RefactorU

It has truly been one of the most life changing and gratifying experiences I have ever had. I have a Bachelor’s in Elementary education, but decided over the summer to make a mid-life career change. My family uprooted from Illinois in August so that I could attend RefactorU. We sold our home in IL and my in-laws graciously kept our 2 toddlers in AZ, and my husband traveled between IL, AZ, and CO while I was in school. It was a crazy ride, but I’ve found through it all that I love coding and can’t wait to start working in the field! The course was very intense and I learned so much. If I can make the commitment to change my life for the better, so can you!

The Curriculum was so well designed, that by week 5 we were able to develop fully responsive, fully interactive single page applications using the angular framework along with HTML5, and CSS3; Not to mention Bootstrap and Material Design to enhance our user interface. By week 8, we were equipped to complete a full stack application using NodeJs and MangoDB. 

The instructors were well prepared and flexible in adapting to each student's level of understanding. They combined lectures and practice sessions while fostering an environment of camaraderie and peer-to-peer support that was conducive to effective learning.

Students became friends and supportive of each other. The fact that the curriculum and instructors emphasized collaboration over competition, pushed everyone to give their best by recognizing each others strength and encouraging it.

I highly recommend the program! 

Like many of my peers, I was drawn to RefactorU because I wanted to start a higher-paying, more enjoyable career without spending years of my life earning another degree. Even a couple weeks into their ten-week, intensive boot camp, the skeptic in me feared it was too good to be true, but I graduated last Friday and can confidently say that going to RefactorU was one of the best decisions of my life. Several of my classmates had coding jobs before the course even ended, and I am absolutely amazed when I compare the skills I have now with the skills I had from several weeks of pre-bootcamp self-teaching. I can now think up and develop an entire web application on my own, from the database and server to the user interface, and, perhaps more importantly, I know that I have the resources and knowledge to learn new technologies and tackle any coding problems I may face in the future.

Not only does RefactorU manage to teach an incredible amount of material in a short amount of time, the school also structures assignments in a way that prepares students for what a real coding job is like. The vast majority of time was spent on solo projects, but the boot camp is also peppered with several pair programming projects, in which one student writes code and the other plans and coaches, and a larger group project. We also had to do three oral presentations and practice talking about code. It's crucial--and surprisingly difficult--to be able to articulate something so thought-based, and I'm glad RefactorU emphasizes this skill. The team building and communication will definitely benefit me during technical interviews and throughout my career.

Unlike many other bootcamps, RefactorU strongly emphasizes a work-life balance. While it is true that I never had to ditch my sleep, health, and social life in lieu of unreasonable amounts of stress, what the "work-life balance" translated to, for me, was: "You are responsible for your own success." Some students chose to work late hours even after the school day ended, others spent more time socializing and attending events. Whatever the case, no one would chase me down if I needed to take a break during the day or tell me I needed to work harder if a particular subject didn't make sense right away, but the staff was always there to help and encourage. We just had to do the work.

What I loved most about being a RefactorU student was the perfect balance of structure and independence. Every week, we got a list of projects to work on after lectures, but there were no grades and no deadlines (besides for the one big group project and the two major solo projects). The lack of solid structure may be a con for some people, but, for me, it was like being told, "I believe in you." Those imagined words helped me be successful at RefactorU. So did the smart and passionate teachers, who gave clear (and oftentimes entertaining!) lectures and were there to help when I got stuck. Rob has an unshakable warm, positive attitude that makes him a great teacher in addition to being a great coder, and I enjoyed Raphael's attention to detail and clear passion for the topics he lectured on.

I can't think of a single thing about RefactorU that would dissuade me from telling any self-motivated, technically-inclined person to go there. My only complaint is that I would have preferred more early, clear communication about the specific times, dates, and expectations of project presentations, graduation day, and events in general, but I understand that RefactorU is a new business. They're always working toward finding the best way to do things and tinkering with the course load to include what is most relevant in today's tech industry, and their 96% job placement rate shows they're doing it right. If you're ready and willing to remake yourself and to dedicate yourself to learning, you'll find, like I did, that RefactorU isn't too good to be true, at all. It's real and it works.

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RefactorU provided an unforgettable experience during my time there. They offer a one of kind learning environment with extremely knowledgable and helpful instructors and staff. Their support is second to none in providing students with everything they need to be succesful regardless of their knowledge coming into the program. 

The location in Boulder also offers plenty of non-coding amenities like hiking, great restaurants and lots of brewery’s. I would highly recommend anyone interested in furthering their programming knowledge or looking for career in web development to consider RefactorU. 

I could not imagine the course being more comprehensive and astronomically useful. I left Boulder with a formidable arsenal of knowledge that has drastically changed the landscape of my career. I am returning to a position I already held with a confidence I did not fully expect, and the ability to fulfill so many roles in my day to day.

The course was phenomenal, but the staff was paramount to the experience as well. The assistants were tirelessly helpful, patient and excelled at guiding the students and promoting the most nurturing learning environment this side of any educational establishment. The instructors, armed with boundless wealths of knowledge, were always approachable, accessible and encouraging as well.

While I am one of very few who did't seek job placement immediately after graduating, the resources and help they provided for those who were looking seemed above and beyond what I would have expected.

I can't endorse RefactorU enough. What I thought would be a good course to help me learn rudimentary web development proved to be nothing short of a life-changing experience, while making lifelong connections with some great people in the lovely city of Boulder.

Pros: 
- Get your feet wet and a basis of what it takes to create websites

Cons: 
- Totally disorganized 
- No job support after you graduate 
- Poor TAs 
- No accountability (you can ignore all the exercises and activities and no one will probably notice or care) 
- Accepts students who probably shouldnt have been accepted (In the last two weeks of the cohort there was a student in our class who still couldnt write basic html.. and he wasn't getting any help.)

There was a TA that was supposed to show up once to help on a weekend and they just never showed up. They didn't have a style guide that they followed so certain instructors didnt know how to read the code in particular styles. During the final project where you were told that there was going to be prospective companies looking to hire there were no company recruiters that showed up. The job fair at the end of the cohort was a joke. There were only 5 companies there. Not all of them were even hiring.