App Academy

I'd been learning to program on my own for 6-7 months before deciding to apply to App Academy. I didn't apply to any other bootcamps because the way I saw it, App Academy was the only one that, based on the application process and the deferred tuition, seemed like they would be truly invested in helping me become employable as an engineer. 

 

The pace at which we learned was staggering, and while the fear of failing two assessments and leaving the program was constantly on my mind, it also made sure that I was putting every ounce of energy and work into learning the material as well and thoroughly as I could. The TAs were all fantastic and had a wealth of knowledge at their disposal (seriously, take a look at where past TAs are working now and you can tell that they know what they're doing). Most importantly though was the quality of the students that I was learning with. The fact that App Academy relies on the students being employed in order to make their money means that I was surrounded by some incredibly smart and incredibly hard working peers, and I learned a ton from them along the way. After graduating, I had 24/7 access to some fantastic career coaches that helped and advised me at every step of the process if I ever had a question, and taking the time to work the local alumni network opened a lot of doors that I wouldn't have been able to get through otherwise. 

 

One thing that needs to be abundantly clear, however, is that while bootcamps might be advertised as some program that magically turns you into an engineer, that isn't close to the reality of it. You will spend three months spending virtually every moment of your time and every ounce of your brain on the program. It will fully consume your life, and you have to be prepared to put everything else on hold. If you're willing to dedicate that (I also strongly recommend trying to build up some savings beforehand to live on during the program) and are 100% sure that software engineering is the field that you want to be in, App Academy is a great way to learn the skills to find your first job. 

Going in, I was a bit skeptical of it being worth the 5-digit price tag vs learning independently, but now that I'm on the other side, I can say that it was 100% worth it.  The curriculum is laid out perfectly so that one can smoothly go from very little coding knowledge to being able to build a full-scale web app, in just 3 months.  It is definitely challenging, but the skills that you learn are completley applicable to both the Software Engineering job search/interview, as well as on the job itself.

The best part of App Academy is the people.  App Academy attracts some really smart and hard-working students, and I know that I have worked harder just so that I can make sure I'm doing my part when it comes to pair programming.  The TAs also just make my day - they are so knowledgable and helpful that I could not have learned as much as I did without them.

Don't feel relieved once you get into App Academy - the hard work is only just beginning.  They are serious about kicking you out if you fail two assessments.  So many people there are not complete beginners like I was - there are students who have C.S. degrees or who have taken additional classes before.  My advice is to study as much Ruby, Rails, Javascript, and React as you can before everything begins.

App Academy is so much work, but it has totally been worth it, and I'm glad that I chose to go to App Academy over the other boot camps out there!

The program is exactly what it states! It is a BOOTCAMP. There is a lot of information that you must be able to learn and grasp within a few days. That being said it is important that you prepare well for it. The prep work and the interviews are meant to show where you are and where you need to be in order to be successful in the course. All in all if you come into the program with the right mindset of grinding for 12 weeks(and beyond!) it is definitely worth it. The TAs are very helpful and can answer almost any question. It is a great atmosphere to learn and code programs. 

In my case (and that of many others) - App Academy creates an incredibly unique environment where one can accomplish goals that would otherwise be impossible. App Academy gave me the confidence and structure to pursue and develop my interest in programing. I am now reaching the end of my time at this school and feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn with the incredible teachers and classmates I've met here. Easily the best educational experience I've ever had and I owe this school and it's administrators a dept. of gratitude.

I just finished the coding curriculum at App Academy and so far it has been great. The workload is intense and rigorous but if you put in the effort, it's all worth it. If you decide to attend, I really recommend preparing well for the course and be passionate about learning the material. If you are motivated enough, you will succeed because a/A prepares everything else for you. Also, if you are ever stuck on a project, a/A has great TA's who really know the material and are genuinely interested in helping you learn the material. I recommend App Academy to everyone who has interest on programming.

I have just finished the coding curriculum of App Academy.  The first time I have seen this program, I didn't believe that one can become a software developer in 12 weeks. Now as being at the end of the 9th week, I can say that I was wrong. The program is scheduled day by day, for the first 9 weeks. You know exactly what to do and expect for the entire coding curriculum. Coding with pairs makes you a team player and for me,  as being a person that lived out of US for an entire life, it was a great experience for me to communicate with different people everyday. I recommend App Academy to everyone who has interest on programming.

Over the course of two years, I taught myself basic Ruby and RoR using free MOOCs like The Odin Project. I was able to make it through  App Academy's application process well enough, and I thought that I would be able to stay "ahead of the curve" pretty easily. I was wrong; everything I learned beforehand was covered in the first one or two days of the course. We cover so much material every day that you'll constantly feel behind, and you'll lose sleep pretty regularly to just barely keep up. Once you start building portfolio-level projects, your stress level will double. People were working through the night to complete them, and you'll even see people falling asleep at their desks during lunch. 

However, you learn a lot of material very quickly. Looking back, it would have taken me years to learn what App Academy packed into a few months. They also have an entire department dedicated to getting you a job, and they don't get paid until you do. I'd say all in all, the experience I've had has been worth the trouble.

I just finished my coding curriculum from App Academy. I came into App Academy knowing almost nothing about coding. Although the program was quite demanding, I learned a lot and feel more confident that I can get a job in software engineering. Their program is very well organized. People are paired up within their pods and work on coding projects together the whole day. Each day has a purpose in learning different concepts and the point is for you to absorb and master programming skills as much as you can. I really liked pair programming because my partner kept me motivated and focused the entire time. And when we were stuck, TAs were available to guide us through our problems. Overall, I highly recommend App Academy to those who have no background in computer science and wish to enter the world of software engineering.

