was a free prep course that trained students for the interview process. The overall process was a positive one. From week 1-9, the curriculum is a lot to take in. Prepare for a lot of long days and nights especially if you are new to coding. The amount of knowledge that you need to take in can seem crazy at times, but if you put in the time and effort, the experience is rewarding. It would've been hard for me to believe if someone told me that I could make a website at the end of nine weeks. But it is totally doable, and if you want to get into programming, I don't know a better place than App Academy.

App Academy has been great so far in terms of having a structured environment for learning and partially teaching yourself to code. TAs provide assistance along this journey as well as classmates. It's a lot of work and can be stressful at times but other classmates and TAs provide a great support system. Material taught in the curriculum is good as it's adapted to the current trends in the industry. It's very intensive but if you have the determination, you get through the course and attain the end goal of starting a new career in tech.

This intense 13+ weeks bootcamp has changed my life completely. Before starting, just know basic Ruby and Javascript, I didn't think I would be able to create wek/mobile applications on my own. However, after completing the course, I am able to create a full stack application on my own and further, I am able to learn a completely new stack and still produce a fully functional application. They don't spoon feed you the material but they make sure that you are capable of adapting to new technology. However, job search could be better. 

App Academy gives you the tools needed to change your life. The first thing to get out of the way is that the course is not easy. The 80-100 hours a week that they estimate you will spend on the course is not an exaggeration. You can easily expect to spend 9am-10pm 7 days a week at App Academy, but it is worth it in the end. The course takes so much time out of your life because they want to give you everything that will make you successful in the world of software development after graduation. They not only give you the coding tools, but they also spend copious amounts of time teaching you how to succeed in the interview stage and really show your self off!

I chose App Academy over other available boot camps, including Hack Reactor, for two primary reasons. 

The Job Placement program and tuition plan create a strong alignment with student interests. I came from working in small business finance, and one of the design choices we worked to popularize is royalty based financing, where the payback to investors is based on business performance. The same is true at App Academy where you pay tuition based on your first year's salary. This gives App Academy a strong and clear incentive to prepare you for the current job market in software development. 

I also picked a/A because of their Jump Start program, a two week evening class in Ruby. I took the course in San Francisco. It uses test driven problem solving and Repl.it to make picking up Ruby a straightforward and pleasant exercise. I had such a good time learning Ruby this way, that I decided to take the full course. 

No regrets. 

tldr; I learned a ton, and I did get a great job, but not in San Francisco.

I was in the November 2016 cohort at App Academy. I was very motivated, and did a lot of self-study before I arrived. In fact, my situation was a bit unique because I had intended to join an earlier cohort, but then had to drop out after just a couple of days due to having a broken finger. That false start may have given me a false sense of security, because I had a good idea of what the first week or two would be like.

I knew that we would cover a lot of material quickly, and I was very excited to accelerate my learning. The first half of the curriculum focuses on Ruby, data structures, SQL and Rails. In my opinion that section of the curriuclum is pretty polished. Concepts were presented clearly and the work was challenging, but mostly doable. However, the idea that you might need to put in 80hrs + per week was no joke. The more time you put in, the more you get out of this course.

The second half of the curriculum was more focused on front end development including JavaScript, React and Redux. This part of the curriculum was not as well put together, and now that I have a deeper understanding of how React, Node, Redux, and Webpack all work together, I feel that some parts of that section could have been presented a little more clearly.

Then comes a section of the curriculum where you build some projects. These were really fun ideas, but unfortunately seemed a bit too rushed. Now that I am working as a professional software developer, though, I also appreciate the pace that we were pushed at, since that was good practice for a genuine job.

During the job search, I learned that some students paid a slightly lower upfront fixed fee rather than a percentage of their first year salary. In retrospect that would have been a good option for me, since I was not 100% determined to end up in San Francisco. Yes S.F. is a great town to live and work in if you are a software engineer or developer, but the competition for entry-level positions is pretty intense there. I had much better luck looking for work outside of San Francisco.

After I started getting offers in another city, staff from App Academy still helped coach me on how best to negotiate with my new employer. They showed genuine concern for my career outcome, and that is why I give them 4 stars for job-search assistance. They don't really help you find a job, though. Instead, they just help you get ready to go find one yourself.

All in all it was a great learning experience. I met amazing, talented, and motivated people who inspired me and helped me successfully transition my career. I am pretty happy with the outcome of my App Academy experience.

When I told my parents I was interested in pursuing software development, that I found a good program that boast awesome stats, they (and everyone else I knew) was pretty skeptical. To be honest, even I was skeptical. But, I took a leap of faith and am so glad I did.

