App Academy Reviews
Page 12
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Jasmine L.
Alumni
Great experience, had a lot of support, and learn a lot. Was able to land a great job afterwards -
Stewart
Graduate-Experience
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One of the best and toughest boot camp out there in NYC and California. Took the 16 week course and actually learned more than one programming language as well as domain specific language. The instructors here are super kind and thoughtful. They give clear solutions whenever you encounter problems and give clear explanation on the lesson for the day. I learned what a 4 year college would have taught me in only 4 months. -
Josh
Tough But Rewarding
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My experience at App Academy was tough and had me rethinking my decision a lot. The amount of stress one goes through is a lot and it can feel very overwhelming at times. I can say with confidence that almost anyone who put the effort in will be able to make it through. Sometimes I feel that some of the course was a bit outdated, but other than that they do teach some phenomenal skills. As I write this I have just graduated and am about to start the job search. If you do end up joining, I wish you the best of luck! -
Greg G
Challenging but doable!
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I was not sure what to expect when I signed up for App Academy. I was always into computers and tech but never saw myself programming anything. I did a lot of reviews on courses and wanted to get the most out of my time and chose App Academy with a 24 week program. 6 months is a long time to put in and the work is challenging and will consume many many hours of your life.
The course is fast paced with an evolving curriculum and has assessments on Mondays that require you to get an 80% to keep moving forward in your cohort. If you do not get an 80 on the assessment you are deferred back 1 month to relearn. During the course you will pair up with people for daily coursework and make some good friends along the way. Overall it was a good experience for a fresh start for this guy! I am looking forward to going forward with my new skills and creating something great! -
Zach Duvall
Great Experience
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Last year I decided to make a career change, and I researched several bootcamps and attended their zoom info sessions. I felt like App Academy offered the best product and decided to apply for the online 6-month coding bootcamp. After finishing, I don't have any regrets :) The curriculum is thorough and the teachers/staff are professional and competent. The facts that they have an income share agreement, have been around for years, and are still growing are testaments to the effectiveness of their program. I feel confident in my abilities to code and to get a good job. Good luck in your decision process! -
Onur Aygun Erdogan
Awesome Program
Glad I found this out because it’s really amazing to have access to this free curriculum. Freedom of access to information is what it’s called but it’s written as App Academy. -
Chris
Be ready to work
Attended app Academy online during covid. Overall the program was an excellent experience. The staff were very knowledgeable and helpful. The curriculum was comprehensive and included the latest technologies and methodologies. The curriculum could use some copy editing and there were occasional bugs but overall the information was excellent. -
Christopher Lee
App Academy July 2020
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I attended App Academy for its new online course in July 2020 and would say overall it was a good experience and super helpful in expanding my knowledge in the Software engineering space. The Curriculum adapts to the current technologies and is geared to benefit us in the work field as quickly as possible. Instructors and TA's are very helpful and knowledgeable and can be trusted to teach the material effectively. -
Tony
Worth it
Extremely fast paced but it is all worth it in the end, I promise you. The most important people will be the ones studying along with you as well as one of your most important resource if you attend it. -
Ray L
Great entry into the field BUT
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Before you sign up, this isn't a golden ticket to a 6-figure salary on a silver platter after graduation. This program provides you the foundation needed to succeed, what you get out of the program will depend on you.
Some things that are a guarantee is:
-Be frustrated during this journey, you will feel the urge to quit because learning is not always easy.
-You will meet great & awful people, welcome to the club.
-Prepare to be working 12+ hours a day, including weekends to meet the deadlines. Even after graduation.
-You will learn to be a better coder and communicator
Suggestions for App Academy:
1) Focus on more industry-relevant technologies. Java? Python? More data structure & algorithms?
2) Get more partnerships with companies, show companies that your bootcamp graduates are capable.
3) More post-graduate assistance.
4) Parts of the curriculum felt rushed and other times too slow, the timing of the curriculum needs to be improved.
