Actualize

When I decided to attend Actualize the cohort was about to begin in a week. The people at Actualize were very helpful with setting me up in a short amount of time I had, being on top of E-mails and making sure I have everything I needed. The class portion was amazing. I learned so much and built confidence with working on code. A very stress free and supportive environment made my learning experience relaxing but informative. The instructor was amazing, very clear and made sure what we learned made sense, and stuck it in our minds to THINK like a coder and that I AM a developer. I came into the cohort very nervous and anxious, and I am leaving the cohort confident and skilled. Read less

I choose Actualize because I have a relative who attended and was successful in find a wonderful software developer job. It was a great experience and really challenged me. I recommend this bootcamp to anyone who is willing to devote their time and energies to it.  Read less

Just spent the last 3 months of bootcamp with 5 weeks of self-taught lessons prior with homework due weekly. The self-taught portion gave exposure to coding, but not all of the same methods were used as in the class (e.g. different ways to approach loops) which was confusing. Having finished, and currently looking for a job, there are recommended job hacking sessions even after the program is done which is nice. Overall, we touched on a little bit of a lot, which deep focuses on ruby on rails and vuejs. Not the most applicable in the market today, but really taught on how to learn. Very hand-holdy which is nice, with responsive TA's Read less

I went into bootcamp with little knowledge and little confidence with my ability to learn code, let alone make a job transition. I've since found the confidence to begin the job search and I'm amazed everyday at how much coding I've learned. The instructors and job support councelors really do care and give their all to support students - they've been there every step of the way whether it was coding, building a resume or applying/interviewing at jobs. This bootcamp was also very cognizant of the fact that I worked full time and, while the schedule was strenuous, it was very doable while maintaining employment.   Read less

I chose Actualize because they offered more live instruction hours compared with other bootcamps where a lot of the work done in your own time or watching recorded videos. I also really liked that they have an emphasis on having instructors that are great programmers but also understand how to teach the material. 
After going through the program, I can say that my experience was that those assumptions really came out to be true and I had a great experience. Every part of the curriculum is very well thought out and as you are going through it, you'll notice how things tie together. Things might be difficult and it was frustrating for me when I couldn't wrap my head around topics but after some time it was really cool when the concepts start clicking and I think that is a credit to the curriculum and instructors/TAs. They do a good job of not only teaching coding but also the helping with you as a person making a career change or getting into something you are not familiar with deal with the emotions etc. 

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I just graduated from the Actualize coding bootcamp and was fortunate to have Dani Zaghian as an instructor. I have a masters degree and have taught for a number of years, and I would say that Dani is the best educator I've seen. She is incredibly thoughtful and organized, she presents an unbelievable amount of information over a short 3 months in a concise and efficient manner. She's tough but fair and was, I believe, a real inspiration for our entire cohort. It's a testament to the very thoughtful  curriculum at Actualize. I would also say that Lisa and Sarah in the Job Hacking section of our program are phenomenal, and an invaluable resource.  Read less

Dani was my instructor and she was amazing! I chose actualize as it was live on zoom (which held me accountable) and also during the day rather than at nights/weekends as many other bootcamps are. The 12 weeks flew by, and I truly feel like i learned SO much in such a short period. Everyone in my class was awesome, and the TA's (David, Mackenzie, & Winston) were all super helpful and patient. Lisa the Career counselor has been super helpful every step of the way and I am sure will continue to be after class ends. Doing the capstone project was a great way to prove to myself how much I really did learn and am able to do now. I would highly recommend Actualize to anyone looking to learn full stack web development - it really was a great experience from beginning to end! Read less

This course is pretty fantastic. The concept of teaching how to learn is rare and valuable. I wish that there was more of a split time between learning backend (ruby), and front end (vuejs). I think there is more of a focus on ruby, and I wish it wouldve been a bit more equal footing from one to another. More time in CSS and HTML would've been nice as well considering we only had one day of lectures dedicated to those languages. Overall though, it was a great course and I would recommend it to anyone attempting to jump into the web development industry.  Read less

I chose Actualize because of their 1. Stress on having real teachers give over the material. 2. Their night classes allowed me to continue on with my full-time job (although I feel one really does need to  practice outside of class). The experience starts off as “pre-work” which are the first five weeks of the course you will be watching prerecorded videos of Jay, the founder and CEO of Actualize teaching the fundamentals of programing. While a bit challenging these five weeks are very doable. (There is a special dedicated pre-work instructor) Next is the actual live classes. Those are quite challenging as the curriculum covers many topics and moves at a quick pace.I would recommend Actualize to anyone looking to get into coding who doesn’t want to give up the rest of their life while making that career change. Read less

