App Academy Reviews
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Nick Bierman Verified via LinkedIn
Challenging, but worth it if you want to change your career.
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I was skeptical of the bootcamp model at first, but the App Academy team and curriculum made me believe in a bootcamp as a very legitimate model to change your career. With that being said, it requires your full attention for 9+ hours per day (sometimes on weekends as well). If you are truly driven to change your career, I highly recommend a/A, but it only works if you put in the work.
Pros: Lots of great instructors (most of whom are a/A grads since they emphasize hiring internally). Many bright, motivated students with whom to learn.
Cons: Some of the curriculum material is difficult to understand and could definitely be improved. To the instructors' credit, they consistently acknowledged student feedback on the material. My understanding is that they are constantly updating/upgrading the curriculum, so I suspect this issue is not permanent. -
Tri T. Verified via LinkedIn
Great Environment, Tough, Rewarding!
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I took the July 2020 in-person curriculum held remotely. I enjoyed my time at App Academy. The staff was great and a/A does a great job in providing a great learning environment (You are encouraged to always ask questions). I met a lot of great people and would highly suggestion creating a study group. App Academy's curriculum provides every student the foundation to succeed but every student's experience is a lot different. This is a situation where you get what you put in. The curriculum is fast and very tough, especially if you do not have any experience in coding. By the end of the program, you will have had 3 capstone projects (Full Stack, MERN stack, Vanilla Javascript). Overall, I'm happy with my decision on attending App Academy, but because it was such a rigorous curriculum, I would not want to go through it again. -
Nick M Verified via GitHub
Great Choice
I have to say, I was skeptical of bootcamps since some are known to inflate their statistics. But with app academy, I was happy to know they took everything seriously. I worked close to a 100 Hours a week, and the stress of having weekly assessments, that could kick you out of the program, weighed on me heavily. But at the end I learned a lot of new skills, which helps with the job search. -
Jose Verified via LinkedIn
Restaurant Server turned Software Developer
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TLDR: Of course it's hard. But the payoff is greaaaaaat! :D If you're thinking of what bootcamp, just apply to App Academy.
Pros: - Amazing experience - You can ask for help aaaaaaaaaall the time - Lots of resources - Relevant course materials - Software salaries are QUITE high - You learn 2 languages, a frontend framework, 3 projects (2 solo, 1 group), and a bunch of other stuff
Cons: - Sooooooooooo much work (your routine will be: Coffee, Lecture, Lunch, Work, Work, Dinner, Work, Sleep, Repeat for 16-weeks)
Not TLDR: Hello World! - the beginning of your journey; if in fact you are new to this stuff like I was. Before App Academy, I had been a Host and a Server in the restaurant business for four years. When the pandemic hit I was out of a job and had to look for options. I live in San Francisco and a ton of people here are in tech and so I thought I'd check it out and see if it was for me. I took a two-week Jumpstart program with App Academy and there I learned Ruby - a cool language that flows like plain English; mostly. I was never great at math but have always been interested in languages. Learning to code is like learning a language. If you like that, try it out. When you're coding you're solving problems and trying to get stuff to work. It can be very gratifying! Jumpstart was a lot of fun for me and so I applied to App Academy. On my first try I hadn't practiced my skills enough but on the second try I did great! From the first day at App Academy know that you are in for a lot of work. In the morning, I think it was ~9-12:30 for me, you will have lectures with 1-2 5-10 minute breaks in-between. In the afternoon, ~1:30-5, you will be paired up with a fellow classmate to solve a bunch of problems mostly related to your morning lectures. The lectures will be based on your previous evenings material. Expect about 4-6 hours of studying every evening - I wish that were a joke but you've got a lot to learn in 16-weeks. You will do your partner and yourself the most good if you do your homework. Please, please, please, do your homework. When I graduated, it took me about 2-3 more weeks to finish up my final projects. After that you go into job search and you will continue to do tons of work so that one day, you will land an awesome job in software!! :) -
Chad Verified via LinkedIn
Tough But Rewarding
Overall really rewarding experience that challenges you by pushing you to your learning limit. There are many great resources throughout the program that are up to you to utilize in order to succeed. Ask questions when needed and take care of yourself throughout the 6 months and you will set yourself up with a new career and competitive skills! -
Samuel Wong Verified via LinkedIn
App Academy Alum Review
Bootcamp is very effective in teaching and assisting their students. Very fast-paced environment, get ready to start studying 8-10 hours a day every day of the weekdays. -
Ramses Verified via GitHub
Full Stack Developer
My time at App Academy was great, met a ton of amazing people and the TA's were beyond helpful! I never felt like I wasn't getting sufficient help through out -
Xin Wen Li Huang Verified via LinkedIn
Software Engineer Intern