5) Most curriculum videos are severely outdated and lackluster
6) Not all instructors have professional experience
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Andras
Software Engineering: Full-Time Online
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Instructors are knowledgeable, helpful, responsive and always available (even in weekends if necessary). They pay attention to the needs of the class, supply an incredible amount of extra material and make a real effort to give more explanation if they see a lack of understanding. Fellow students are smart and helpful as well. I enjoyed working with them all. This is an honest and supportive learning environment. The experience with the staff handling administrative matters is also good, they do their best to help you. Since I could go straight to a job at the end of the course I have marginal experience with career coaching, but that was also impressive. During the course count on a 80-90 hour/week work, about 15 tests and four projects that need to be completed, two individually, two in groups. The projects are all very good opportunities to cement in the material. This is not an accredited institution, there is no possibility to get any benefit for the tuition in your personal income tax. Now that I know how it works, I would not hesitate to take it. -
Miah Barnes
Intense but worth it.
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App Academy is a fast paced, challenging, web development course that claims it can teach people to code with no prior experience. I attended the bootcamp in June of 2020. Here are my thoughts.
Pros:
-Lots of help.
-Friendly staff.
-Has a current curriculum because it always updates.
-You pair program a lot, a necessary skill for team based tech jobs.
-The staff works extremely hard to make sure you understand the material.
-They help you find a job after graduating.
-Lots of payment plans/options for people, for example the deferred tuition.
Cons:
-Expensive
-Not enough coverage on data structures and algorithms.
You can make the argument that the price is worth what you get out of it. Similarly, you educations depends on you being willing to put in a lot in order to get a lot out of it. In a way you dictate the experience you have here. I enjoyed my time here. The welcoming environment was nice, and the teachers spent countless hours teaching you how to solve problems, rather than just pointing to solutions. If you genuinely want to learn and have the drive to survive the 6 month long program, you will learn a lot of information. In addition to the price the lack of data structures and algorithm teaching is in part the draw back of all boot camps, there simply is not enough time to teach you everything. They make an effort on this front however, by teaching you how to teach yourself. So by then end of it if you don't know something, you can easily find out how to do it.
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Ammar Nassri
App Academy is no joke, you'll gain a lot of experience just by going through their bootcamp
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Oh man, just finished up the curriculum and currently getting ready to apply for jobs. Here are the pros and cons of my experience:
Pros:
- The curriculum is extensive, everything you need is explained in full details in articles, reiterated in videos and then the TAs would go over examples to make sure the concepts are understood.
- There are projects to do every single day, which makes learning much more hands-on.
- The staff are very easy to talk to and are available when needed.
Cons:
- The curriculum can use some proofreading, typos are everywhere and as a former designer, they all jump out to me.
Really not many negative things I can think of about my experience. It really has been a pleasant experience for me. With that said, it really is an intensive bootcamp. LOTS of materials to digest within a short amount of time, which takes a toll on personal life. So plan accordingly.
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John Anders
a/A Delivers
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I did extensive research before committing to App Academy, and there are three main reasons I chose it and WOULD CHOOSE IT AGAIN:
1. a/A has an income sharing agreement, so they are intrinsically motivated to get you hired, and every piece of the program is motivated by this. In short, your goals and theirs are aligned as long as you are committed. Speaking of alignment, you really will be paired with a coach for your entire job search, and you'll have the support of your classmates, assuming you connected well with them throughout the program. In sum, a/A offers tremendous researches to aid in your search, in addition to the thorough prep in the last couple weeks of the program.
2. a/A is assessment-driven and engineering-focussed, meaning they don't carry dead weight—and more to the point, they do not have a reputation for allowing dead weight or for graduating "web devs" who don't really know how software works. You learn multiple languages. You learn algorithms and data structures. You build 2 solo projects and 2 group projects. It's intense. But... You are allowed up to 3 deferments. This is designed to give you the chance to have more time if you are struggling, and it also means that at a certain point, the unmotivated/less capable will be significantly challenged. That challenging is good for your skill and reputation as a potential a/A grad, so as long as you can keep up this is a plus. I found the rigor was typically held in good tension with empathetic instructors who want to support you well through what they know to be a high-paced 24 weeks.
