Fullstack Academy

The Fullstack Academy Software Engineer Immersive program has a great curriculum and the schedule is layed out effectively. The first six weeks of the program is lectures and workshops. The workshops solidify the material in the lectures. As you work in pairs, some doubts you may have can be cleared with your peer programming buddy. If not, you always have a Fellow to aks questions. Fellows are alumni who stay for the next cohort to help instructors. This guarantees coverage for questions and general help for students. The curriculum for lectures is updated often between cohorts and reflects the software and languages being used in the real world.

The latter six weeks of the program you spend all your time in project work. I think this is a valuable time for many of my fellow cohorts who may have never worked as a group in a software project. It reveals to them how communication is important to collaborate when working on a single GitHub repo (think merge conflicts!).

One other valuable part of the program is during the latter six weeks as well. Every morning we work on an algorithm challenge. This time helps solidify fundamental computer science concepts and prepares you for what you will face in real interview. 

The instructors are very knowledgeable and helpful, the Fellows provide another level of coverage so students never feel lost or without help resources.

Finally towards the end of the program the Career Resources team kicks in to help you prepare for interviews and job search. The team is very helpful and really walk you through the entire process in detail. For those cohorts looking for work for the first time in their lives this is very valuable information. Even for someone with experience like me, it provides a review of what the job search practices are today.

Overall I got a lot out of the program and was able to get the type of job I wanted. I highly recommend the program.

 

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Exceeded my expectations. :)

Positives: Great teachers, very fun, good space. Teaches coding principles for those who are self-taught (!!!!). Super friendly. You can learn a ton if you put in the time. Covers a lot, quickly. Definitely would not have gotten my job without these guys. I would strongly recommend to someone who's only done research beforehand and is trying to move into software.

Negatives: Curriculum focuses on usage of a lot of frameworks, which is fun but definitely didn't really stick in my head after the course. Not enough focus on coding problems/algorithms. Post-graduation has some super awesome people helping out but you are no longer the focus of their life (obviously, but a lot more structure would be useful). Definitely not enough time to learn for someone who has not coded before, so self study for a few months first. Work on full-stack projects first, work in UNIX, make a website, whatever.

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I'm a Yale CS major who took FSA in Fall of 2016. FSA was hands down one of the most rewarding and fun educational experiences I've gone through. I did a pretty thorough comparison of bootcamps before choosing FSA, and am very happy with my decision. A couple of key points

1. Excellent instructors with legit backgrounds: my main instructor was an ex-Microsoft software engineer. The founders Nimit & David are also legit engineers.

2. Full-on teaching support staff. Former students acted as TFs; very knowledgeable, and helped immensely.

3. Legit, well designed curriculum. We went over both fundamentals (algos) and cutting edge frameworks (React, Node, etc). The activities were fun and very practical.

FSA was very demanding. Fellow classmates were really smart and driven. Everyone came in knowing a bit of code, so we were able to move very quickly. 

I'd say if you're looking to level up your practical skills (i.e., know how to build web apps and not just AVL trees), FSA is hands down the best and most effective ways to get that out there. If you're a CS major considering doing this, I'd highly recommend it as a complement to a traditional CS education (a couple of my classmates are now seriously considering it).

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I finished the Grace Hopper Program at FSA in April and then completed the fellowship in July. The experience as a whole was probably the best decision I've ever made for my professional career. I went into the program with very basic Javascript knowledge, having built maybe one or two very simple websites and with no professional experience at all. At the end, I had multiple interviews with a variety of companies that I felt very well-prepared for despite being a nervous wreck. I would not have been as successful as I was in the job search without Ceren and Claudia either. I called Ceren with every question I had and sent them almost every version of every thing I wrote, which they gladly edited or approved. They did mock interviews with me and gave me great feedback that in the end culminated into me receiving mulitple offers. When it came to finally accepting, Ceren helped me negotiate my salary to $10,000 more than what was offered. I'm still in disbelief that after 6 months I'm working in a role that I thorougly enjoy at a company I'm so excited about and making an incredible salary.

That being said, the program is defninitely not for everyone. You're going to get out of it what you put into it and it can seem a little chaotic or disorganized at times because they are understaffed. But there is no shortage of people who want to help you; the instructors, Chris and the career success team are with you every step of the way. 

