App Academy

At first I was wary of the premise of coding bootcamps - learn the fundamentals of programming in 12 weeks and get a job?! It seemed too good to be true. But after reading more reviews and talking to a close friend who went through the program, it seemed like it was legit. Once I was admitted to the program and showed up on the first day, I was reassured to find out that the education - and the support - was solid. The instructors actually care about you learning to the best of your ability and finding a job. In fact, if you don’t find a job, the company loses money due to their delayed payment model, so it’s in the best interest for both you and the company to find a position. As a result, nothing about the program felt gimmicky or padded - everything I learned here helped me to develop my skills as a software developer.

Guys, this is the real deal. But let me give a caveat: to succeed, you have to give 100% of your effort. Don’t think that this program will magically help you get a job in a few weeks. It’s not that simple. The program will help you achieve great things, but only if you put in the work and the effort. Everyone in my class had to work their asses off and many people would stay in the office until 10 PM to get their work done or prepare for the next day. But in the end, all the time spent working and hustling will be worth it.

Since I’ve graduated over a year ago, nearly everyone in my class of about 50 students found jobs and are now working for a variety of different tech companies and startups. I, myself, found a job and am currently working for a startup as a software developer, and I had only started learning how to code a couple months before the program started. 

It IS possible to switch careers and find work as a software developer, and I couldn't have gotten even close to doing so without the help of App Academy. Just have patience, tenacity, and a good work ethic, and you’ll be able to pull off amazing things.

The program definitely requires a huge commitment, in terms of time and effort. You are required to be in class every weekday and you need to be in San Francisco to attend the bootcamp. So, if you are not committed, it probably isn't the best fit.

The class itself moves super fast, so you have to constantly learn and absorb new materials. You likely will not have much time for fun during the 12 weeks bootcamp. However, the result is rewarding. You learn a lot about programming and the fundamentals. I found it easier to learn other languages and frameworks after going through the curriculum. 

Their financial model also benefits the students, so you don't have to pay until you get an offer. It helps to keep the bootcamp accountable. 

Like you, I was initially skeptical of coding bootcamps too, but I decided to take a leap with App Academy (especially since they offered a deferred tuition plan).

Prior to App Academy, I had zero coding experience. I spent about a month and a half studying to get in, then another month and a half to complete their prep work before day one. After admission, I had class from 9am - 6pm, followed by 1-3 hours of readings/homework for the rest of the evening. As other reviewers mentioned, it's quite the mentally and emotionally draining experience.

But stick with it. Their curriculum they offer is frequently updated. Their staff is accessible and passionate about what they teach. Their job support is awesome: daily whiteboarding and/or mock interviews, help with online presence (LinkedIn, AngelList, your portfolio, your GitHub, etc.), and personal career coaches help guide you through the process. 

To be honest, I also did feel like some of their initiatives in promoting diversity and welcomeness felt a bit forced -- but hey, it's the tech industry. Bottom line: the staff means well, they value team players, and they're committed to giving everyone the same opportunity to succeed.

Eight months ago, I knew absolutely zero about coding or web development. In a few weeks, I'll be starting my job as a software developer. If you're ready to take the leap, it works.

App Academy demands your full attention and it definitely requires it to make it through.  As a history of being a terrible student, being pushed through these paces was definitely challenging.  Hopeful bootcampers should always keep in mind that all bootcamps are not prepared with the same teaching knowledge and focus as can be found in most accredited schools.  And thus there are many points where you may find it uncomfortable, difficult and divergent from what you may be used to.  Bootcamps are first and foremost businesses.  That being said, App Academy is highly regarded, rigorous and demands 10-12 hours a day.  It takes some level of emotional support or mental fortitude to go the mile in tact.

The amount of material App Academy requires students to learn within 3 months is tremendous. If students don't keep up every day and manage time well, it is difficult to keep up. To put it into perspective, I took two quarters of C in college and the material I learned was roughly equivalent to the 1 month prepwork that is required after you get in before you actually start the course.

Pros: 
- The material is well thought out and the curriculum is solid. 
- You are surrounded daily by peers just as driven as you. 
- Great staff and instructors. (Just as in any educational setting you'll find some spectacular instructors vs good instructors) 
- Able to learn materials needed to get a job within a succinct amount of time

Cons: 
-The curriculum pacing in the beginning is a bit slow and suddenly week it speeds up quickly after week 4 making it difficult to catch up at times 
- You are required every day from 9 - 6pm and with the homework is usually a 12 hour work day. This could be considered a pro if you don't have other commitments such as family, or spend two hours commuting daily as I did. 
- No longer a 12 week bootcamp but a mandatory 13 week course

Overall, App Academy is a solid program, and the instructors are committed in seeing you succeed. They have a solid business model which makes them even more motivated to help the students. Would definitely recommend App Academy to anyone who has the passion and resources.

a/A was an amazing opportunity that I'm definitely happy and thankful I chose to take! a/A is a ton of work, and requires extreme dedication in order to be successful. However, I wasn't surprised at this because a/A is very clear that it is an intensive program. You will not succeed if you are not willing to make a/A your #1 priority. The more preparation you give yourself, the better. a/A provides some prep work, but if you push yourself to do more (e.g., study algorithms, javascript, oop, etc.) you'll be even more prepared. I never felt like I wouldn't be able to succeed here, as long as I was willing to put in the effort. I don't have a job yet, so I can't vouch for that aspect of it. However, the program itself was amazing and I feel very prepared. For the past couple months I have been learning at a really fast pace. I do not have a STEM background (majored in Psychology in college), so don't let it scare you off if you don't have a STEM background! From the very beginning I felt like a/A was SUPER organized. It's really impressive. They update the material with each cohort in order to stay current, and make sure that the material they are using is the best it can be. The whole program is highly organized, with homework given each night and specific projects to work on during the day (as well as lecture). I definitely felt like there were enough TAs to help us out while we're working. You spend the first several weeks of a/A pair programming on a daily basis. This was a great experience, and definitely helped me learn a lot from my peers. I definitely think a/A is a great place to be! However, we go through material extremely quickly. If you're the type of person who would want to go at a slower place a/A might not be the right place for you. There's nothing wrong with this, just differing learning styles! Most of the projects I started, I was not able to finish. This is how the program is built. It moves quickly, and you learn a ton. 