3. People! Students I reached out to prior to choosing a/A generally had great things to say about their experience. Reach out to a/A grads on LinkedIn who live near you, and you'll likely find the same. But what makes this difference? For me, it's the people. I had the best lead instructor I could've imagined, and the TAs are generally of good quality as well. While every company likely has some instructors that fall below the curve, I really can say the instruction I received was personable, encouraging, and technically substantial. (There are some instructors that occasionally guest lectured for my cohort, and I liked them as well.) And the students? Amazing! I genuinely made a good handful of friends, and we voluntarily check in with each other as we each look for jobs. Yes, every class will have that person looking for a quick way to money, but even so they get weeded out or have a change of heart. And how can you not make friends when the average day consists of several hours pair-programming?
I've harped on about the strengths of App Academy. What are the weaknesses? I give the curriculum 3 stars—maybe 3.5 if that's allowed. But I actually really liked the curriculum, particularly the structure, pace, and topics, as well as the video instructors. a/A even updated it earlier in the year, so even recent language developments are covered. So why 3 stars? Simple: the videos are typically paired with homework in the form of article-style readings to be done the night before their topics are covered, and while many of the readings were fine, just as many were riddled with grammatical errors and unclear phrasing. Additionally, occasionally the code-along videos involved deprecation issues, leading to avoidable, class-wide encounters with bugs. While the deprecation issues are understandable, the lack of writing quality is not (aside from the classic engineering stereotypes that come to mind).
None of these curriculum issues are reasons not to choose a/A. In fact, I bet every bootcamp faces these same challenges when it comes to keeping curriculum current and polished. These reasons do, however, provide for a point of growth on the part of App Academy, and I know they are aware of this and constantly improving, welcoming your constant feedback. You are, after all, required to provide it daily, and in my experience they take it really seriously. What makes this ultimately excusable for now is that students always have ample opportunity to ask questions on every single lecture topic, so you are always supported as you seek to master content. There wasn't a single topic for which I wasn't provided a live Q & A. Ask away!
A small but earnest point should be made before concluding. You really must take into account the length of job search and the possibility of deferment when thinking about how you will support yourself during the bootcamp. For many, 24 weeks is already a stretch. You've got to ask yourself if you could be income-less for a year. While your career coach will understand if after the 24 weeks you feel that you simply must get a part time job, this will provide a ton of stress if you don't consider your "worst cases" before starting the bootcamp. This goes for any bootcamp, and even though I bet a/A's placement pace is relatively high compared with other programs (on average roughly 6 months after graduating), you simply can't afford to make a poor choice when it comes to your finances.
Ultimately, joining App Academy was likely the best choice I could've made in a year nothing went to plan. The ISA means they have skin in the game and are aligned with your goal of jump-starting your career. The rigorous, assessment-driven structure means you will actually become something by the time you are done. And the people are worth the cost of the late hours, tears, grit, and (deferred) money. While the curriculum can be improved in its delivery, it really just might make a software engineer out of you! -
Jourdan Ooi
"Strenuous and at times annoying but in the end worth it."
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Pros:
-Great curriculum taught by competent and (mostly) empathetic instructors who want you to succeed.
-If you can pass the curriculum as well as are giving a true "best of yourself" effort then you will learn to program.
-Resources are plentiful during the course
-Don't pay a dime until you get a job.
Cons:
- During job search technical resources are very much limited and watered down compared to help you received during curriculum.
- Although there are few, I did encounter instructors that I felt were chosen for their ability to program rather than their ability to teach and program.
- Terrible system of conduct and accountability. There has to be a better way to handle plagiarism. Everyone who programs grabs info from stackoverflow etc.
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Michael
Solid
Solid experience for a first time remote class and the first time ever writing code. You get three online failures after that you're done. Each week is do or die. They made changes to the curriculum due to how had it was in previous cohorts. I really enjoy only one teacher in the whole process. -
Brandon
Not what I expected
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With any boot camp I am sure there is going to be ups and downs or things you like and don't like, so with all that aside was App Academy wroth the time and money? For different reasons than I thought when I joined yes it was. Everyone will have a different experience base on how you view things and what your expecting. So here is what I know for sure without App Academy there is no way I would be in the same place today without them. You don't know what you don't know tell your face to face with it. App Academy forces you to move on to new stuff even if you think your not ready and you when you move on you find out that were actually ready. This is the biggest reason why I would say if your thinking about a boot camp go for it! -
Chris
Full Stack Online
An excellent crash course in all things web development, App academy's SWE course is tough, but filled with supportive TA's and resources to help you along the way. -
Francis Swayze
Great Course
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Pros:
+ The course is designed well and is an incredibly effective way to learn a lot about coding and web development in a short amount of time. I entered App Academy with no coding experience or technical background and graduated with a ton of practical skills.