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I attended App Academy in 2020, and had an overall positive experience. The main things that I got out of App Academy would have to be computer science principles, a strong and large network, and the confidence to go out and learn on my own. I am currently in the midst of my job search and I can largely attribute the attention that I am getting and what I know thanks to App Academy. Some things that can be worked on would just to make sure the curriculum is constantly being reviewed so that the most relevant and helpful material are being taught, or possibly having multiple curriculums with different tracks. I personally wished that the program did last a little bit longer, just because I found myself doing a lot of additional learning after my cohort ended, and felt like I could have learned those things more quickly under a controlled classroom environment. Overall, App Academy is one of the few good bootcamps out there. The amount of knowledge I have gained in just 4 months is quite remarkable, and I have seen a lot of positive results in terms of getting interviews and jobs personally and amongst my peers. -
Jonathan Siu Verified via LinkedIn
App Academy Grad 2020
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I attended app academy from July 2020 - Nov 2020, so the entire course was conducted via Zoom. The curriculum was intense and required me to essential dedicate my entire day to coding besides eating and sleeping. The teachers were helpful, but could have had a few more due to the high demand of questions amongst the students. I found a role in Feb 2021 due to a referral. Biggest tips would be to make friends and create study groups so you could rely on one another to motivate and help whenever you/others are stuck on a topic. -
Lauren Thompson Verified via GitHub
A great program
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I would highly recommend App Academy to anyone who is wanting to switch careers. The TA's are very helpful and in my cohort the other students were very supportive of each other. It's a difficult and stressful program, there are assessments every week or two and you need to pass them to stay in the program. It's very fast paced because there is a lot of information to cover, and there will always be more to learn, but I think one of the most important things you learn to do at App Academy is how to quickly pick up new software and start using it. This has been one of the most beneficial skills I've seen during the job search and starting this new career. If you are prepared to put in a lot of effort this is a great program, and I think it will set you up for success, but you need to be prepared to put a lot of work in. Good luck and enjoy! It is one of the hardest things I've ever done, but also one of the best. -
Paul Ramirez Verified via LinkedIn
One of the most valuable experiences I've ever had
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App Academy provided me with the structure I needed to learn the foundational skills necessary to become a software engineer. Their admissions process is rigorous for a reason - they need to select great people to be a part of the bootcamp because we have to pair program everyday. I thoroughly enjoyed closely working with new people on different projects and met a lot of talented individuals who had a lot to offer. You can surely learn all of this material alone, but definitely not at the pace or efficiency that a/A forces you to. You are accountable to others and have to make sure you are well versed in the material every day, or else you take away from the others in your cohort. Overall a great experience that taught me several skills I never had 16 weeks ago. -
James Park Verified via GitHub
Full-Stack Software Engineer: In Person
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It is a very immersive experience with exposure to different technologies and practicing what we learned through trial and error through projects. Learned a lot once we started individually doing full-stack projects, testing what we learned, and expanding our initial understanding of the topics and concepts we learned through video lessons as well as guided lectures. Personally, I learned way more and at a faster pace than I could have on my own. I really respect that they don't just teach you everything and expect you to find a job on your own, but help you build an online presence that is competitive with today's market. -
Monica Liang Zheng Verified via LinkedIn
Software Engineer
AppAcademy was one of the best experiences of my life. I've met some amazing people in my cohort and the instructors were amazing. They helped me improve my coding skills dramatically and I was able to create some amazing project I never thought I would ever be able to create. Although the bootcamp is very intensive, I wouldn't trade this experience with any other from another bootcamp. -
Tasnim Saiduzzaman Verified via LinkedIn
Amazing Project based curriculum
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App Academy was an amazing experience, a place where i grew in my knowledge of languages and experience using fullstack technologies at an insanely fast rate. This was not something i could have done alone, and the structure App Academy had allowed for me to learn new languages quickly by being hands on and not just reading theory. I think for those looking to learn practical experience in coding and learn how to actually create something to grow their experience, this is the best bootcamp out there. Only con would be that if the curriculum was taught in python instead, it would make the graduates even more easier to get the best jobs out there. -
Alexandria W Verified via LinkedIn
Well-structured curriculum
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App Academy is a great starting point to coding if you need structural guidance and strict time management along your journey. But after all, it’s on you to decide how would you like to learn.
Pros:- The well-structured curriculum consists of 11 weeks of lecture+pair programming projects, 2 weeks for a fullstack project, 1 week for a MERN group project, 1 week for a JavaScript Project, and finally 1 week of career quest lectures and pairboarding time. The goals of each week are clearly stated so you know what to expect.
- The projects are precious hands-on experience that will help you have a full picture of what software engineering is, especially the MERN group project where you have a lot of freedom and needed to collaborate with classmates.
Cons:- Class sizes varied and a/A claims to maintain a TA to student ratio of 1:9 - 1:10. However, in the later weeks, it took a long time for a TA to come and questions were left unanswered at the end of the day. (We were encouraged to not attempt unfinished projects after lesson time.)