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** Please note - I have incredibly high standards.  Overall Grace Hopper (GH) / Fullstack Academy (FSA) did an amazing job.  In general, they need to improve their organization skills.  The school is awesome at teaching coding.  They just need to polish the machine so things run like clockwork.

Getting admitted

To be admitted into GH you must:

1. Be female identifying
2. Complete an online application
3. Pass an online coding assessment
4. Code live via a Skype interview

The best part about this process:  GH has teaching fellows (former students) conduct the Skype interview and make the admissions decisions.  Therefore, it’s not a decision made from a moneymaking perspective.  It’s a decision made by former students who want the program to be great for all who attend.

Before applying to the program, I did light coding at my previous job with VBA (Excel).  I did not know JavaScript, so I took the FSA JavaScript JumpStart course and practiced problems on CodeWars and HackerRank.  I was admitted the first time I applied.

The Program

The program consists of 4 phases.  There is a 1-week break between junior and senior phase.

Foundations - Online distance learning course (4 weeks)

• Good to know - There are checkpoints (tests) you must pass before you are admitted to the immersive program.  You are assigned a mentor (GH / FSA alumni) to assist you during this time.
• My experience - I worked during the first 2 weeks, which was quite difficult.  The last 2 weeks, when I wasn’t working, I had a lot of free time.  I felt like the material presented during this part of the program was appropriate.  You should revisit this material during your job search.
• Improvement - Let students know ahead of time (during the acceptance phase) about the checkpoints.  A lot of people quit jobs to join this program.

Junior Phase - In person, intense learning through lectures and workshops (6 weeks)

• Good to know - This phase will feel like information overload but you do not need to memorize everything (that would be like memorizing the US Tax code).  It is meant to expose you to various topics so if you need them in the future, you can search for the answers.
• My experience - I was very overwhelmed during the first week of the program.  Once I realized I didn’t have to memorize everything, this phase ran a lot smoother for me.  Since I’m an independent person, pair programming every day was difficult for me but it helped me see different points of view.  The instructors and teaching fellows were friendly, willing to help, and not afraid to tell us how things really worked (no fake positivity).
• Improvement - Students may be extremely stressed during the first part of the program.  State up-front (before the first workshop) that the workshops are not meant to be finished.

Senior Phase - In person, intense learning through project building, career services training, and CTO lectures.

• Good to know - There are 4 projects during this phase (Tech Talk, Group eCommerce Site, Personal Project, Final Group Project). I recommend finishing your tech talk during the 1-week break (before senior phase starts).
• My experience - Because of all the pair programming in junior phase, it was easier for me to work on group projects during this phase.  I had a great time working on my personal project because it gave me a break from pair programming.  I felt like my team built an awesome final project.  There were a few arguments, but we worked through them and made a great app.  Instructors and teaching fellows were available during this phase but I didn’t utilize them very often.  Also, it was really difficult to work on projects and the career services requests.
• Improvement - Don’t change schedules at the last minute.  This happened quite often during our senior phase.

Flight - On your own job-hunt with support from career services.

• Good to know - The level of career services support is up to you.
• My experience - I networked with people on LinkedIn, Slack, and at meetups.  I filled out tons of applications on many different websites (LinkedIn, Gary’s Guide, and company sites).  My result was very favorable.  I accepted an offer 1.5 months after graduation.  My offer stemmed from completing an online application.
• Improvement - Let students know ahead of time (during the acceptance phase) to plan 3 to 6 months for the job search.  A lot of people have to save living expenses to attend this program. 

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Like many of my classmates, I attended Fullstack Academy (FSA) for a career change. I had only started coding on and off a month before I formally applied to the program. FSA offered a robust program that directed my passion and enthusiasm for coding into practical ends. Beyond the ever-developing curriculum, the instructors have been top notch (at least the ones who taught our cohort). They spoke with clarity and depth regarding complex topics. Most of all, they were able to package years of classroom knowledge in just 3 short months. Looking back, I can honestly say that the program changed the trajectory of my career for the rest of my life. I am happily employed at an amazing company, an opportunity that would not have been possible in this short of a transition without FSA. 

Some look to coding bootcamps as the 100% package to make their way into the tech industry. I'd say that FSA does not lack in comparison to other bootcamps in that regard for sure -- however, much of the burden of succeeding in the program and the job search thereafter is on the student. My personal successes have been in applying what I've learned, exploring the breadth and depth of technical articles out there, and recognizing that there is always so much to learn. FSA helped facilitate that kind of learning through their amazing instructors and staff and their curriculum. But don't expect things to be handed to you... the job market for entry level software engineers is tough, you have to prove yourself constantly to make it. 