+ Amazing Teaching Assistants. All the technical staff at AA know their stuff and want you to succeed.
Pro/Con:
+ Whether this is a pro or con depends on what motivates you, but the possibility of dismissal for failing two assessments adds a significant amount of stress. For me, this stress made the program more effective. I would keep studying for tests long after I was 'ready' for them, which lead to a greater mastery of the material. -
elijah
Exciting, overwhelming, educational
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I attended the App Academy SF June 2020 in-person cohort (which ended up being entirely online because 2020). It was a great experience, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to leap into the deep end of software engineering. It was an incredibly intensive course, and you constantly feel overwhelmed and like you’re not learning just as much material as you are, but make it to the end and you will feel actually qualified enough to call yourself a software engineer.
Pros:
- Extremely hands on
- Learn to use many different frameworks, Ruby, JavaScript, the MERN stack, and more
- friendly staff and TAs
- lots of practice working with partners, which is hugely helpful for making sure you can articulate your coding thought process
- a lot of help during the career search
Cons:
- feel like you’re just not getting it...often
- the curriculum is sometimes laid out poorly and hard to parse.
- 16 weeks is a huge time commitment (but what do you expect when trying to switch careers entirely?) -
Albert Chen
Challenging but worth it
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The program was a lot tougher than I expected it to be. There will be a lot of long hours especially when you reach your solo projects. I did enjoy the help provided by the TAs and the friendly atmosphere. I do wish sometimes we had more time to go over certain concepts but it was understandable due to the given short timeframe to cover a lot of material. Overall, we definitely worth the challenge and time and I am excited to use these skills in the future. -
Kodi Shiflett
Very Intense, Very Worth it!
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This course demands A LOT of your time and devotion. I came in to this program with no coding experience at all and know I still have more to learn even after but I have come leaps and bounds in my coding skill. If you're not ready to commit 12 - 14hrs 7 days a week to coding then this program isn't for you. The TA's are amazing (from my cohort at least), they were knowledgable and past grads so they knew what it was like to be in our shoes. The curriculum readings need to revised and updated in a few parts, thankfully TA's are there to clarify. Before the cohort starts they have you learn the basics of Ruby since the beginning of the program is focused on Ruby. I highly suggest also taking time to learn some JavaScript as well. Because you get a lot of time with Ruby and then when JS time happens you'll feel like you just got thrown into the deep end. At the time of writing this review I am just finishing week 15 out of 16, getting ready to get into the career quest part (technically already started), which is also intense. Pretty much from start of the program until you get a job you will be working you butt off. So make sure you know how to take care of yourself, exercise, get some good rest and try to maintain one hobby that is a stress reliever. Your fellow cohorts will be some of your greatest resources and best friends, you will bond over struggling together and it's a great time to make networks (you never know what companies you or any of them will get into).
So if you are more than interested in coding, are able to not work for 4months straight or more, dedicated enough to spend 12-14hr days to learning then this is the program for you. It's not the best because it's easy, keep that in mind. As stressful as this experience has been, I am extremely happy that I did it and that I made it to the end. I have family in the tech industry and showing them what I can do after these 4 months they are very impressed and reassure me that I can land a role as a jr dev. Hoping and continuing to study hard so that that is the case. -
Shanelle Valencia
Challenging but fulfilling
Pros- their curriculum supports anyone who does not have a technical coding background which is where I was. As long as you put in the time and effort, you can succeed.
Cons- throughout the last few weeks of the cohort, the projects seemed to be rushed and were combined with the job searching curriculum which I think is not the best idea. -
Connor M.
Very tough but Incredibly rewarding! I am very happy with my decision.
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App Academy is definitely no joke. It is 16 weeks of constant work with no letting up. 60 hours a week of work is the bare minimum, and honestly I don't even know if that is enough. I am pretty sure that I worked well beyond that most weeks. The assessments are very tough but often fair.
