App Academy

App Academy was an intense bootcamp. I thought I was prepared for what was to come but I was not. The fast pace and back to back projects will definitely wear you out, however, all bootcamps do that. The instructors we're amazing! Honestly if it was not for them I would not have graduated. I went from knowing little to nothing about code to being able to replicate sites like netflix by myself within a week. You learn a lot and you learn fast. I would say the best thing about the school is that they teach you how to learn code vs how to simply code. In the work field you might be asked to code in a language that you havent done so before and if you dont know how to adapt quickly you will have a hard time. Thanks to App Academy I do not have that fear.  Read less

I came into the curriculum with a basic foundation of coding, however I had no experience in software development and in 
a mere 6 months I can say that I am much more confident in my ability to produce an application. App Academy not only teaches 
you relevant curriculum but (and this is the most important aspect to me) they set you up with the ability to continue self-learning after graduation

Pros
- The support from the TA's and Instructors are nice to have, especially when you aren't grasping a concept.
- 4 projects, consisting of 2 group project and 2 solo projects gives you a lot of experience working with different ideas, people, and technologies.
- Presence of a career coach makes the job search process feel much more structured.
- The focus on mini-projects while your learning really re-enforces the concepts learned for the day
- Learn Python for the online full-stack cohorts instead of Ruby
Cons
- Since I was in a Cohort with a new curriculum some of the material seemed like it was rushed or just not presented in a clear and concise way. Read less

It was a great experience with app Academy. Everybody is so helpful and friendly. I enjoyed everyday with a/a, and I learned many things from everybody, it was an amazing experience and I m so proud to be part of it.
I really appreciate that they offer support for the job search as well. Read less

A very challenging programming course, but very informative and worth it! It will be overwhelming and demoralizing at points, however stay strong and be communicative and it is manageable. My biggest tip to help you get through and not feel to drowned in work is to be pro-active and let your teammates and TAs know what is going on with you personally and academically. Read less

I'm switching over careers from a completely non-technical field to software development, and I couldn't have picked a better bootcamp to help me through this transition. Although I just graduated, I can say that in just the past 4 months I have learned a myriad of languages, technologies, and frameworks that I never would've imagined I could. App Academy's curriculum is prepared in a way that regardless of your technical background, you learn so so much in such little time and learn enough to compete with other aspiring software developers with university degrees in computer science. The only thing I wish App Academy did differently is to advertise themselves clearly as web development since thats basically what the curriculum is centered around. I can make a full-stack web application now, but not much more than that. Either way, I am super grateful to be able to have attended App Academy and would highly recommend this bootcamp over others to anyone who asks! Read less

Yes, there are articles coming up all the time criticizing App Academy's pricing plans and now freely available curriculum, but you will not find another group of dedicated instructors when you choose to take the plunge. They also help you all the way with admission advisors the very same day you submit the first admission form.

Yes, a lot of the concepts can be learned by yourself with hours pouring over Wikipedia, Stack Overflow, and elsewhere, but the greatest value to the intensive and immersive 16-week journey is not only the opportunity to have a glance at tech industry culture through the curriculum path and curated lectures, but the challenge at your fingertips everyday in pairing with another cohort mate to solve nontrivial projects and problem sets to actively mold into and further change the culture yourself.

App Academy is truly the one-stop-shop from beginning Ruby lessons to the job coaching that guides you the whole way after the 16-week course until you get your offer letters. Yes, you very well could go the route of learning JavaScript by yourself or maybe C by yourself, but everyone in App Academy upholds their standard everyday and provide living breathing proof that their techniques work, through their connections with tech companies all across the country and the regular alumni panels that return to talk to share their success with current students and encourage them on their way.

If you've stuck with me and read this far, start the application process and have a go at the webcam coding challenge. If you blow them away with no raise in heart rate then yes maybe this bootcamp is not for you. However, if you fall in love with Alvin's lessons and through intense study and dedication pass this first hurdle (an accomplishment you are reminded of even up to the final week of class), you will not be disappointed with the adventure set before you.