I would say, don't goto FSA to be motivated to code, you must be motivated prior to attending FSA. To make the most of your Fullstack experience, be ready to grind it out!

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I cannot speak highly enough of Fullstack Academy.  I completed their full time NYC immersive program in April, and was invited to stay on as a teaching fellow for the following cohort. The curriculum is up-to-date, challenging, and interesting.  The instructors are so intelligent and amazing at teaching all concepts.  The projects we worked on taught me everything I needed to know to start my new job as a Javascript developer, which I never would have gotten without the assistance of Fullstack's unbelievable career success team.  Claudia and Ceren are so helpful and knowledgable about tech recruiting.  Overall, I would say that if you're looking to do a bootcamp, you are doing yourself a disservice if you don't apply to Fullstack!

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I chose FullStack Academy over Hack Reactor. It was truly one of the best decisions of my life. I had been in tech prior to FullStack but mostly on the business side. So it helped that I knew what I was getting into.

The instructors were a mix of FullStack graduates and industry veterans. That was a great combination because recent graduates had an idea of what I didn't know considering they were in my shoes not too long ago. But at the same time, if I I wanted to understand how something works in the real world, I can easily ask the experienced developers/instructors.

FullStack pays a close attention to what the employers are looking for and adjusts its curriculum accordingly. The curriculum is structured well especially for the foundations and introductory courses. We were the third cohort to learn React/Redux and things were still a little unorganized. I think since then they have improved upon it considerably.

FullStack has a special curriculum for Job assistance. The staff does a great job of helping the students with resumes, interview preps (they bring in outside recruiters to help with behavioural interviews) and job hunting. During the last week of the program, FullStack hosts a career day where employers from all over the NYC come to interview the candidates. A good percentage of students from my batch got a job from the hiring day. 

I truly had one of the best experiences at FullStack. I really enjoyed my cohort and made life long friends. Nothing comes easy so be ready to work hard and enjoy the fruits of your labour.

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Fullstack Academy is a great school, which I sincerely recommend to anyone who has made the decision to attend a bootcamp.

Instructors: Every instructor I interacted with was brilliant, dedicated and friendly. I was seriously blown away by the quality of the staff-these people make the program what it is. 

Culture: Fullstack has a fantastic culture that is friendly and inclusive. I made quite a few good friends here, and alumni frequently get together to catch up

Curriculum: The curriculum teaches modern, in-demand Javascript skills and industry best practices. The staff are constantly updating and interating on the curriculum. Most importantly, it's designed not just to teach you one specific stack, but give you the tools that you need to quickly pick up new technologies-and it works. I have been able to perform effectively at my job using languages that I never used at Fullstack, because of the skills I gained there. 

Job Assistance: Attending Fullstack gave me:

• Immpresive projects to put on my resume
• The skills to pass difficult technical interviews
• A large network of software engineers in NYC
• Training on effective job hunting techniques

What they don't do is get interviews for you (beyond Hiring Day, from which about 15% of our class got jobs). The job hunt after graduation is the student's responsibility, and will require several months of dedicated effort networking and applying for jobs. I felt very capable in all my technical interviews, but getting that initial foot in the door is still challenging. I do appreciate the lifetime of career support and advice from the extremely capable and helpful career success team. 4 months after graduation, I'd estimate that 75% of my cohort are currently working as software engineers, with many of the other 25% getting interviews.

Overall, I am extremely satisfied with my experience at Fullstack. I'm currently in my first job after graduating, and I felt more than prepared for the interview and the job itself. If anyone reading this has any questions about my experience, please feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn (my username is evanscribnermaclean) - I'd be happy to chat

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There are not enough good things I can say about Fullstack Academy. I have a B.S. in Computer Science and I can honestly say I learned more and was more prepared for the industry and interviews from 13 weeks at Fullstack rather than from my 4 year degree. The process is really strenuous and difficult, but also a lot of fun and it is such an encouraging environment. There was not a day that I did not look forward to going and getting to work. The entire staff, including the instructors and the career success team are there for you at all times, and even still there for support after you leave.