The pace is insane but definitely doable. You just need to keep on top of everything. I often found myself worried that I did not fully understand a certain topic covered in class only to find out that I knew more than I realized when the time came to utilize those concepts. You will be surprised when you realize the topic that gave you trouble a few weeks ago is now second nature.
Overall it was a very positive and life changing experience that I would highly recommend!
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Kevin
Great Experience!!
App Academy was a great experience for me. I started with very little coding knowledge prior coming from a completely different career. During the actual curriculum everything feels rushed and the constant assessments create a ton of pressure but the once I got to building my own projects it was an amazing feeling. -
Giancarlo Sanchez
Software engineer
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I came to App Academy with some previous knowledge in programming and computer science. I just finished the 24-week online program, it wasn't easy but I enjoyed the structure of the course and I got to know amazing people that were collaborative and supportive. I completed my training as a software engineer and now I'm receiving training to find my first job. I learned web development using different technologies and computer languages like React, Express, Node.js, sequelize ORM, Javascript, Python, Flask, among others, aligning with high demand from tech companies increasing the chances of landing a great job. App Academy provided everything I was looking for and I am a proud alumni! -
Mai Van Wagner
App Academy is extremely awesome!!
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Coming here from another country, learning English and Programming languages at once is definitely a tough journey for me. It took me a very long time to figure out which program/bootcamp is suitable for me. I was trying to learn how to code with a bunch of schools however App Academy gave me the best self learning experience. I love the curriculum, high quality videos, the way teachers convey the lecture and support students and how selective App Academy is. Especailly, I WAS TAUGHT TECHNICAL SKILLS (PROGRAMMING) IN PLAIN ENGLISH. Amazing tutors/teams and great curriculumn from App Academy helped me to make my dream come true. Within 6 intensed months learning with App Academy, I turned into a new leaf: from a person who knows nothing became a software engineer. I had been learning and sharpening a lots of both technical skills (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PyThon, Node.js, SQL...) and non-techinal skills such as how to write an attractive resume, cover letter, negotiate when I get a job offer, and so forth.
I highly recommend you going with App Academy. -
Drew
Effective, fast, demanding
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App Academy is very demanding, but you'll stop to think about all the things you learned in 6 months and be proud. The curriculum I went through was for Javascript and Python, and using React and Flask frameworks, but they teach you how to get there all the way from the basics of printing out hello world.
Benefits:
* The latter half of the program teaches the frameworks mentioned above alongside building projects with those frameworks to populate a portfolio on your resume. I was delighted to find that they tackle every aspect of the job search process, since I had effectively no portfolio before a/A.
* Schedule includes weeks to focus entirely on projects and gain skills working on a team, as well as 'half-and-half' weeks to do solo projects and resume crafting, and of course many more weeks spent on new concepts.
* Schedule is very flexible, and instruction team is fair. Assessments may be curved or re-evaluated based on the cohort.
* Every member of app academy (that I interacted with) takes responsibility if something is wrong or needs clarification, fixing, or more time. I don't remember anyone being unapproachable.
Criticisms:
* When students get deferred to another cohort, they simply disappear. I understand it may be embarrassing to defer (although it shouldn't be - life happens, you need more time, it didn't click), but just silently removing them might not be the best solution. I felt the cohort steadily shrinking as people left, and became increasingly stressed that it would happen to me, since we were the first cohort of the year and the students ahead of us had different curriculum and couldn't join us. Most other cohorts will not be in this situation, though, as they will have new students join.
* The 24 week pace isn't as consistent as I'd like. The first 4 weeks are essentially just making sure you passed the free online intro to programming course that they offer, or getting you up to speed if you didn't. It very quickly ramps up, and some weeks have very difficult assessments while other weeks see a class average of 100%. I understand some material is very hard to assess, though - such as learning a new framework or database, where it is more trivia than anything else.
Final jurisdiction:
I had graduated from uni without much of a portfolio, and without the ability to pass coding interviews despite my degree. In my opinion, the curriculum should be a little more polished and probably focus more on algorithms and react (the most important, most recurring subjects). As for me, I don't regret my time spent here at all, and I got a lot out of it.
