App Academy

App Academy is often described as drinking from a fire hose in the sense that it gives more information than is possible to absorb. As a result, the curriculum is quite challenging and it is normal to feel lost and behind, but students rapidly learn an absurd amount.  The TAs are extremely helpful and nice, and the projects are amazing for building your portfolio and learning. However, the current assessments could be improved since a large part of passing them is just pure memorization. Furthermore, a large part of the curriculum is Ruby which isn't as relevant in the current job market as other languages such as Python.

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Overall I would say I learned a lot but the assessments are rough if you come in with 0 coding experience. I had to spend over 100 hours a week studying and I feel like I barely got through the assessment material, and most students still have to spend extra time polishing their projects, doing leetcode, and learning more skills before applying for jobs. 3 months to get employed in coding starting from not knowing anything really isn't enough time to get you to employable but I would say App Academy is probably the best option for those thinking of pursuing the bootcamp option, if they can handle the stress. Our attrition rate was 16.4% which isn't too high but I felt like some of the people that got dismissed were trying their hardest and still couldn't make it through

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Excellent program that will really test your determination. All of the time estimates that you see in all of these reviews are indeed accurate. Loved working with my fellow students and teachers (TA's). Reflected with my co-workers on how far we have all come in this relatively short amount of time. Highly recommend!

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12 week immersive bootcamp that trains for frontend and backend web development skills. With no coding background experience, It was tough for me to understand and get the materials for the daily project. I still somehow managed to survive all the assessments and App Academy was truly rewarding experience. I had to spent everyday studying on materials that was on the curriculum and had to gave up all my free time. Just work hard.

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App Academy is an intense program, especially if you are doing the in-person course. Make sure you understand what you are signing up for. You can expect to spend at least 90 hours a week there and if you take your foot off the pedal during the program, it becomes really easy to fall into a vicious cycle of doom and gloom.

That being said, I enjoyed learning not only how to code in the leading languages and frameworks out there today but also how to develop a sense for different coding cultures found in industry. I also can’t thank the instructors enough for their dedication and support. They go above and beyond to teach you the tools and mindset to succeed. I genuinely feel that everyone who makes it through the curriculum comes out with a sound foundation in all aspects of software engineering, from pair programming and debugging code to whiteboarding and solving algorithms. Not to mention that this will be the best opportunity to connect with and make lifelong friends in the industry.

One thing I do have to add is that a/A probably still has a lot of room to improve on both structuring the latter parts of the curriculum and stabilizing the volatility of the staff size from month to month. Unfortunately, our cohort had the pleasure of facing the peak of a staff shortage right as the regular curriculum ended, which I think curbed a lot of the momentum going into capstone projects.

All in all, this was undoubtedly the most rewarding learning experiences I've had. If a/A suddenly introduces an advanced-level course tomorrow, I would not hesitate to do this all again.

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Curriculum is being refactored so future cohorts may be better served, but everything from the ruby-focused curriculum to the strike system is archaeic. TAs make the program what it is, better hope the managments hiring skills continue to outweight their factory-like culture.

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With an extensive curriculum all ready online, App Academy expects its students to finish a crazy amount of reading and project every day. Ruby curriculum was excellent and all TAs are knowledgable on most aspects of Ruby, but the quality of JavaScript curriculum was drastically worse.

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I was very skeptical about attending App Academy, let alone any coding boot camp for that matter. I read into it quite a bit on places like Reddit but decided to finally take the plunge. aA's policy is not for the faint of heart and they will not, for a second, take it easy on you. It is indeed a rigorous course. What makes them unique is their deferred tuition model, which may surprise a lot of people. The fact that they allow students to not pay a dollar until they land a job in software development is very impressive, and shows they are truly invested in your job search. Some tips: Make sure you make all of the life preparations needed to truly immerse yourself in the program: Let all your loved ones, significant others, friends/family know you will be committing close to 100 hours a week (trust me, it is that much) on this. Solidify housing as close to the campus as possible, preferably for the full year, but at minimum those 3 months needed. The commute from other cities is a true time-suck. Remember, you can only fail 1 of the 6 assessments. The 2nd time you fail, you will be required to pass the retake. If you fail that, you are dismissed; If you pass, you must pass the rest of the assessments to stay. I will not lie, this place is not at all perfect. Course material, daily instructions/prompts need to be updated by the curriculum staff and can be vague, so it is up to you to get help from TAs as much as possible. Don't be afraid of being annoying. Read less

The course is hyper condensed. The amount of material is often times overwhelming. You could look at the material for weeks after the course is over and still have more to learn from it. The staff is exceedingly helpful and experienced. The program is designed to give back to you as much as you're willing to put in.