- TAs come and go throughout the bootcamp. Understandably, they would leave the TA position once they get an engineering job, but that means some new TAs would not be fully aware of the ability of some students and provide adequate support.
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Christopher L Verified via LinkedIn
Great Start to Your Programming Career
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After attending App Academy, I can truly say the experience was something else. App Academy is a fast paced bootcamp that teaches you several technologies and languages. Some pros and cons will be listed below
Pros: The structure of the entire course is well put together. I believe they did an excellent job teaching Ruby, a language that reads almost like English, in order to allow students to transition into a programming mindset. Pair programming everyday allowed students to gain experience elaborating their thoughts and putting it to words. The final projects were the best idea enabling students to put in more work than before and learning how to program themselves without the extensive help of TA's.
Cons: The tests are a bit too easy. There is a clear distinction between the level of students towards the end of the course. The tests become repetitive and actually mirror some practice tests. By mirroring practice tests, students begin to memorize these not furthering their skill set.
Python should be taught instead of Ruby. Ruby is great for new people entering the world of programming but Python is similar to Ruby and is used more throughout the industry. I know it's hard to switch curriculums and is very time consuming but it would be beneficial to students. -
Edmond Verified via LinkedIn
It is what you make of it
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This curriculum will teach you how to code. Succeeding is up to you.
What you do with the knowledge App Academy teaches is up to you. Your projects and what you learn while building them will be more important than the fundamentals that they teach during the curriculum. Learning how to teach yourself and correctly identifying errors and bugs something you will learn App Academy and will be something that will be important in your professional career.
Overall the App Academy curriculum is great and there are instructors who are there every step of the way. Once you finish the program, the training wheels fall off and you have to keep yourself regimented to keep learning & coding. -
Aaron Lewis Verified via LinkedIn
A great experience!!
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I had a great time learning Software Engineering at A/a!! The best part of my personal experience was definitely the TA's. App Academy does a great job of finding the best TA's around to teach CS with a full understanding. You always feel that they want you to succeed at every step, and are always there when you need them. My fellow App Academy students added to the overall environment as well, always optimistic and rooting each other to do better and learn more. But how much you enjoy and learn from App Academy is going to be up to you, if you go in with a positive outlook and strong goals you are going be very happy that you chose A/a!!! -
Miguel Verified via LinkedIn
Intense bootcamp
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This is bootcamp is very intense. If you have a wife and kids, be ready to spend some time away from them. It's true what others have said. You need to dedicate 12+ hrs/ day, including weekends, to succeed. The world of programming is huge so there is a lot to learn and you will feel overwhelmed from information overload while taking the course. You will need to keep learning after graduation!!!
Final notes, I joined app academy for their job search support/placement. I ran into some family issues and needed a "pause" from this so I can take of business. My career coach has been very understanding and supportive; I will be applying to jobs soon so I will update. -
KyleA Verified via LinkedIn
Was Quite A Fulfilling Journey, But Realistic Expectations Are Needed
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App Academy lived up to my expectations for the most part. I knew it would be fast paced and that there would be missing spots in my learning. I am a 'career transitioner' that had a little nest of cash stored, so I took that opportunity to move to tech. I came in with knowledge of the basics of HTML & CSS from creating a Wordpress blog a few years prior and doing some FCC and Codecademy training. At the time, I was considering multiple coding bootcamps and had never even heard of a/A, but once they were on my radar, the reviews made me confident that I would be pushed to my limit, which in my head translated to becoming a very capable software engineer through intense studies. Personally, my time was solely dedicated to 32 Weeks of a/A, so if you are unable to give your entire days to them, your process will be quite trying. 10-7, take a break for dinner/family, and then a few hours of homework/study afterwards. To be transparent, I haven't found my first role yet, and I am 3 months into the job search. I have a Bachelor's and Master's. It takes time, and the expectation given down to us is 400 - 600 applications at 25 minimum apps placed a week. I believe I'm somewhere between 225 and 250 applications thus far. Please prep for this.
Important Things To Note
* Marketing - Take the marketing material for what it is. Yes, you can get a job making 100K in San Francisco or NY, but this is significantly harder for the online cohorts due to everyone being disbursed throughout the world. I can only speak from my experience, and my experience also tells me to let you know that you will be in the market looking for role for months if you are unwilling to move to hot spots, and many time if you are, it won't be for 100K. 100K is a lot of money if you didn't know, and companies expect a lot of those that are making the big bucks. Just frame your goals properly and know what you are signing up for.