App Academy is a boot camp (seriously). You'll average 60-80+ hours a week grinding through problems and concepts. You will have little to no social life. You will dream (okay, have nightmares) about code.

In exchange, you will become a better critical thinker and problem solver than you ever thought possible. You'll become acquainted with very exceptional people, and your mind will be blown away by people's genius. At the end of the long and challenging road, you'll walk away with a six figure salary, and will get paid to just solve puzzles all day.

All in all, App Academy was the single best decision I've made for myself as a full-fledge adult.

This program is a must if you have little to no coding knowledge! Over the 4 week course period App Academy gives you all the tools and knowledge necessary to succeed. You have access to all notes, practice problems, solutions, and explanations ONLINE! This really helped me study at home and focus while I was in class. Also the instructors Alvin and Chase rock! Super knowledgeable and patient. They're always looking to help and make sure you understand the material. 10/10 would recommend to anyone looking to get into coding.

I started the BootCamp Prep Course after debating whether to apply straight to App Academy or not.  It was definitely the best decision ever. The course really shapes your coding skills (especially when you have only a basic coding knowledge like me) and allows you to be ready for any Coding Boot Camp interview you might want to take when taking it seriously. 

Boot Camp Prep is really challenging and the tools and 'tips' provided by the instructors are really valuable. I haven't regretted it for a second!

I have to admit that going down the path of changing careers is daunting, and really scary. Learning how to code adds another layer of stress. So I really liked how App Academy began our course by stressing how they understood how difficult it can be, but not to give up. It seems so trivial, but for a team of "techies" to believe it's such an important topic to cover shows their compassion  in teaching people of all skill levels. That put me at ease early in the course.

I'm a beginning coder, with very limited experience so I had a lot of catching up to do to prepare for my bootcamp interviews. However, after these last four weeks in the bootcamp prep course, I am confident that I can tackle most problems, and for those I don't know, at least show my interviewer that I'm able to think like a software engineer by fully explaining my thought process. 

I've learned so much more in these 4 weeks than I ever would have been able to on my own in the same amount of time. I simply would not have been prepared to interview, now, however, I'm confident that I'll be accepted into one of the top bootcamps this coming fall. It's not easy, and I really liked how our teacher, Alvin, pulled no punches in forcing us to be clear in our code writing and explanation. It was like being in school all over again, but at a much higher level. 

I fully recommend App Academy's Bootcamp Prep, especially for those career changers who need the skills necessary to succeed, not only in interviewing for a top bootcamp. But those interested in succeeding once they are in! 

 

 

 

I took the App Academy Bootcamp Prep course and really got a lot out of it.  I couldn't imagine applying for a top tier coding school without having taken this course.  The only experience I had coding previously was from a book about introductory programming.  There’s no way I would’ve been prepared for an interview just from the book alone.  One piece of advice for how to succeed in bootcamp prep is to take the pre-course work seriously.  It’s important to hit the ground running because one lesson builds on the next.  Another thing to remember is how important practicing coding in your free time is.  Watching videos and attending lectures helps, but the best way to improve is by sitting in front of a computer, coding and debugging programs.  It’s even better to practice with a partner in your free time.  

Overall, AppAcademy was a great experience because despite of how difficult and sometimes unpleasant it is, it gets the job done. You can’t beat the deal of becoming a full-stack engineer earning 100K after merely 3 months of training.

Campus - I attended the campus in NYC. It has great facility. Obviously there are enough computers for everyone, and there are private rooms for people to do phone screens and whatnot.

Teachers - In general they are responsive, knowledgeable, and dedicated. However, sometimes some of them may act impatient and annoyed at you, which is simply unprofessional and immature given their profession.

Curriculum - The readings are easy to comprehend (until you get to the React/Redux part, which is not well explained). Video content is delivered clearly. The only bad part I can think of is that it is too fast. Sure, the majority of the students still manage to graduate and get high-paying jobs; but if the course had went 10% slower I think the learning experience would be much better, at least for me.

AppAcademy is not perfect, but it is still a great deal for what it offers. I would definitely recommend it to people who want to transition into software development.

 

Hm, how to describe App Academy? For starters, it's hard. Certainly the most challenging course I've taken. Coming from a non-tech background certainly did me no favors, either, but it is certainly doable. That said, I do wish to stress to applicants that the entire process is a huge commitment. Coding and learning for 12+ hours a day takes its toll and I did not take into account the burnout. I felt truly worn out within the first 2 months. Taking care of yourself is paramount, as the 13 week program is quite the marathon in itself.

That said, going through this program allows you to learn so much. It would have taken me so much longer had I chosen to self-study to get to where I am now. And there's still so much to learn, but I feel properly equipped to get through the job search that soon awaits me.