- Drew -
stefani echeverria
so glad i did a/A
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Honestly, I was convinced at the beginning that App Academy wasn’t for me. I’m a weirdo-artsy Latina with a ton of family commitments and chronic illness/disabilities that I knew would make the “valorization of working 90 hours a week” bootcamp model a huge challenge for me. I contemplated dropping out from the very first week, because without a technical background and with a glitching computer I wouldn’t afford to upgrade, I felt like the “hot mess” of the class. Coding definitely doesn’t come naturally to me— every exam was a struggle because of my anxiety issues. Given all of this, I never expected that I would graduate this program feeling so proud and glad I stuck with it, and feeling so passionate about coding now! My TAs were incredibly supportive and there for me even as I had way more questions than it felt the average student had, and they spent hours of their time outside of formal class time to help me with material, give me pep talks, and just in general didn’t view me as an expendable number in a cutthroat environment the way I worried doing an intensive bootcamp would be like. One of my good friends died in the middle of my doing this bootcamp, and I never could have kept going to graduation if instructors and fellow students hadn’t been there for me on both a human and a programming level so consistently. I reveal all this info about myself because there are tons of reviews that talk about the curriculum, specifics of the frameworks they use, etc. I wanted my review to speak to someone who might be reading this and see themselves in my description of myself— not sure they can fit in in the coding/techie world, or handle a high intensity bootcamp. I won’t sugarcoat what a challenge a/A was, but I am SO, SO grateful I stuck with it, and definitely recommend App Academy, its instructors, and its community vibe that was so welcoming to this anxious new programmer! App academy’s material is really well structured too, so I feel like I’m in a good position to keep learning and improving my skills along multiple axes with all the material being a student gives you access to forever. Excited to keep learning forever :) -
Ahmad Alqadhy
A great and memorable experience
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I will start with the obvious: App Academy is a very rigorous bootcamp and a huge commitment both physically and mentally. But with that comes a valuable education that really carries the name.
The Pros: App Academy has a thoroughly developed curriculum, so you can rest assured knowing that you are receiving an education that would reflect highly in the job market. It's also structured in a way that is easy to follow, starting with basic coding projects like finding prime numbers in an array and ending with building full stack web apps. When I finished the program I truly walked away feeling like a full pledged software engineer. It may seem hard at times (it will definitely seem hard at times) but you have to trust the process.
The Cons: We spent the first half of the cohort learning how to code, which in essence was finding a prime number and doing the fibonacci sequence in a hundred different ways. And then the second half ways Rails/JavaScript/React/Redux/MERN. It would have definitely been nicer if the curriculum was divided up in a better way because the concepts in the latter half are definitely more valuable but much less stressed and taught. Also, going into this I thought App Academy helps you find a job. But in truth, you're, pretty much on your own there too through hundreds and hundreds of applications. They don't have an actual job placement thing as some reviews have suggested.
All in all, App Academy does deserve recognition for being a top tier bootcamp, but your success is really in your own hands.
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Ben
Significant effort, but a great experience
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Overall, I had a great and rewarding experience at App Academy. They do not exaggerate the amount of work required to complete the course (often between 70 and 90 hrs a week), and the new material just does not stop coming. That said, a/A and particularly the instructors clearly want all the students to succeed, and the readings, homework, projects and lectures are all geared to make sure you hit the necessary benchmarks during the course. The general structure of regular assessments with severe consequences (can lead to being kicked out of the course) adds a significant amount of stress for students. While I understand the reasoning for this from App Academy's perspective, and believe that it is an overall positive, it can lead to a sense at points that instructors are "teaching to the test".
While the pace of the bootcamp is very rapid, the structure of the course materials and projects means that you'll end up working over the same concepts multiple times after their initial introduction, the end result of which is that App Academy will teach you a huge amount of skills in a relatively short period of time.
My cohort at App Academy was originally intended to be in person, but ended up being entirely remote due to COVID-19. I don't believe this had a large impact on the skills I've learned in the course, and the instructional team did a great job of adapting to a life on Zoom for the duration of the course. That said, you definitely lose a lot of the social aspects of an intensive bootcamp with the remote setup.