* Deferrals - I started right before Covid hit, so we were given additional opportunities to defer to later cohorts simply because of how much was going on at the time. To put it plain, once shutdowns were instated, no one was solely focused on school, family arrangements were different, and things just changed. Typically, I think you are given 3 deferrals, but 1 was added for us, making it a total of 4. I have seen people defer for medical reasons and family issues, but the most common is not passing assessments. There were around 14-15 assessments. Understand that deferrals is not a scare tactic. You will be removed from a/A and will also be required to pay a prorated amount if you end up not making it through the entire program. Read your agreements, please. For me personally, I deferred twice, making my total time in a/A 32 weeks compared to 24 weeks. That's an additional 2 months. There are weeks where 0 people defer, and then on the harder weeks, you will see double digits defer. Don't let it deter you too much. You will move to the cohort immediately behind you. There is 1 new cohort a month, so it places you 4 weeks back. On the positive side, this gives you the opportunity to reinforce concepts that didn't stick. It was well stated in my cohort(s) during our graduation that potential deferments induced more anxiety than anything else. That is where the stress lies due to you not knowing what the assessments could potentially have on them. Pressure makes diamonds, but pressure also busts pipes.
* Finances - Plan accordingly. I was one who bet on myself and believed I could make it straight through without any deferrals, meaning, I chose not to do the contract and instead paid a portion up front. Well, I deferred twice. If I wouldn't have budgeted correctly, that extra two months out of work could have had long lasting implications and could have really hurt me. Be smart.
* Skill Level - For the most part, a/A tests for the correct personality types in the pre-work/interview stage, but on day 1, you will soon realize that some people are just naturally gifted, have a little more experience, and there is really nothing you can do about it. They look for ambitious and driven personalities, but that isn't all that matters. Don't let this get you down. Those that are answering all of the questions and know alot more when you pair with them is great, but if you're not that person, it's not a death sentence either. We all learn in different ways and different speeds.
* Technical Mentors & Teaching Assistants Matter - Like college, I believe who is teaching you is equally as important as what you are learning. Speaking for myself, I didn't feel that I had the right mix of teachers until I made it into my last cohort. I felt like the mentors and ta's really fought for us when assessments were just unfair(timing or not good questions), and it genuinely felt like I had met my tribe. This has nothing to do with my previous cohorts, but honestly speaking, I didn't get that same feeling or attention. It made me regret starting when I did, meaning I came in halfway through a cohort once relationships had already been established and additionally, I had learned things in ways that were taught much better in the new cohort, etc... My cohort mates just seemed to be fundamentally stronger than I was at times, and I believe it was due to the culture that the TM and TA's created for the group.
* Post Covid a/A Experience Is Different - Put simply, you're prone to be more of just a number. The pre-covid groups were small. Jan graduated ~11 , Feb graduated ~6, March graduated ~12, April graduated ~17, May graduated ~18.... Numbers ballooned severely after this. People are out of work and taking the opportunity to transition to new careers. The cohorts are now starting with 75+ students, leading them to have to change the way instruction is given as well. In my estimation, from those 75-90 students in a cohort, each graduation will now be anywhere from 30 - 40 students graduating. Just be aware that the small circles and having the little school experience is no longer there.
* Students with kids under 5 - If your kids are at home during the day and you are the sole person responsible for them, I can't imagine how you will survive the curriculum. This is not extremely common, but there are some. In my case, I saw 3 different cases. Those 3 are no longer enrolled at a/A. This is not a scare tactic, but owing a company thousands of dollars is not a bright outcome, so make sure you have a daycare or someone to care for them.
* Diversity - Simply put, not a ton of women and not a ton of color. For a graduation class of 17, 2 were black and 1 woman.Scholarships and marketing material(Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Instagram Ads) should be geared towards both of those communities. Slack channels for subsets of individuals is respectable and an attempt, but it's not enough. There also needs to be some diversity in the C-Suite roles. You can't understand people that you have no exposure to.
* Curriculum - Pretty decent. I can only speak from the perspective that I never worked with most of the languages before doing it, so I can only compare it against FreeCodeCamp and Codecademy. From that lens, it was pretty good. There were weaker sections, but I also understand how tough it is to make changes, getting approval, and everything that comes with that process. Bottom Line: Don't expect too much when you are literally learning a new subject/concept pretty much every week. A personal frustration is that a lot of the projects were centered around building a game such as Tic-Tac-Toe, King's Travail, recreating Pokedex and things like that. So, I'm not a gamer, and though many coders are, it was tough at times to keep my attention. Most of us aren't going into game development, so diversifying the selection of projects should be considered. E-Commerce sites, internal banking applications, you know, things that are actively being built in the market. Just a thought.
* CareerQuest/Job Support - If you are opening up an online portion, naturally I believe a global partnerships team should also be rolled out. You have students across the world, but most opportunities presented are for NY and SF. Career Coaches are doing what they can I believe and have a lot on their plates. Overall, I'm still going through this process, so my entire outlook is dependent on the first role I acquire. Let it be known that the student does the work though, the coaches are just their to hold you accountable. Trust, you can also get kicked out while searching for a job as well. There are still meetings you are required to attend weekly and the pressure lessens, but doesn't stop. -
Kasey McGee Verified via LinkedIn
Best Decision Ever!