Thank you again to every single instructor and coach that guided my cohort and never quit on any one of us. Read less

I cannot express enough how much I enjoyed this program. The instructors and staff are all supportive, intelligent people that are able to cram a large amount of information into a relatively small amount of time while still making the lessons enjoyable and understandable. Unfortunately due to the Covid-19 outbreak, my cohort was forced to take the classes online, but even this wasn't unmanageable thanks to the efforts of App Academy. One thing to mention is that if the job fairs App Academy normally works with are extremely important to you, I would wait until quarantine measures are no longer in place.
That being said, the teachers and staff can only do so much. If you intend to apply to App Academy, be prepared to put your life on hold for several months. The coursework is rigorous and often overwhelming. If you fall behind too much you may not have the time to catch up with everyone else again, even with the help and resources provided. Do not ever grow complacent about the work. Overall if you think you can handle the bootcamp experience and are passionate about learning, I highly recommend App Academy. Read less

App Academy's curriculum is well designed and really reinforces fundamentals so every new lesson is built on what you have learned. By no means is it easy and you will definitely have to put in the work, but you are offered lots of help and resources from the TA's, fellow cohort-mates, and through additional readings. A majority of most days is filled with pair programming, which I really came to enjoy and realize its usefulness. However, there are only a handful of days where you get to tackle projects on your own, which I did not like, but that is merely my preference. After the curriculum, I feel that App Academy provided me the tools and fundamentals needed to further my programming skills and create full-stack web applications. Being a bootcamp that is only a few months long, I feel they do a great job in transitioning anyone, who is willing to put in the work, into a software engineer.

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Overall this program is it rigorous and does teaches you to code. If that is your goal and you have a solid internal support network, I'd recommend. The program lacks representation of womxn, POC, and other minority groups. Also in my cohort, these marginalized groups left the program at a higher rate. Please note - this does wear on your mental health as it is a very high pressure environment. There are 6 assessments, failing 2 will get you kicked out. There is a strike system for attendance and daily reports. Too many strikes and you're kicked out. Day to day you'll mostly be pair programming and working on projects with a partner. There is homework every night which can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 4-5 hours. After a long day of work, you have more work. 

You can pay all tuition upfront, all when you have a job, or a split. If you do not pay all upfront (most people do not) there is another strike system to prove you're looking for jobs appropriately. Similar to above, too many strikes and you'll owe them the unpaid amount. Honestly, this is good. It aligns incentives, holds you accountable, and gives you support. Read less

App Academy is going to be tough, as it is a very fast paced full time program. On top of the fast pace, there will be about 6 assessments spread out during the first 12 weeks of the program. Failing two will get you kicked out. If you're worried by any of these things, don't be. Despite the pacing of the curriculum, and the graded assessments, App Academy and their instructors make sure to teach you everything you need to ensure your success. I would highly recommend App Academy to anyone who is dedicated to the grind. Read less

They repeatedly mentioned that the curriculum is like drinking from a firehose-- they were not wrong, it was grueling and they cram what feels like years worth of material in mere weeks. Do not take it lightly and be prepared to devote everything you have for the long haul. The field of software development is an entire universe you could travel through your whole life and still not have touched everything. a/A's curriculum does a great job of navigating you through that universe and giving you a core understanding which can/must be built on. Bottom line: four months ago I didn't know what web development was, today I can actually build a website from scratch using in demand technologies.