The curriculum is very fast and you get grouped with like-minded people who also want to learn and get a job. The TA's are very helpful and they are constantly available to answer your questions during the daily assignments.

There are some things to be wary about, though. If you fall behind, you will be playing catch up and be stressed for the rest of the curriculum. For that reason, I suggest people who are looking to attend to prepare by making going through free online classes on Ruby, Javascript, and some basic SQL. Know about object oriented programming. The prepwork they send you if you get in is a drastic change of pace from the coding challenges that you will be doing to get in.

I just finished the coding curriculum of App Academy. I've been in tech my entire adult career and always had an interest in learning to dev. The opportunity to join App Academy came last year and I jumped at the chance and haven't looked back. The program is rigorous, expect to put in the hours, but you will get out of it is reciprocal of the effort and time you put into the program. That being said, I greatly enjoyed my time there and would highly recommend it to anyone who is serious about changing their career to development. 

App Academy is single-handedly the best decision I have ever made in my life. I've learned more these past few months than I have the last year of self teaching. The workload is draining as they essentially have you coding from 9AM to 6PM 5 days a week. But if you put in the work and make use of the staff they have there, you should be able to get by fine. Speaking of the staff, A1. The TA's are always there to answer any questions you may have and genuinely enjoy explaining concepts to you. Also, if you ever have a question after hours the TA's are easily accessible through Slack.

12 weeks may seem like a long time, but trust me when I say it goes by fast.

You are expected to learn quite a bit about Ruby on your own before you are accepted into App Academy. Once in, you WILL be spending a lot of time learning and coding. A typical class day starts at 9am and ends at 6pm, but students will stay until 10-11 to finish the day's project or start on the next day's material. Expect this schedule for the next 4 months or so of your life.

The curriculum is constantly evolving to cater to the needs of the current job market. At the time I'm writing this, React/Redux is one of the hottest frameworks in the market, so the tail end of the curriculum is devoted to React. However, should another language/framework take over, the instruction team will configure the curriculum accordingly.

You will spend most of your day pair-programming with another student on the day's projects, switching every 15 minutes between typing and navigating (giving instructions on what to code next). The teaching assistants are available for help if the two of you get stuck on something.

The instruction team generally consists of graduates from previous cohorts, who, having gone through the same material, are constantly finding the best way to explain and present the curriculum.

The job assistance team regularly brings alums and industry insiders to discuss their experience with the program, and helps connect current students with alums at their firms. They will also help you with your communications to negotiate and maximize your earning potential, since a higher salary for you means a higher payment to them.

Background: I came from a/A from graduate school in philosophy. I'm currently in the job portion of the curriculum. 

Pros: 
The structure of the curriculum is great. I had some familiarity with Rails before, but their presentation of Rails was far clearer and intuitive from what I had gone through online. 
Pair programming is challenging, I learned a lot from it. 
The job curriculum is very helpful so far. 
The TAs are all helpful and friendly. 
Most people who attend a/A are smart and have a variety of different coding strengths which I learned from.  
Pay less up front!
Recent cohorts continue to have good job placement rates. 

Cons:
Sometimes the schedule changes on short notice. 
On the whole, it's more expensive than other bootcamps which friends who now work as software engineers have attended (Dev Bootcamp).  

Overall, I'd recommend it.

I am a natural skeptic, so I made sure to do a ton of research before attending App Academy.  After going through the program, I can safely say that App Academy is exactly how they advertise.  I learned more in 2 months than I could have hoped to learn in a year or more by myself.  The course is exactly what I needed as someone who came to tech as a former attorney, and I feel prepared to work as a full-time web developer.  I am truly glad I had the opportunity to attend and would recommend it to anyone serious about switching careers into web development.

The curriculum portion of the course is very rigorous and you end up learning a lot. Every day you spend most of your time pair programming, which promotes a great learning environment! The material is very quick and breaks only the surface, but gives you enough knowledge to read professional level code and learn on your own by the end of the program. The TAs are extremely resourceful and can help you with literally anything! They ask for feedback daily so that they can keep improving from one cohort to the next, which is really great!

The job search portion of the boot camp is jam packed with projects as well as material. When you are creating your projects from scratch, you realize the gaps in your knowledge and have to figure out how to solve them mostly on your own. This can be challenging and a little scary, but pretty reflective of what life will be like after you are finished with the academy. One of the best things about a/A is that you'll have access to all of their material forever, which can be a great resource later in life.

App Academy is different from most bootcamps because of it's rigor, however what sets it apart the most would be the pricing model.

No other bootcamp does this. Quite frankly App Academy doesn't have to either. They're a top bootcamp. Even if they asked for all the money upfront like everyone else they would get thousands of applications still. 

App Academy is invested in students getting jobs quickly.

If you want a job quickly, do App Academy. Of course there is no guarentee, but at least you know they're invested in it as much as you are.

The course is rigorous and tough but just keep the complaints and tears to yourself and get through it and you'll be in a completely different position from where you started.