I entered Actualize completely new to programming and right from the very start I feel like they made all the information super clear and easy to follow along. They also are super helpful with continuous learning, alway supplying the documents you would need to delve deeper into specific concept. I found the instructors and staff all super accommodating and very helpful and motivating. I truly feel like I'm their top priority! Read less

The whole experience was great! Our instructor Brian Rice was a fantastic teacher and personable individual with exceptional dad jokes. I feel very prepared and ready to learn and take on any technical challenge I set before myself. A couple of criticisms that might help. 1. The 5 week pre-work phase could use a few days of working with an instructor to help with the introduction to theses concepts. I felt very much in doubt of myself and my capacity to learn when it was just me and a teachers aid for an hour on Saturday mornings. 2. The job hacking portion of the course is great and I believe it is a fantastic accompaniment  to the technical aspect. Although I do think that is a little much to mix in with the 12 week live class portion and would've felt better served if It were taught for a week or two after the 12 week portion so that I could focus on it completely as opposed to heaped on top of all the very hard work and material that the technical portion requires. Read less

I'm very happy with Actualize. The instructors and staff were very personable. I am also very pleased with the depth of job support that is integrated into the curriculum and continues on after the 12 week program until a job is secured by the student. Very thorough. Read less

What made Actualize stand out to me from other bootcamps were all the great reviews I read.

My experience at Actualize was really great. I decided to join a bootcamp because I felt I needed more structure. I definitely learned way more in the few months of this bootcamp, than I learned trying to self-teach myself for over a year. Brian was an awesome instructor and always available to help when I needed it.

I would recommend Actualize to anyone who is a complete beginner, or those who may have tried to self-teach themselves in hopes of making a career change and for those who are working full-time as well!

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Actualize taught quality content, with an excellent (one of the best I've ever had) instructor in Josh. The first month was incredibly basic, and the last month was just working on a project, so considering the price you are really paying for a 2 month course. Just be aware of that.
I simply can NOT recommend them. I took out a loan through the school which ended up being predatory loan with outrageous rates and an unforgiving payment plan. Considering it was so difficult to find a job, the fact that this loan had no support, no income based repayment, and a completely unreasonable rate made my life extremely hard post completing the school. I contacted the school and they sent one email out to the loan company, which predictably did nothing. They offered no futher help, they had my money, and I was on my own.
Furthermore, compare to other boot camps that I have read about about the career support was also lacking. They had no connections to any companies, and the most career advice we got was learn how to brand yourself, and how to make a linkedin profile. I got much more career advice out of a google search.

Overall while I thought I learned a lot, I think for the price I can not reccomend Actualize.

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I came to Actualize with a background that had nothing to do with tech. In college two years ago I was taught Fortran as a necessary computer science course. While I am sure there are many great CS degrees out there I wasn't about to go back to college for another four years so wanting to be a part of the tech industry, I found Actualize. 
I had done some basic coding walkthroughs before taking the course for almost a year and while that helped in my understanding of the course I wish I would have taken the plunge and taken the Actualize course sooner. The way that they walk you through full-stack development, organizing your problem solving, and prepping you to teach yourself after the course has been life-changing. I am newly graduated from the program with one app under my belt and confidently now job searching while still building and learning daily. 
Moreover, the tips on job searching and phase three have given me a lot of support and optimism for the job hunt. 
If you're looking to change your career and change your life I feel like this is a great first step and if you can take the daytime cohort I highly recommend Dani as an instructor, she is a fantastic teacher. 

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First and foremost, I'd like to commend the teaching, job support, ad administrative staff on their dedication to making sure students succeed. They are all genuinely invested in making Actualize a successful platform for turning individuals with minimal or no coding experience into developers with the skillset to succeed in an entry-level developer position. In terms of content, the curriculum is predominantly focused on back-end technologies, particularly Rails. Please be advised of this if you are more interested in learning front-end. I feel fortunate to have experienced the program and wish you luck in your coding pursuits!

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The structure of this bootcamp is not your typical class. The curriculum is fast-paced and dense. Always follow the two-week rule to review concepts you learn each day. I had no coding experience coming into this bootcamp. I feel solidly prepared to tackle new coding languages and technologies now that I've been trained to Think Like an Engineer. Take a leap of faith and join this bootcamp if you want explore a growing and challenging, but rewarding industry.

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It was easy to stay motivated because we were all in a video conference meaning we all saw each others faces. The instructor was amazing and had one on one sessions with each member of the cohort. He even stayed after class on a daily basis to help people out. 

 

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