Finally, I'm just entering the job search currently, so can't speak much to the support App Academy will provide during this period. The job search material covered has been helpful and informative, but this final portion of the curriculum has felt more disorganized and has not inspired the confidence in this transition to job hunting that I had hoped for given the way the majority of the bootcamp was run.
Overall, if you are looking to jump start a career as a software engineer, I would absolutely recommend App Academy -- just make sure that your expectations for workload and result are set correctly. -
Khai Yuan Liew
A good experience
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Be prepared to spend up to 90+ hours because App Academy is a very rigorous course because if you don't, you will struggle a lot.
You expected to read/learn material ahead of the next day, so that you are able to do the projects. They also have assessments that you are expected to study, which if you fail twice, you will be asked to leave the course. However, they do provide a lot of material to prepare, so as long as you study the material, you should be able to pass all the assessment.
Once all of the assessments all done, you get to make your own websites using what you have learn over the course. The course does a good job teaching you how to apply these skills on your own project, so the course does pay off once you reach to this part of the course.
Although App Academy is a pretty great course, I feel like some parts of course should be expanded upon as I felt like they were just barely a footnote.
Overall, as you long as you are willing to commit your time to start a career on software engineering, I would recommend you join App Academy. -
Ben G
0 to 100 in 16 Week
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App Academy is an incredibly rigorous, full-time software engineering bootcamp which will challenge you to get projects done you never would have dreamed of before. Each day begins with a structured lesson and then everyone diverges into pair programming. The program really emphasizes pair programming, where every 15 minutes you and your randomly assigned partner switch between a driver and a navigator role. I found this technique to not always be conducive to my learning when I was working with someone of a different ability. This was often a strength, though, as it forces you to explain difficult concepts to someone who might not have understood the material as well as you.
The amount that you learn in the 16 weeks is pretty staggering. When you enter the program you are expected to solve some pretty basic algorithms, but upon leaving, you are completely ready to develop your own full-stack web application. The program was initially slated to begin in person and we were one of the first cohorts to go through completely online. The course took place over Zoom, and I think that the staff did a very good job of replicating what it would be like to be in person. The Zoom room was open 24/7, giving a space to meet with your peers after hours.
Overall I had a really good experience with the program, but there are definitely a few things that are covered briefly or barely touched upon that I will need to independently learn after my time here. I'm about to begin my job search, and although I’m scared to apply my new skills in the real world, I believe that App Academy gave me a good foundation for what it will take. -
Mohamed Sanaany
App Academy
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My time at App Academy was overall very pleasant. My instructors were amazing. They were really chill, knowledgeable, and their support is one of the things I will always speak highly of. I was hoping to do that Bootcamp in person, but the experience of doing it fully remote was also amazing. Overall, if I went back in time, I'd still do it all over again. I had such an amazing experience and would recommend App Academy based off of that. It's hard of course but worth it. -
Abdullah Wafy
App Academy Graduate Alum & Aspiring Software Engineer
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*Your one-stop for the all the facts as of 2020*
The pros of App Academy are:
- Only students that can withstand the initial rigor will be accepted (a/A claims about 4-5% acceptance rate).
- There are many many success stories after graduation (a/A claims about 90-95% job placement rate).
- They actually provide real career coaching and job seeking guidance and it's part of the curriculum as opposed to being something optional.
- Their ISA or Income Share Agreement is a 100% winner, which means you don't pay upfront until after you get a Software Engineering job making at least over $50,000 and even then you pay them back in reasonable payment installments over the next 3 years.
- They have an online full-time program available so it's remote and flexible besides their in-person programs in SF and NY.
- Their culture and environment is inclusive and diverse and they allow for daily feedback, reports, and criticisms.
- You get to learn JavaScript, React, Node.js, Express, SQL, Python and Flask for the online curriculum.
- You get to make some good connections with some good instructors and some good career coaches.
- Their daily and entire structure, discipline and testing is both intense, demanding which is beneficial to keep you focused and on-track and yet surprisingly flexible for the online program. You have freedom to breathe and structure yourself as well.
- It is arguably the # 1 coding bootcamp -- according to stats by a/A) -- and for the reasons I mentioned above.