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I thought that with education costs and the time it takes to get a degree, I would never be able to transition into software engineering. Not while taking care of my family anyways. Well with their deferred tuition and instructional approach, I can proudly say I have made the switch and with everything I have learned I feel confident with my skillset and look forward to the opportunities to come! I do gotta say though, no one is going to do this for you. They have all the tools and curriculum and support you need. You just have to buckle down and get it done. There is no easy way! The Job search is just that... a Job search! You gotta put in the work for that too. No one is going to be begging for you to work for them you need to put in the work for your own branding and self presentation as well. This for me is the hardest part! Good luck to all those who are going to take the leap it will be worth it! -
Daniel Ford Verified via GitHub
Great Course, be mindful of cost
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The instructors and TAs were amazing, always going the extra mile to make sure we understood what was going on. The curriculum covers a lot of important material and does a good job explaining the concepts.
If you are thinking of going, make sure you have enough to support yourself through the program AND for potentially 6+ months after (current placement rates for App Academy graduates is ~50% in 6 months.) -
Tom Xu Verified via GitHub
Full Stack Software Engineering Online
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I really enjoyed the experience with them on this journey! Even though Some of the contents I did not understand full well enough to skillfully apply them to real projects. The overall framework of the trade has been given to us. Most importantly teaching staff later stress heavily that students should have to capability to search documents and other sources independently to acquire knowledge. Most important thing is that they teach us to be able to teach ourselves in our careers. -
Ajay Rajamani Verified via LinkedIn
Tech is a second gold rush, and these folks sell shovels
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I attended App Academy after graduating college with a degree in Ecology and working in the US Forest Service for three years. Basically, I had no technical experience whatsoever outside of playing video games and experimenting with basic coding in the language BASIC when I was a kid. After about 7 months total of coursework and the job search, I landed a job as a software engineer at a series C startup and I feel wholly prepared to assume my new role.
App Academy has a pretty solid curriculum, and while you could conceivably learn it all on your own it's much more efficient to do it through them. While most of the TA's are recent A/a grads, the cohort leads are usually experienced engineers and can answer your in-depth technical questions. I'm pleased to say there is a decent focus on true CS concepts rather than just how to use the trending tools of the industry, which is really what counts in the job search. Specific languages and tools go out of style rapidly, but if you can internalize the core concepts of CS and learn how to pick up new things on the fly, you will be able to apply to a wide range of jobs and have a chance of passing the interviews.
Pair programming is one of the most infuriating experiences imaginable, but I will say that it is the secret sauce that makes this bootcamp work. Left to you own devices you will likely not be motivated or focused enough to work through the whole curriculum on your own, but when paired with another person all day it makes sure that both partners are on task and making good progress. I will say I love pair programming when two people can just freeform work on the project together and throw out the driver/navigator roles, and I encourage you to suggest this to your partners if both of you are on board.
I would also say that while the A/a model works really well right now, it is definitely a crapshoot whether or not it will work for you or in the future. Right now tech is a bloated whale of high paying coding jobs that could be conceivably had with just 4-6 months of rigorous training, but I suspect that like the gold rush this will come to an end. Most of these jobs are for startups which are not profitable and are funded by VC cash. While I'm not an economist, I have heard from people who are that the tech industry is likely overvalued and may crash in the same way that finance did in 2008. Just be wary, and have realistic expectations. At the time of this review I would 100% recommend App Academy as a viable option to a tech career, but if you are reading this a year or later down the line I would do my research into the state of the industry and bootcamp placements before registering. If you are older (say, 35+) or lack a degree you may also struggle to find a job as many companies will automatically weed you out for not having a degree or discriminate against you for being an older candidate. Ditto if you are not a citizen or green card holder. While I and many of my friends found jobs within 3-6 months of finishing the program (some even sooner), I also met many people who fit into the above categories who ended up searching for upwards of a year.
The one place where App Academy really shines is the job search. This to me is where 90% of the value comes from. Anyone can learn how to code on their own, but I can honestly say without my dedicated and talented coaches I would have been dead in the water. They teach you things that you can't easily learn off the internet, things you wouldn't even think to google, and the job search formula works, at least in this current economy. Indeed, I did App Academy because I didn't think I could find a job in my old field (ecology), but after going through the job search curriculum I realize I total could have if I knew what I know now about job searching. Lastly, I'd like to mention that my first coach was a dud and pretty useless, but after he "left" App Academy I was assigned to two new coaches who were total rockstars. My point is your milage may vary, but for the most part I would say the coaching staff is solid.
