App Academy

When I was first deciding between bootcamps I wasn't sure how to determine the advantages of one over the other. Asking around in different bootcamps, App Academy definitely seemed to be the most competitive to get into as well as having a rigorous work load. I decided to attend App Academy and it was definitely one of the hardest and best things I've ever done. From the 4 months of course work, I learned a lot on frameworks and applications that are used in the industry. My cohort/class mates were extremely intelligent and I met a lot of great friends. They do have a policy where they ask you to leave if you fail two exams, which could be the reason for other negative reviews. The school provides you with everything you need to pass the exams and if you prepare enough then you should be fine. I did spend about 80 hours a week studying, but doing it alongside others is a part of the experience. The teachers/ lecturers are extremely knowledgeable and are always willing to help. Read less

 the learning environment is great, being surrounded by other people with similar interests and goals and supporting each other made App Academy a ton of fun. Even while working hard and studying most of the day, the friends and connections that you'll make will be well worth it. If you have a passion or interest in software engineering, I would definitely recommend App Academy if you have the time, regardless of the outcome you'll gain a lot out of the program. Read less

App Academy has a rigorous curriculum, but is incredibly rewarding. In just a few months you go from barely knowing anything about coding, to being able to develop full stack apps. Along the way you also meet some amazing people and have a fantastic support system. You are surrounded by other students who share your same passion for coding as well as TA's who went through the program themselves. It's a lot of hard work, and can be stressful keeping up with the light-speed curriculum, but it's 100% worth it. Read less

Learned a lot of new technologies with very important skill of debugging. Curriculum is designed carefully to get the maximum output. It's a fast paced learning environment which is my favorite thing for this curriculum. The only thing i felt needs improvement is management of job search phase. Lack of communication and proper announcements. Read less

The program is good, learned a lot in a span of a couple of months and I feel confident enough to say I'm a software engineer/developer. One of the few downsides that comes to my mind is not focusing more on React/Redux and JavaScript which are very important and the fact we do Ruby for 2 months doesn't make sense. Read less

I made it through the storm that is App Academy. App Academy is the most time consuming and stressful thing I have done in the last few years(And that includes starting a business).  My cohort started with around 25 people...  In the end, there were only 10 of us left(including a coder that was rolled back into our group).  Even though App Academy hours are from 8 am - 5 pm pacific time, there is usually a few hours of homework and readings every night as well. I usually found myself going to bend around midnight to 2 am studying every night since I was in central time.

In addition there are six assessments which you must score around an 85% to 90% or better in order to pass or after two fails you may be asked to leave the program.  So between studying for these assessments to remain in the program, doing the nightly homework videos, readings and coding projects where you are expected to take on and learn new content,  and the daily grind of 8 am to 5 pm (or 10 am to 7 pm if you are in the mid-west), and any ongoing projects or other fun homework that might be assigned, you might find yourself incredibly busy.

During the week it is pretty much impossible to find time to get out or do anything social. I made sure to keep myself active though and workout daily.  I think the assessments create a very stressful learning environment for the students and aren't a good measure of a coders ability. I saw many coders very stressed about the upcoming assessments. For some this brings out the best and motivates people to do better. For others, they would simply self-destruct.

What I love about App Academy is that it has taught me to think like a coder instead of having to resort to copy and paste or following tutorials to create websites, write backends, set up API endpoints, create games, or manage the flow of an app. I feel confident that I can build anything or learn any new kind of technology stack very quickly and use the thought process  that I have gained from App Academy. 

I was bummed at first that they taught Ruby as I consider it a dying language(Yes Ruby is still in demand). Even though it has many easy and useful and methods that can making coding much faster and simpler, it appears that it is not being used nearly as much by companies as Javascript, Python, Java, and some other languages. (By the way App Academy is switching to Python and I am excited to get access to their content). However, App Academy taught me Javascript as well, React, the MERN stack with MongoDB.  I learned GraphQL, docker, postresql, how to make GeoQueries,  organize my code better, and take advantage of object oriented programming. I mastered algorithms,  recursion, data structures, became great at debugging and learned many other things.

Their curriculum is on a whole other level from what you will usually find. If you complete the course, you will a deep understanding of algorithms, data structures,  how servers work, requests, responses, big-O, LRU cache, optimizations and many other things. We did things like creating our own version of Rails Active Record to see how Ruby on Rails worked behind the scenes. We did the same thing with JQuery. Once again, its more than just copy and paste. It's real understanding that you can take to any other endeavor.

And what I have found, when picking up a new language, framework or stack, is that the thought process is pretty much the same. I have been able to teach myself Dart to make mobile apps in Flutter and pick up python very quickly just using the techniques and knowledge that I gained from App Academy.

The Instructors are excellent, brilliant problem solvers, very knowledgeable and almost always available, even on the weekends or if you have a late night question.

I am currently about to start the Job Search phase, so we will see how this converts to finding a job. However, I feel very confident in my abilities.  Would I have put in 19 hours a day in coding for 6 months without App Academy? Probably not. App Academy also gave me streamlined curriculum to be prepared for the job search and and to be ready to build anything, instead of wasting my time on many youTube videos or Udemy courses that aren't useful don't help you to actually learn to solve problems like a coder.