The cons of App Academy are:
- If you opt for the ISA then you do have to pay them back $31,000 total at the most, which is definitely overpriced (but with a SWE or Software Engineer's salary it is easy to pay off I guess).
- As of 2020 for the online program, the curriculum needs serious revising and oversight. In the readings, there are numerous typos, grammatical errors, misleading statements that confuse the amateur, and also inaccurate coding instructions in projects that derail students and waste a lot of precious time. There are usually better outside sources that teach the same topic better. It is not exactly the same curriculum as their successful in-person curriculum model at SF and NY. Throughout the 6 months of the online full-time course, they were slow to revise, update, change, correct video, reading, exercises material and resources.
- Not all of their instructors and career coaches are competent for the job (at least for the online program I attended). Some lack in expertise of subject-matter. Those that are proficient in subject matter are either deficient in teaching skills or completely do not know how to teach effectively (this is coming from a former teacher at all levels and a world-class curriculum developer). Their hiring team is questionable since they are behind hiring their TAs, instructors and coaches for the reasons just stated.
- They do not offer an official piece of paper (if that matters to anyone) such as a diploma, certificate as-of-to-date. I'm also not sure about academic credits, you should ask them. They might incorporate this in the future.
- You will not at all be ready when you graduate (if you are coming from a non-CS and non-tech background). You have to put in the smart and hard work and discipline yourself after graduation for a few more months to reach a level of adequacy as a Web Developer/Coder (let alone a Software Engineer). Going through the program will not do that for you (again if you are coming from a non-CS and non-tech background). I feel like this definitely could be remedied with better curriculum development (emphasis on depth of knowledge rather than breadth like replacing the time and effort to learn some extraneous techs with more emphasis on constructing more projects and polishing them up and learning one tech stack really well since the rest can be self-taught) and to get a better hiring team to get real teachers in there, but alas! My valuable counsel has been ignored as far as I'm concerned.
- You will have to pay them back even if you don't land a coding/web development/software engineering job with the conditions above.
- The language in their legal contract before you are accepted is extremely skewed in their favor and oppressive, so if enough students voice their concerns and demand slight changes this will be better in terms of fairness. -
Isaac Yoon
Great but could improve
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The curriculum at App Academy is well designed, offering repeated exposure to the same concept in different ways. So if you don't understand it the first time, you'll get it the second. It also challenges the student to think deeply about the subject material, imparting a deep level of understanding of not just coding but computer science concepts.
With that being said, I think their online materials/readings needs definite improvement, as some of the material is outdated and written poorly. Their job search curriculum seems to be very good (I will update this review upon finding a job). Just be sure to read ALL the fine print closely because there are some nuances to their pricing model and certain rules must be followed.
Also, they only offered a $100 "gift" when they switched the entire in-person cohort to remote instruction due to coronavirus. They should have offered more, as some people paid upfront for an in-person experience. -
Eric Chen
Awesome experience!
Lots to learn with very little time. This is a very fast paced curriculum, but is not impossible if you put in the time and effort. One of the most rewarding things I've ever done. -
Charles Coombs-Esmail
A great program to quickly become a SE
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App academy is really good program for those looking to quickly become software engineers. Self learning can be a good path as well, but AA will get you to the point of being a competent software engineer much faster. You learn a lot not just about programming, but also all of the things that go into becoming a software engineer. In this respect, it gives students invaluable information that you would not typically get from a Computer Science degree. All of the instructors are really nice and supportive, and all of the students are really smart. They are careful to create a good culture and atmosphere. -
Dillon Rice
Its like drinking out of a firehose
Lots of information crammed into a short period of time. The most important thing they teach you is how to self serve. COVID had our cohort remote most of the time so Im afraid I missed some of the expirience. -
Hari
Intense, but worth it!
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Joining App Academy was one of the best decision I have made in my life! When I first heard about App Academy, it was hard to believe that the curriculum would require 80-100 hours per week of studying, which is definitely TRUE! During those 16 weeks of your life, you got to be able to talk and breathe programming. My experience at a/A was just amazing, it taught me more than I could have ever learned on my own. Lastly, it is doable, if you have the want to become a Software Engineer, highly recommended.