Attending app academy was one of the greatest decisions of my life.

I was at a crossroads in my life: fresh out of college, with a vague idea of what I wanted to pursue in life, so I was studying for the GRE and always putting off to figure out the rest later.

After meeting a friend who attended aA, I decided to see if programming was for me. I was instantly hooked, as it resonated with my interest in puzzles, math, and problem solving.

aA itself is an amazing institution. It's pay after model makes it affordable for students like me who did not have thousands of dollars up front, but more importantly, it gives aA a vested interest in finding you not only a job upon graduation, but a high paying job. This model is vastly superior to traditional university systems, which seem to only care about billing students after graduation.

aA has their program down to a science. I felt the education I got here was better than the ones friends got at GA. Not only was the education great, but the professional network and friendships I made there were worth it all by itself.

From dabbling with programming to actually working as a professional software developer is something I could not have done without App Academy. The curriculum helped me build a strong foundation in programming, build up a portfolio, and taught me the best practices and tools of the trade so I could hit the ground running in my new career. The instructors are top notch, and once you get on the job hunt, there's a lot of resources and support to help land a great job, and continue learning. 

I was also really impressed by the rest of my cohort. App Academy does a great job selecting smart and talented people making it a great environment to learn. If you're serious about going into software development, this is the way to do it!

Of all the institutions I've been a part of through my education and career, App Academy is probably the one I feel the most connection to and loyalty towards. 

Unlike some of the boot camps springing up that seem to springing up to capture some quick profit, App Academy is building something awesome. With its highly selective admissions process and no-tuition business model, App Academy is bringing innovation to the badly broken higher education system. 

During my time at a/A, I was surrounded by some of the the smartest, most driven people I have ever known. This environment lent itself to some seriously accelerated learning: a few months before I applied, I didn't know the first thing about computer programming, and especially not about the arcana of web development. But by graduation day, I had landed a job at an awesome startup and have been impressing my superiors since (which is apparently normal for App Academy grads). 

Some people took quite a bit longer to find jobs, but I don't know anywhere from my cohort who has not yet found a good web dev job. And if you have even an iota of charisma (I think I do) or have a strong STEM background (I don't), you can expect to find a job in no time.

So basically if you want to learn a ton from smart people with other smart people and then get paid money to keep doing that when you finish, do a/A. 

9.9/10 Would do again.

App Academy was a gamechanger. I was skeptical about how a course can give anybody a skillset to earn a high-paying job in 2-3 months. After going through the program and becoming a full-time software developer, I would recommend this program (and have) to anybody looking to gain the skills necessary to hit the ground running in this field. It works so well in so little time because 1) the market is on fire, 2) the curriculum is compact with zero fat, 3) you breathe web development with smart peers for the duration of the program. These skills are in high demand, and app academy does an amazing job of drilling this stuff in your head in a way that gets you ready to enter the workforce with a high degree of aptitude. The acceptance bar is pretty high, but you kind of want that because it ensures that the people you are learning this stuff with are as sharp and hungry as you are. Anyways, the companies where alumni work and the reputation of app academy should be indicative enough of the quality of the program. It's an intense time, but it serves its purpose extremely well.

There is a lot of skepticism around coding bootcamps, with new schools popping up every day with bold claims, but I’m here to tell you that App Academy is the real deal.    I was initially won over by App Academy’s deferred tuition model because it aligned the school’s interests of getting paid with my interests of getting a coding job post-bootcamp.   But the tuition model only works because App Academy actually delivers on their ambitious sales pitch. As a former high school math teacher, I was most impressed by App Academy’s curriculum and instruction. As someone who was definitely on the less experienced end of the spectrum (I had worked in an operations role at a tech startup prior, but never as a developer), App Academy continuously pushed me just outside of my intellectual comfort zone for 12 weeks straight. What’s more, App Academy’s flipped classroom approach, emphasis on building projects and pair programming ensured that I was really internalizing and absorbing the enormous amount of material. The weekly assessments were definitely stressful to say the least, but looking back, I’m thankful because I know the material that much better. In addition, NYC staff members are not only super knowledgeable and passionate about technology themselves, but they’re also genuinely nice people who really put student learning first and foremost (regardless of how novice the question). The real game-changer is your fellow students: these are some of the smartest people I’ve ever collaborated with, and we really supported each other throughout to understand the material.   I’m not going to lie and say that it was a breeze — it was probably the hardest three-months of work. But after three months of insanity, I’m now a web developer — which is crazy and a testament to what someone passionate about software development can accomplish at App Academy. 

App Academy is unnecessarily stressful. Their weekly assessments don't really help you learn - they just make sure that you panic every weekend. They kick out about 10% of their students based on these assessments. About 90% is the cutoff for a passing score, so there are plenty of decent students who have been trying their best and who will become good professional programmers who get kicked out. Often times, students struggle because they panic or run out of time. This hurts group morale, and I honestly think its unethical for a school to structurally plan on about 10% of their students failing.

I don't know about you, but I thought that I was going to spend my weekends during the bootcamp making cool projects, not cramming the same algorithms or mini-projects again and again until I can rewrite them very quickly under stressful conditions.

FYI - I didn't get kicked out. I'm pretty sure that if you do, you sign some nondisclosure agreement to get your deposit back, and that's while this board isn't full of angry people.

It's not 2011. Ruby and Ruby On Rails are on the way out... and for good reasons. It simply cannot compete with Javascript and Node in terms of performance and scalability. if you are just starting out in 2017, there is no reason to specialize in a skill set that is already in decline.