Even beyond the job search, this has definitely changed my life, since I have many website and app ideas, and now I possess the skills to bring them into reality. I am no longer unsure where to start or how to attack a problem. App Academy has helped to break down problems and return solutions.

I do wish they went more into design. But I found myself getting very strong at design by working on the projects at the end of the course. Read less

It is highly condensed by design, and you need to be ready for that. You can also get through the whole curriculum without a lot of the material just studying for tests - don't do that, it will not benefit you. Overall, quite a positive experience and I'm could not be more happy I decided to do it.

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Pros: If you're new they will help you transition in programming, it starts off with Ruby then changes into Javascript. At the end you will be able to code and you will see a huge difference if how you were before versus the end
Cons: It's a lot of work so be prepared for it to take a lot of time

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Had a very exciting, fun experience going to app Academy. Everybody is just so nice, no matter who they are. Everybody is willing to help you to learn. I can say that it can be frustrating at most of the time but when you see the output of everything you worked for, it can also be so satisfying where you can surprise yourself on what you can do. Another good thing about them is they will never stop helping you as long as you need them.

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As a recent graduate I am still working to fulfill the goal I set before joining App Academy, to get paid as a professional developer. Even though I am not able to tell you how a/A helped me achieve that goal, I can say that the long hours and break neck pace in a variety of projects, as well as pair programming, definitely changed my own perspective of what I can accomplish within a week and I'm confident I can take care of any job that the industry will throw at me.
I'll be honest: At their pace you wont retain most of what you learn. You will be acquainted with many things, but not quite knowledgeable in them. Maybe that's what the industry wants, maybe it is just how I feel. Regardless, it is a mixed bag. Do your research, be prepared for it, and make most of it.

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The past few months at App Academy has been difficult but incredibly rewarding. The curriculum is definitely really fast-paced, as you are trying to learn how to develop a full-stack web application in merely a few months. However, as long as you are willing to put in the time and have a true passion for coding, you will succeed in this program!

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App Academy was an amazing experience! The curriculum was great and it was challenging every single day. I felt like I learned a ton and it was euphoric during the end of the program where we were doing individual projects. Crazy to believe 6 months ago I barely knew how to code and I was able to build some cool applications! This experience created a base foundation for my knowledge that I will use for the rest of my career!

Everyone who walks through those app academy doors are super motivated and I met some great friends along the way here. Its great coming in everyday and be in an environment thats highly motivating just to change your life. Id recommend this program to anyone if theyre willing to put in the work. Its no joke, it literally takes over your life the months are attend.

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This program is a 16 weeks program, its very intense and stressful but well worth your time and money. I started off a one of the weakest-coder. But with the help of my peers, they were willing to guide me into the right understanding. It was recommended to have a good sleep and eating habit, but I took sleeping very lightly. I literally crashed mid-course. I learned so many language in a short period of time. For the project, it was the most stressful weeks as I revisted all the material I didn't really get and relearning all over. But this was so worth it, learned alot and met alot of good nice people.

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If you're looking for a review that says App Academy was easy,  you won't find it anywhere! App Academy is a no bs, challenging experience that dives right into the material. It will challenge you in a good way. You almost have to teach yourself how to think differently. I had minimal to no coding experience prior to app academy whatsoever. Completing this course successfully has given me the greatest sense of accomplishment. It was extremely tough, expect long hours of hard work and almost no free time during the course. All said and done, it was worth it.

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Totally worth it! I met and worked with some of the smartest people I know. My instructors were kind, patient, and super knowledgeable. I went from barely knowing the basics to creating full-blown applications in 6 months. The pace was pretty difficult at times, but truly applying myself 100% was refreshing! App Academy's financial policy is a hard deal to beat. They care about your future first and take the immediate burden of $$$ off of you so that you can truly focus and be at your best. I wish all schools were as productive, down-to-business, and no-BS as aA!

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App Academy is not for those you are not fully committed and wavering about what they want to do. It is immersive and challenging and stretches your limit. But it is also one of the most rewarding experience if you do make it through and apply yourself and work hard. You are not left alone in the dark though. There are a lot of support from the teachers and coaches and also your classmates. They don't let you stay stuck and always encourage you to work with them to move forward. It is pricy and it is a big commitment, but you don't regret doing it afterward - and that is a course worth taking.

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App Academy has a reputation for being brutal, and it's earned it. The weeks are in fact 80 hours and everything else in your life that isn't absolutely necessary for your sanity does in fact have to yield to a/A. It's also an incredible way to learn a ton of information in a very short timespan, and does in fact confer web design ability within the three months it takes out of your life.

The organization is sometimes not the best – the whole program is mostly run by some very overstretched TAs – but the structure it provides and the peer support especially are incredibly useful and it's definitely a life-changing experience.

 

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I had always really wanted to learn how to code and build amazing things, but I never invested the time. It wasn't until an opportunity like App Academy, that I really decided to throw myself into the software world. And I am very glad I did.
App Academy arms you with the tools that you need to succeed in the harsh software world.

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App Academy in a great mix of challenge and fun. The rigor of the course gets you more than prepared for industry, and on top of that, you make life long friends. 

 

I remember I was woried about if it "was worth it" -- if you are reading this, the answer is YES. Take the chance, you won't regret it.

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