Actualize

Got drunk with my brother one night, and decided this bootcamp looked wonderful. Rolled the dice and we both enrolled.

Easily one of the best decisions either of us have made.

There were times that you would get imposter syndrome.
There were times you would second guess if this was the right call.
You quickly discovered you weren't alone, and your fellow classmates became a second family within a few weeks. The support system was wonderful, the grind was worth it, and I have adopted a set of skills that will lead me to a cool new future. Thankful for the help, thankful for the wonderful skills, and will forever be thankful for RUBY HANDS BABY. Read less

This bootcamp is simply outstanding. I had absolutely NO coding experience coming into this, and here I am, 12 weeks later, and am fully confident in the skills that Actualize taught me. My professor was insanely talented, patient, and overall an incredible asset to have along the journey. I am so happy to have been able to experience this bootcamp, and cannot wait to see what my future holds in software engineering! Read less

I chose to go to Actualize because of the curriculum focus on being taught how to learn rather than being taught a language and they did not disappoint.  Even though we might not have learned the most popular languages we learned that was just a tool used to understand coding to the point where I feel very capable of learning other languages on my own pretty easily.  I would recommend Actualize to anyone looking to get their foot in the world of software development and I feel prepared to take on the next step in my new career.  Read less

Once I started talking about the fact that I was doing a coding bootcamp, everyone had questions - What's the name of the program? What's the pace? Do you like it?

I can wholeheartedly say that yes, I liked it - to all the people asking me questions, I always encourage them to check it out. I was brought to Actualize through a friend's positive experience, and I hope that my own positive experience can lead someone else to it as well.

Actualize does a great job by being so different from a traditional learning environment and yet doing what they do so well. It's hard to learn as an adult and it's hard to make a career or life change but the evening class times align perfectly to working a full-time job and while it's certainly a time commitment, it never feels like drowning. The pace is fast but the classroom style of lecture on content, then time to exercise it on our own, then brought back as a whole group to see the exercise demo feels really natural. The teacher and TAs are available throughout for questions and their walkthrough of debugging or challenges is approachable and masterful. It's clear that my teacher, Brian, was an educator previously and  a careful and mindful one as well. If you get him as your instructor, you'll almost certainly want to buy him a fruit basket for all his hard-work and dedication to the class.

The additional job-hacking course that's built in also can't go unmentioned. I'm walking out of the course truly feeling like I have the ability to get a job in a brand new field and that's fully because of the work of the career services team and their thoughtful inclusion of best-practices for career-switchers and industry new comers. 

Overall, I can't overstate the good feelings I have post-bootcamp. I have been given the skills to be a continued learner even after the course is over, and I know that the folks involved will continue to care about the people they teach and the ways they continue to grow post-grad. Read less

Joining Actualize's coding bootcamp was one of the best decisions I've ever made.  The class moves at a breakneck pace, so at times you will feel like you're drowning in information but keep at it and ask a ton of questions!  The TA's and instructors are very responsive and helpful whenever you need it.  YOU WILL NEED IT!  Brian is and incredible instructor but be prepared for a slew of Dad jokes and painful mispronunciations of certain grains...  In all seriousness if you are looking to join a coding bootcamp, look no further, Actualize is the best!!! Read less

I chose Actualize by reading reviews right here on Course Report. I kept going back and forth and couldn't decide what path to choose, whether I wanted to try and keep teaching myself, take the plunge into a bootcamp, or choose a different one. I decided to setup a call with Actualize just to see what it was all about and if it would be the right fit and found an instant connection. At the time, I had reached out to at least 7 other bootcamps. Actualize was the first to respond and have been doing online cohorts, long before many of the competitors. Actualize prioritizes its students and learning first. The instructors will do everything and anything they can to make you successful. The amount I have learned over the past four months is honestly astounding and if you asked me where I would be and how I would feel at this point months ago, I would have never guessed I'd feel this great. One of the best decisions I've ever made. If you're not sure which bootcamp to do, this is absolutely the one for you. I genuinely couldn't be more pleased. Worth so much more than what you pay for.  Read less

As someone who had no previous coding experience, and who really considered myself a tech luddite in general, the decision to switch careers and jump in to a coding bootcamp was a daunting one. Deliberating over which bootcamp to choose, and actually making that first payment was a terrifying moment. Now that I am on the other side of this coding bootcamp, I am so happy and relieved to say that the my Actualize experience and training was phenomenal.

Not only will you develop and create a full-stack application, you will also gain the skills and confidence necessary to teach yourself and grow your portfolio on your own in the future. While the curriculum that needs to be fit in to a 3 month period makes the course very fast paced, the incredible support from the instructor and TAs made it so that I never felt completely swamped, or as if I wasn't continuing to gain new knowledge. I was also very happy with the job hacking and interview prep aspect of this bootcamp, and feel prepared to enter the development world.  Read less

This is a great coding bootcamp with great instructors and a great curriculum. After finishing my CS degree needed motivation to work on independent projects and this bootcamp helped me get started. Chose this bootcamp since they have you do exercises live and give you plenty to do. Love the project I made in the end and plan to work more on it G-d willing.  Read less

I picked Actualize as my coding bootcamp because they have a huge number of good reviews and because they're based out of Chicago. I couldn't be happier with my decision.