Also curriculum aside be aware that they are very demanding when it comes to feedback on your end. Expect to fill out reports for how things went/are going every. single. damn. day. This sucked and was probably my least favorite part of the course. Also for what it is worth the company compass is pointed progressive/politically correct with a silent but strong undertow of legal conservatism. Read less

I had an awesome time at App Academy learning everything from square one. I honestly struggled with the concepts of programming. I went through a number of online platforms to learn JavaScript such as Code Academy, Udemy, Udacity and no one taught JavaScript as well as App Academy did. They really drill you with the fundamentals. Though it can be stressful at times, I really value what App Academy tries to do instill in their students. There were some rough spots with the curriculum, but the instructors did their best to fill in the gaps, especially about Redux. Read less

Overall, I'm happy with my decision to go to app academy.  The instructors are knowledgeable and the coursework and projects were aimed at understanding and developing coding skills. It was a challenging program, but doable.  cons: their curriculum needs to be updated, and their corporate response to COVID 19 left a lot to be desired.  Read less

App Academy is a very balanced program as not only does it emphasize on improving your technical proficiency, but also makes sure you are prepared to work with fellow programmers in a collaborative professional environment. The projects and exams are generally good measures of your proficiency and while you may feel like you are drowning at times, don't worry, the TAs, your cohort mates, and your assigned circle leaders are there as guard rails to remind you to take care of your health, both physical and mental. Unfortunately, my cohort was remote for the majority of the bootcamp due to COVID-19, however the staff at App Academy moved quickly and efficiently to onboard us for remote learning. I would definitely recommend this bootcamp to anyone who wants to start a career in software development. Read less

Attending App Academy has been an amazing experience. App Academy’s effective selection process filled my cohort with passionate people that take coding seriously. This made learning a blast, as everyone I got teamed up with were really friendly and great to work with. Read less

overall a/A was great. i learned a ton and met really great people. it is incredibly fast paced so it is not an ideal fit for everyone. the staff is really knowledgable and seem to really care about your success in the tech industry. the last 3 weeks could use a little bit of adjustment when it comes to how hands off they are at that point. In the end i would absolutely do the course all over again! Read less

After many months of trying to find work after a cross-country move to SF, I decided to take a gamble and try my hand at a coding bootcamp.  I choose App Academy after seeing that it had a very high job placement rate after graduation, and it covered the most material out of all the bootcamps I had my eye on. Going through the course was challenging - far more than my previous experience at college. However, all the hard work was more than worth it; I feel so much more prepared to enter the workforce now along with being much more prepared for the application process. If you are looking for a great coding bootcamp, I would highly recommend App Academy! Read less

Coming from a STEM but non-CS background and having prior self-taught experience in web development, I was sincerely surprised by how much there is still to learn throughout the cohort. We learnt “talking code” through the pair programming sessions, mastered every aspect of the production side of programming (building projects, testing) and also the theoretical side (algorithms, data structures).
I could whole-heartily recommend anyone out there that wants to step their foot in the software industry to give App Academy a shot. But make sure that before enrolling in this awesome and incredibly supportive family of instructors, TAs, job coaches, and your best resource - classmates, that this is a boot-camp rather than a regular degree you’re signing up for. Given the rigorous amount of classwork and the intense short time frame. You would have to bring sufficient efforts and motivation, and also prove that you are worth offering this wonderful chance of learning. And even by graduation, what awaits is not just a thin piece of paper validating whatever we have done, but what we are equipped with: tools, mindset, and everything we need to plunge through this never ending learning journey of being a software engineer. Read less

Honestly, it's not as hard as everyone makes it sound. Yes, you do have to put in work, but you will do great if you aren't lazy.  They literally give you EVERYTHING that you need to succeed in the bootcamp. This has been the most beneficial experience I have ever had. You learn at an outstanding rate, and the TAs really care about your success. After you are done with the bootcamp, you definitely feel job ready and feel like you can learn anything. The assessments aren't hard. They give you a practice assessment that is almost identical to the actual assessment, so don't let that turn you away. The big class sizes are NEVER an issue. I actually ended up liking the class size a lot because it gives you the opportunity to pair program with many different personalities. The worst thing about the bootcamp is CSS because it almost feel neglected, but honestly if you watch like 3-5 YouTube videos on it you will be good. Overall, there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't come here if it is an option. Try your very best to get in because it's worth it.  Read less