Finally, read the fine print. The ISA money-back guarentee only applies if you finish the program and don't find a job after a year, and even then you will more than likely have to sign a job search extension adding extra months before you are eligible to get your money back. This is due to the fact that your projects and job search materials will likely not be done by the time you graduate and you will need to spend additional time working on these, during which time you are not technically job searching. Make sure that you are able to support yourself being fully unemployed for a period of 17ish months (4 months curriculum + 13 months for the search) before you start the program if you want to be safe. Of course you could just send it anyway, but you are running a risk as if you run out of money and have to go back to work you will still owe A/a $28K. Also, plan on moving to a tech hub city (most likely SF or NY) if you do not already live in one, these are the places where companies will hire bootcampers. I was lucky enough to score a remote job, but that is also mostly due to COVID. You may also be able to do so but again it is a crapshoot.
Overall, I would recommend App Academy but only in an artifically inflated and booming tech economy. -
Greg Verified via GitHub
Streamlined curriculum
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Pros:
- Good class structure and accountability to help keep students on track.
- Great teachers, feeling of community with other students, even though everything is online remote.
- Good breadth of material, focused on what companies are currently looking for in an applicant.
- Good pacing and balance between learning material and practical project work.
Cons:
- Certain subjects are still a little rough around the edges and need to be refined. Specifically, how we were taught react during my cohort was rough and kind of backwards, spent a lot of time on old ways of implementing react and very little time on the new (hooks) way. However, they are actively rewriting the whole react curriculum, so should be fixed for new students. -
Andre Souza Verified via LinkedIn
Very demanding, exactly what I expected
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I had a great time at App Academy. For me the con is also a pro, when you first sign up they tell you that it is a very rigorous and demanding program but I didn't take too seriously. Just a few weeks later I was putting in anywhere from 80 to 100 hours of work into completing the course work. Which is necessary due to the amount of material that we learn in just a few weeks.
I feel that the boot camp made me a better developer and that I was given all that I signed up for and more.
Thank you so much for changing my career path. -
Nahid Siddiqui Verified via GitHub
Well designed curriculum
App Academy is designed to push you to your limit and has you riding the line of being overwhelmed and advanced fast-paced learning. I really enjoyed my time with the TA's and my classmates. The TA's are very competent and helpful. If you're self-motivated and have a focused and directed mindset to become a software engineer/developer, I highly recommend App Academy. -
Dennis Lum Verified via LinkedIn
Leaves you feeling fulfilled
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I feel like saying that I enjoyed my time here would label me as a masochist, but yes.. I did enjoy my time here. I was looking into getting into coding, but didn't know where to start and what stacks to learn, so I decided to give App Academy's 16 week Full-Stack web development course a shot since I've heard of all these good reviews, and so far, I'm not disappointed. To get in, first you have to pass their interviews. After you get in, things start a little slow, for the first week, but then speeds up really fast. Especially after the first two weeks, which is the foundations part of the curriculum, after which, the real meat of the course starts to show and the pace picks up even more. It's extremely vigorous, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. If you manage to pass all their assessments you'll be rewarded with newfound knowledge in programming and the ability to build cool apps. After completing the course you enter your Career quest, in which you will be provided a Career Coach who will coach you on applying for jobs and interviewing. All in all it's been a great experience that leaves you feeling fulfilled, and I'm also impressed and how they turned this in-person course to an online one. -
Kevin Yieh Verified via LinkedIn
App Academy is a well structured bootcamp that provides you with all the tools you need to succeed
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Pros: Teaches you all the things you really need to know. Teacher assistants are really useful and the projects they provide for you to do are helpful. The teaching strategy is to repeat concepts until it's cemented in your memory, which I believe is rather effective.
Cons: They stop giving you meaningful assistance when it comes to your personal projects at the end of the bootcamp. You're pretty much on your own, but of course you have your fellow students as resources but they're also trying to complete their own projects. They claim that the independence on the projects is to emulate your experience outside the bootcamp (without Teacher Assistants). -
Winfred Huang Verified via GitHub
Challenging Course, Rewarding Experience
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In 16 weeks at App Academy, you will be thrown in lots of Computer Science concepts over various programming languages, given job searching prep work, and projects to demonstrate your programming knowledge. From my experience, those projects were fun and the knowledge gained has helped me to figure out additional technologies to incorporate into my projects! Even though this journey through this bootcamp has been challenging, it is worth it in the end. Aside from the amazing material you get, you also will get to meet amazing cohort-mates from various backgrounds. Overall be prepared and be serious, which I can't emphasize enough, to put in lots of work to understanding and practicing those computer science concepts.
Pros:
- The instructional material were up-to-date, fun, and challenging.
- Really helpful instructors to help you understand Computer Science concepts.
- Plentiful of help for your job search
Cons:
- Some Computer Science concepts taught (either in lecture or in instructional material) are hard to understand or not self-explanatory.
- The transition from programming projects to job searching was awkward. I can say the same when switching between programming languages too.