We focused on the core concepts from the 4-week pre-work stage through the 12-week live class. Knowing nothing about coding bootcamps before attending this one, I was a little worried the technology that we would be learning wouldn't necessarily be applicable to every job that I apply for. What I quickly learned, however, is that Actualize teaches you how to learn effectively. They teach you how to go about learning new things in a smart and thorough way.

I was in a small class of 12 students, 3 TAs and a lead instructor. Dani has been the best instructor I've had in anything ever. Period. She's energetic, well learned and extremely empathetic as well. I feel confident in applying for any entry level developer job and even some mid level ones too. More than that I feel like I'll actually be useful and able to do my job when I get one.

This has 100% been the best money I've ever spent on myself. If you're looking for a coding bootcamp that will prepare you for a legit career in tech, don't sleep on Actualize. You won't regret it. Read less

Actualize is an incredibly well thought out web development bootcamp, and I feel honored to have been able to attend the course.  Having spent about 20 years of my life in education, and having been an educator myself from a family of educators, I can confidently say this school is one of the best educational programs that I've attended in my life.   The instructors and founder truly care about the students and believe in the course that they are teaching. The course is well organized, the curriculum is well curated for learning from ground zero, and the homework is great for deliberate practice.  When I selected actualize, I was ready to be a fly on the wall and learn by exposure, but instructor took the extra mile and helped me specifically with my deficiencies, especially in the area of explaining and talking code.  This program is a gem, and if you're looking for an education first experience, I would highly recommend you take a deeper look. Read less

I chose Actualize because of word of mouth, and it was not a disappointment. This program is completely supportive both in the boot camp as well as after the program. As someone who came in with a minimum coding background, I felt like I grew so much in terms of skills. The content that you are taught and how you are taught is makes the experience enjoyable and sets you up to teach yourself post boot camp. This is a decision that I will never regret making. Read less

I chose Actualize because of their education first, coding second approach to bootcamp. As someone who has been out of school for a while, it was important to me that a lot of thought was put into the way these complicated concepts were taught in a way in which I could actually take in the information being given. After officially completing and graduating from the program, I can honestly say, I made the absolute best decision. I don’t consider myself a super quick learner and I also have ADHD, however, I was able to grasp the concepts and felt cared for by my Instructor and TA (shout out to Amanda and Erik!!) along with the entire Actualize team throughout the entire experience.

I got scammy vibes from a lot of other bootcamps out there. Especially those that offer that “Pay nothing until you get a job” thing, where they take money out of your paycheck for like 4 years (and most of the time, you end up paying far more than the upfront tuition). Not saying that all of them are, I just do not agree with the practice. Actualize not only does not engage in that practice and they have affordable/realistic payment plan options instead. 

I research things pretty intensely, and did not deviate from that when making this important decision. Believe me when I say this, Actualize is the real deal and in the top 3 best decisions I’ve made in my entire life. DO IT! Read less

I chose Actualize because they promised an educational approach to learning how to code.  They delivered on that and so much more.  To the excellent teaching staff who always made sure you were keeping up and never hesitated to answer any questions.  The awesome career counselors, who were able to make the seemingly scary adventure of job hunting less scary and more of an adventure to get you to the place you want to be. I loved my time at Actualize and if you are on the fence, I say , just do it. Read less

Coming from a background in hospitality, I didn't know much about coding, but something I thought would be fun to learn.  Coming into the bootcamp, I barely knew how to navigate a terminal, and now at the end of it, I build and designed my own web app.  The course moves at a nice pace and there are so many resources to help you.  You learn just as much as you have fun!!! Read less

My time in Actualize was an amazing experience. I learned more than I thought would. It was a rigorous course.  It opened my mind to a new way of thinking and I feel that I have the tools to not only join the job force but learn new programming languages on my own. I highly recommend joining this program if you want to start a career in software development. Read less

I choose Actualize Bootcamp because of the teaching first approach to curriculum. The instructors all had teaching backgrounds outside of just know how to code. This helped me get a better sense of the fundamentals of software development. My Actualize experience was amazing. I participated in the night class cohort. I was provided with all materials that I needed for the course. They force you to learn the fundamentals of arrays, loops, conditionals, and functions before you start the course was a great way to build skills later for ruby and javascript. They do a great job making you mentally prepared for the grind because it is a 12-week Grind!! You get to work on many cool projects and form a shopping cart to a team API project(fun stuff). I would say some suggestions for the future, maybe a week with React and Django after learning Rails and Vue Js.  Also, maybe a class two dedicated to front-end design principles. Overall, if you are looking for a great place to expand your coding knowledge. This is the place to be.  Read less

I was looking to switch careers and became very interested in coding. Having a good friend graduate from Actualize made me want to see what it was all about. Seeing all the great reviews and actually knowing someone who had gone through the course and land a great job make it an easy decision to join.

What makes Actualize great is the teachers. Not only do they know what they are doing, they know how to teach it and make you understand the content.  They are very helpful and want you to succeed. I was never afraid to ask for help if I needed it. Starting from knowing very little to creating apps in 4 months showed me that once you know the fundamentals, you are capable of learning anything you want. 

Another thing that I love is the Job Hacking. Actualize works with you throughout the course to create a fantastic personal website and resume to start your job search. Once you are done with the course, they will continue to support you on your job hunt. 

All in all, I am completely happy with my decision to join Actualize. From pre-work to capstones, I enjoyed it every step of the way. It is sad that it is over but it made me excited to see what happens going forward! Read less