App Academy

App Academy is by far one of the hardest things I've done in my life and definitely the most exhausting. I'm writing this review after finishing week 10. Before getting accepted into a/A I had absolutely ZERO coding experience and now I've completed two full stack projects and working on a third one. You're going to be amazed at how much you can learn in the amount of time that you have. It's going to be hard like what everyone else says but if you stay committed it will be worth it.

When I decide to learn programming and search some bootcamps, a/A stood out because of their high job placement stats and course structures. Upon getting accepted and attending, I found the staff were amazing, and will answer every question you have and also give you suggestions. Also, I was very doubtful of my abilities to pass through the entire course from day one, and that comes as no surprise because the curriculum is extremely fast-paced and difficult. The course is well structured, I feel I have a strong foundations of different programming concepts. If you want to become a software developer, app academy is the way to do it.

App Academy is a super intense bootcamp which the whole coding curriculum is 9 weeks long including the last two weeks is fully for your full-stack project. After that, you will enter the job search part of the rest of the curriculum. Basically, you won't any spare time left in each of every day in App Academy. You have to finish tons of homework, readings and videos to be prepared for the pair-programming in the next day. So be prepared. 

Beside of the curriculum, you will meet many cool people here. The TAs and your cohort mates are super friendly, helpful and cool! You may feel like you are not qualified for the program. But hey, they chose you for a reason, so trust in yourself.

App Academy has a very different structure compared to other bootcamps in the nation. One of the main differences is that their success comes after your success. The instructors and TAs truly devote their best energy and effort in teaching you everything to become a real software engineer by the end of the program. Throughout those 12 weeks, you will be learning new materials almost everyday and able to apply those new skills to your daily pair programming and projects. You will also be challenged on 6 assessments in order to retain your spot in the program; however, those assessments are the positive reinforcement to push you to learn. One of my favorite moments at a/A is when I completed my full-stack project with all the skills I learned from the program. That kind of satisfaction cannot be expressed in words. If you are also thinking of becoming a software engineer, I would highly recommend you to apply to a/A because there is no better place than this bootcamp.

Really great program. I learned a lot in an extremely short period of time. As a student from Canada, I had to pay the tuition upfront which I preferred because it was a reduced amount compared to the deferred plan. For the first part of the program they focused heavily on Ruby and Rails and then quickly switched over to Javascript. I understand that they wanted us to learn the fundamentals of programming using an easier to learn language, but I would have preferred dedicating more time to Javascript given that was used for the remainder of the course, is heavily used in full-stack projects, and was followed by important topics such as React and Redux which I believe were not given enough time. 

On another note, because of the deferred payment policy a/A focuses on admitting only strong students which I truely believe elevated the learning experience. Everyone was very dedicated to working hard and helping each other out which was great!

My overall experience at App Academy was great. With that being said, the overall curriculum is extremely fast-paced. There are assessments virtually every week and they are crucial for you to pass in order to stay within the program. Because there is such a heavy emphasis on these assessments, the learning environment goes from learning as much as you can to try to pass these tests. Be prepared to spend hours studying and working on homework. Don't be afraid to ask questions. You pair program every single day. If you understand everything and your partner doesn't, slow down and explain it to them. Your partner will appreciate it a lot. If it takes you a while to understand, don't be afraid to slow your partner down and ask questions. It is your learning too. There is an overwhelming amount of staff support every step of the way, so don't be afraid to get to know them too. Your end goal is to absorb as much knowledge as you can and if you don't quite understand everything, that is okay too. Your full stack project is where you can solidify your understanding of everything. Overall, this is an amazing learning experience. You will stress a lot, study a lot and learn a lot, but by the end of it, you'll be extremely proud of how far you've come. 

App Academy has been extremely challenging but all the while rewarding. It is definitely what you make of it. If you put in the time and the effort, you will come out proud as can be thinking  - "Oh wow, I really learned all of this in just a few months" and "Did I really just create a website from scratch in a couple weeks?" I really enjoyed my time at App Academy and am so glad I took the course. Here are my pros and cons of the Full Stack Intensive:

Pros:
- Great group of TA's who put in extra time to help students, even on weekends. These TA's go above and beyond to help the students. They were once students themselves and know what each student is going through. They really want each student to succeed and will make sure to get them the help they need.
- Friendly and safe environment as well as inclusive
- Admissions process really brings in people who are very well-rounded and have absolute determination to succeed (and to get in job in the end) - I was surrounded by people who I thought was much smarter than me and hardworking which caused me to push myself to improve everyday
- Curriculum includes a ton of hands on learning - projects everyday to make you apply new concepts directly to code
- Ton of pair programming - a lot of opportunities to collaborate with other programmers and learn other techniques/methods

Cons:
- Some material/projects(not too many) of the curriculum were not very clear - the instructions were difficult to understand which obstructed my ability to get far in those projects during those days
- Ton of pair programming - as mentioned above, it's a great aspect, but sometimes it becomes too much - dense material can be difficult to understand in a few days and I personally found it beneficial when we had some solo programming days to really struggle through the day's projects on our own

Overall, this was a great experience for me and I definitely recommend this course!

Amazing organization. One of the most life changing organizations I have decided to be a part of. They provide the pace, structure, and push that I would've probably never had trying to learn their programming curriculum on my own. That being said, they are not a perfect organization and many things about their curriculum such as the relevance of certain tech stacks we work with or the deep theoretical underpinnings of some of the languages and APIs they use are not for me. I still believe they provide me with a great value for my money.

I think about how different it would have been if I didn't choose to study with a bootcamp and tried learning on my own.  I wouldn't have been able to complete as much as I did in such a short time.  The information is difficult to grasp quickly, but setting your only focus for the bootcamp is important to learning the material quickly.  I also wouldn't have learned as much if I had tried to learn the material on my own.  On my own I would try to learn what I need to learn to make my website operational, which would have left  a lot more holes in the knowledge of programing that I have now. Lastly, the price seems very steep, but I find it to be worth it in terms of the value comparison of a college education.  I graduated with a structural civil engineering degree but I find this fullstack course to be more challenging, more valuable, more productive time spent for a higher education and the overall cost was cheaper than unreduced cost of my degree.