Tips I could give:
- Try to learn some new programming languages/concepts ahead of time (even better if before the bootcamp). I highly suggest learning Python.
- Have a set schedule as you do not want to overwork yourself, especially when you're going to be studying new concepts daily.
- Be prepared to be expected to learn new concepts instantly. -
Daniel Creppel Verified via LinkedIn
Tough Experience, but well worth it.
pros:
- Great structured material
- Engaging learning experience
- Tests are easy
- App Academy is really invested in you to succeed
cons:
- Requires 70+ hour weeks
- Tests are tedious and do not reflect well on you understanding of the material
- Very little focus on Data Structures and Algorithms
- JavaScript portion of the curriculum is virtually nonexistent
- Understaffed -
Dong Hyuk Kim Verified via LinkedIn
Student - Online Full-Time
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As a student, I felt that I only scratched the surface of each topic, then did my best (with my pair-programming partner) to apply the knowledge on daily projects. During the initial week-long full stack projects, I didn't have a clear idea on how to start. However, my Principle Instructor (Ian) and the TA's (Javier, Dean) were always there and extremely helpful in guiding me in the right direction and helping to debug. By the time the capstone project came around, I felt equipped to develop a full stack project -- to the extent that I taught myself a whole new framework in just a few days to use in my project.
a/A simplifies complex topics across the full stack into simple, but not always digestible pieces. You will spend only a few days on topics that are taught over a semester in college. At times, you are likely to be overwhelmed by the pace. On the flip-side, you are also likely to be too immersed to even think about it. It may feel like you are being rushed to cram new material each day, but you would be surprised to realize how much you are actually learning under the hood. In addition to the basic knowledge, you are learning how to learn new technologies quickly and effectively. This resourcefulness is probably the most valuable return on your investment of time, money and effort.
My thoughts upon completion of the program: I thought I was running a marathon, but it turns out I was being taught how to tie my shoes really well for five months. The marathon has only just started. -
deepak Verified via LinkedIn
Recent Grad
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pros:
they bet on you with income sharing
there are instructors to help (within reason)
good breath of material
career support
they force you to learn
great for people who want to learn and feel confident they can do it
cons:
It might feel expensive after you finish
at times you might feel overwhelmed if you don't have any tech background. but still doable. be ready to sacrifice something.
sometimes the curriculum feels rushed or disjointed
-
Ayce Verified via LinkedIn
Software Engineer
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App Academy was an over great experience for me. I enjoyed the curriculum and met amazing people in the process. Due to the pandemic, the in-person program became online. It's a serious program that requires focus and dedication. I've had classmates with no background in coding like myself as well as those who have engineering degrees from top schools across the nation. I self-studied for 6 months prior to starting the program. If you have little to no background in coding, this would be extremely helpful. They also have a pair programming rhetoric. I paired with someone nearly everyday for projects.
PROS - you can learn so much within 16 weeks with effort and dedication
CONS - Some curriculum is outdated. They are working on updating that material.
If you plan to join a/A, say goodbye to evenings and weekends. It is a lot of work but it's all worth it! -
Ahmed El Mahallawy Verified via GitHub
Software Engineering Immersive
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Overall I really enjoyed my experience at appAcademy. Albeit this is a review for the In-Person track, my cohort was done completely online due to COVID, which I believe provided a multitude of pros and cons. The curriculum was great and it is exactly what you expect: it is 100% a full-time commitment ranging between 9-11 hours a day roughly (prior to your projects; you'll put in even MORE time). The learning curve and experience was absolutely enjoyable for me; I loved going from a introductory level of knowledge in the technology taught to a proficient developer with 3 projects under my belt that I'm proud of.
Pros:- Online helped give flexibility to one's time (we had someone with an 11 hour difference in our cohort); yes it is tedious to have a time difference but you can 100% make it work. I did (I was 3 hours ahead).
- Teach you the basics and work their way through technology FUNDAMENTALLY. An example of this occurred in the React section of the curriculum; we didn't learn best-industry practice using hooks but rather containers. This made my understanding of containers/hooks significantly better. Learn to walk before you run.
- Instructors are well-versed in what you're learning. They are grads of the bootcamp themselves. They know what you go through, and understand the struggle with what they teach you. Use them, they're great.
- Project time was by far the most fun I had during the bootcamp, yet also the most stressful; you can use the tech you learnt over the weeks to build a brand new application from a blinking terminal. Having that a mandatory section of the bootcamp made me really experience my own learning which I feel grounded my foundational understanding of those topics.
Cons:- Like I mentioned earlier, it is 100% what you expect: a full-time immersive commitment to learning and breathing code. You don't have much time for anything else, especially during the project time. You get what you put in.
- We were always told that the bootcamp is "not a race" but rather a "marathon". I will tell you that is not accurate. It is a very fast paced marathon. You put in long hours and need to be committed to learn the material efficiently and quickly. If you don't put in the effort, you will not succeed.