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App Academy is one of the top coding bootcamp in SF bay area.

More than 95% of the graduates find jobs with average salary of $100k.

Above statements were good enough for me to join this bootcamp. To enroll, I had to take a technical interview and a non-technical interview. A technical interview was difficult as I did not have any background in coding. So I took the Jumpstart course that they provide for free for some of the students who applied. 

When you get accepted, there is a foundation course, which is 4 week long, and it says it is a basic course, but it was not so basic for me. Starting from day 1 of 5th week (technically, this is the first week in person) we had pair-programming which helped me a lot on understanding different perspective and approaches of the peers.

 

 

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I was not so sure about App Academy's curriculum and their system until I began my cohort.  I heard from at least 3 different sources that it will require 80 to 100 hours a week dedication to succeed.  It is absolutely true.  The curriculum is designed so that students will never feel comfortable or relaxed.  There will always be something to work on.  Students are mostly forced to move on to the next material regardless of finishing the current project.  That being said, students have to use their own time to go back to the materials that they are unclear about.  This can be overwhelming and exhausting.  There is no hand-holding guide through the materials.  I kid you not, it will be tough, it will be hard.  Be ready to learn, be ready to dedicate yourself, but it will be rewarding after all.

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If I had to, I would join App Academy again. I got to learn a ton of skills needed to begin a career as a software engineer. The intense 12-week program included hands-on projects and interesting programming concepts.  W used a variety of technologies and programming languages such as ruby on rails, javascript, react/redux, and the MERN stack to name a few. It's possible to go through the program without previous programming knowledge, but be prepared to put in a ton of ours and give up weekends during the program.

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Overall experience was positive. The pace of material is intensive, covering all topics needed to build full-stack web applications within ~3 months. The location in SF is great as well. I am still wrapping up the course and will need to wait and see how well the job search goes, but my job-ready, technical skillset has definitely improved.

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I came to a/A with a lot of apprehension and fear of failing and being failed by this bootcamp, but I have to say - it was one of the best (and spontaneous) decisions I've ever made for myself. Most things they advertise are true: you will be worked to the bone and you will have a great time. I have never worked harder in my life than in the past 12 weeks that I have been here, but more importantly I felt fulfilled while working. And even though I may have learned all this material on my own, the support network (from cohortmates, to alumns and job search coaches) is something that makes this bootcamp worth it on its own. However, I do wish that they would provide more attention to us after being switched from regular curriculum to projects/job search curriculum.  We all did feel a bit abandoned when the new cohort came in.

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App academy does not kid around when they say they're an intensive program. You put in a lot of work as a student and even more after you've finished. Be prepared to give up weekends for a few months. That being said, it is an amazing experience and I learned so much. App academy places a lot of importance on pair programming and learning concepts rather than finishing homework. It amazed me that I was able to finish projects that full-time software developers couldn't even finish. I'm not a risk taker, so it took me a year to make sure that I really wanted to do this and switch fields. I highly recommend this to people who are looking for a change.

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App academy has been an interesting, challenging, and enlightening experience.  I don't believe there's another program right now that is more difficult and more capable of transfering large amounts of knowledge in skills in such a short period of time as App Academy has done.  The curriculum, including rails may seems slightly dated, but it serves as an excellent launching pouint for the uninitiated to begin to understand MVC's.  The program helped give me the tools I need to truly begin a career as a software engineer and I would recommend it to anyone who was looking to do the same.

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If you are ready to truly immerse yourself in 12 weeks of code, this is the place for you.  The program is definitely challenging but if you are committed, utilize all the resources given, and ASK QUESTIONS, you will have no problems passing the course and getting a job.  While it is true that you can find cheaper bootcamps, the alumni base and network connections you will make will help get you a job sooner than later.

 

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I enjoyed the program very much. It was well paced and definitely very intensive. They teach more than just the basics and structure the curriculum very well to get you to the point of being an independent learner. I think it's daunting at first to pick up web development without much coding background, but I think the program does a good job at teaching you what to focus on.

 

The most intensive part of the curriculum is keeping up with the schedule. The material by itself is structured to teach a student from the ground up. The challenging portion is for the student to maintain studying priorities, time management, and health. If a student can do these things well, then the student will be able to pick up everything needed to pass the program.

 

The job search support is very good. I feel like App Academy is set up for a student's success, giving the student constant support and material to work on post-graduation from the program. If the job seeker puts in the work and keeps routines established by a/A to find employment, it'll only be a matter of when.

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