- During project time, instructors were VERY "hands-off"; I felt like my group and I should've been able to find guidance after reaching a roadblock but we were turned towards crowdsourcing instead. Yes, asking peers is very valuable but when every minute counts during crunchtime, a simple 2 minute solution from an instructor is better than 3 hours of researching a work-around that could need to be changed down the road.
I hope this review gives you good insight into what you're getting yourself into. If ever you'd love to hear about more of my experience, I'd be more than happy to tell you about my experience. Good luck on your coding journey, you'll enjoy it at appAcademy! -
Kevin Zhang Verified via GitHub
Solid curriculum
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Over the course of three months, a lot of material gets squeezed into such a small time frame and it initially seemed like such a daunting journey to embark on. But with all the great support I got from the staff members and also the amount of work I had put in, I strongly believe that it's an experience worth my time and money. The material was both challenging and fun, especially with how much material is taught. And beyond the bootcamp, you get to meet a lot of amazing people!
Pros: Challenging and fun material, lots of opportunities to practice concepts, and you get plenty of help early on.
Cons: Sometimes the lecture feel too broad, and a lot of the CS concepts get glossed over (data structures & algorithms) and is more of a self-study type of deal
Tip: Manage your time if you plan to tackle this bootcamp! Getting enough sleep will go a long way and it helped me succeed and complete the course at full value -
George Verified via LinkedIn
Super intense but rewarding
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I am very glad I attended App Academy. I had been dabbling in different web development technologies for years. For example, I knew how to build web-scrapers with Python and Selenium. But I never had any formalized knowledge of the best practices to build a full-stack application. By the end of the 16 week curriculum, I was able to clone the core functionality of Quizlet.com as my final project. It was one of 3 large projects that we did.
In all we covered broad CS topics like data structures, algorithms, authentication patterns, tree traversal, among many others. And we learned specific technologies like Ruby on Rails, SQL, HTML/CSS, Javascript, React/Redux, Node & the MERN stack. We practiced using git & github extensively. We learned Test Driven Development thru technologies like Rspec & Capybara. Most importantly, we learned to learn. For example, when it came to the MERN stack & MERN projects, the instructors stopped holding our hands and made us practice picking up a new technology ourselves.
My cohort was supposed to be an in-person cohort, but it turned out to be online only due to Covid. At first I was upset that I wouldn't be able to interact with my instructors and classmates on a daily basis, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise - with the amount of work we had to do every day, I couldn't imagine having to spend another hour or two each day commuting.
I would give a 5-star review, but I do think it can be improved in a few ways.
1) A large part of the curriculum focuses on Ruby and Ruby on Rails. I believe that this is part of the design, in a sense, because Ruby is an easy introduction into the world of programming. We had people that came from completely different backgrounds and had little prior programming experience. However, it's looking like Python & Django are becoming more popular now and I wish we had some exposure to these frameworks as well. It appears that future aA cohorts will, in-fact, be going this route instead of RoR.
2) While aA has a wealth of knowledge on App Academy Open - the main tool for content for our curriculum (it's where all of our projects, homework, and readings were housed), that portal is not very organized. If I wanted to go back and reference something we learned 4-5 weeks back - it was hard to find. I wish they made all the projects & topics we covered searchable.
To say that App Academy was intense is not an understatement. About 1/3 of our initial cohort didn't make it to the end. But it was very rewarding to have completed it. -
Austin Wong Verified via LinkedIn
You get what you put in
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I went into App Academy without any prior coding experience. Coming out, I feel sufficiently prepared to answer tech answers intelligently, and absorb new technologies with some kin of framework. For those thinking about applying, remember that you get exactly what you put in. App Academy is not necessarily impossible to pass, but it is entirely up to you how successful you want to be coming out. You can "pass" the course with 60 hours a week, but in order to get the most out of it, 90+ is definitely preferable. -
Kristen C. Verified via GitHub
Online Immersive Full Stack Bootcamp
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I have loved my experience at App Academy. The curriculum has been rigorous but thorough. Not only did we learn the fundamentals, but we learned how to think like a programmer. We learned how to solve problems and how to ask the right questions. The curriculum extended beyond just coding and languages, and included many lessons on white-boarding, pair programming, soft-skills and job search principles. The instructors are knowledgeable and approachable, and there is always help to be found if you look for it. I have enjoyed my time at a/A and cannot recommend this program enough to all those who are trying to find the right fit. -
Brad Simpson Verified via LinkedIn
Best Online Course Ever!
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I started in February 2020 and just graduated the Online Full Stack Software Engineer course. I am currently in the very start of my job hunt and was completely prepared to do outstanding by the course. The material is great and the instructors are super knowledgable and just all around awesome. I have made lifelong friends with several of my classmates as well. If you want to change your life and become a software engineer, App Academy is the only choice in my book