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My journey with coding started when I was kid. I loved programming video games back in the 90s and early 2000s (DirectX anyone?) In college, I did half of a C.S. degree, then decided to go to Berklee College of Music to pursue a degree in audio engineering and sound design. 

After 5+ years in the Music Tech industry, I realized I really missed coding, and I was not super happy with my career trajactory. Instead of going back to college to get another degree, I decided to look for other options, and found Fullstack. I was still working FT, so I ended up doing the FLEX class, which worked into my schedule really well. 

I can't say enough good things about my experience. Eric Katz, the lead instructor, did an incredible job, and consistently went above and beyond to make sure we learned the material, and learned it well. 

The rest of the crew @ FS are also amazing, and very helpful. 

After Fullstack, I quickly found a job (at one of my fellow student's startup actually) as a fullstack web developer, and I am loving. Attending Fullstack has changed my life! 

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  I attended Fullstack Academy's Immersive Javascript program in the Summer of 2015. At that time I was pursuing a career change into web development. I had been attending graduate classes for Computer Science but was a little unhappy with the pace. I had just been hearing about boot camps, and liked the idea of an immersive program that was comprehensive and demanding. This led me to Fullstack and really one of the best decisions I've made.   The bootcamp itself prepares you very well. You learn Fullstack development by performing workshops and developing projects. It very much mimics actual project development. On top of the actual course material is thorough job prep as well. There were whiteboard problems and interview/resume prep. All leading up to hiring day where you get to demo your projects and meet with employers. They really cover all the bases. I'm very pleased with the results. Read less

I can honestly say that I would be much more lost in my life right now if I hadn’t found Grace Hopper. In my last year of undergrad I was confused about what I wanted to do professionally. After doing a lot of googling and journaling, I decided that I wanted to become a software engineer, and after yet more googling, I became aware of bootcamps. I came across Grace Hopper and it quickly became the only programming school I was interested in. As someone with a social science background I understood and appreciated the motivations behind the creation of a learning environment for female developers. It spoke a lot to the founders' values and the culture of the school in general. And as someone with limited financial resources, I recognized that their deferred tuition model provided an amazing opportunity that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to participate in. 

From day 1 to the end, Grace Hopper was a wonderful and incredibly enriching experience. I was surrounded by smart, talented women from all backgrounds, all willing to work together to learn an exciting new skill set. The curriculum was challenging but well-thought out, and our teaching fellows and instructors were always there to answer any questions we had or to remedy any gaps in our knowledge. What's more, the bootcamp really strives to keep its content relevant. Now when I tell people about my tech stack, I often get comments like ‘wow that’s a great one’ or ‘you’re in a really great place then!’ Or even, from other software engineers with more experience than me, ‘you know Redux already?!’ 

I strongly feel that the Grace Hopper Program at Fullstack Academy has accelerated my professional and personal life by several years and put me a giant step forward in my career. In a short amount of time I was able to learn a challenging and high-demand skill set that I was really interested in. The culture, environment, and the people were all so supportive and amazing. It stands as the number one transformative experience I’ve had in my life, and I think that it’ll be very difficult to supplant it. 

I couldn’t have asked for better teachers, a better learning environment, or better outcomes. Even after going through it once already, I would do Grace Hopper all over again right now if I could :) 

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I spent about a year browsing software engineering bootcamps while I put together the money to be able to attend. In that year I narrowed my search to three different bootcamps. After interviewing with each I finally made the decision to commit to Fullstack Academy. The seemed to have the strongest curriculum and devoted staff. I can tell you now that I chose correctly. Fullstack Acadmeny has been probably the single most productive 13 week period of my life.

Fullstack Academy teaches you how to write fullstack javascript (client-side & server-side). In addition to this they teach computer science concepts they help mold the way you solve problems. The fact that you learn one language and use it for both the server and client is hugely important. This allows you to spend more time learning valuable concepts and patterns that you can apply to any language you learn rather than spending a lot of time learning new syntaxes.

The second half of the course is spent taking what you have learned and apply it to group and solo projects. This lets you really nail down the git workflow as well as learn how to work effectively in a collaborative environment.

In addition to all the technical instruction you receive you will also spend time learning about the job market; how to write a resume, how to do well in white board interviews, how to do well in other types of technical interviews, how traverse the interview process.

During senior phase every morning starts with an hour of whiteboard problems. Not only does this help prepare you for whiteboard interviews, but it's also very fun, and seriously strengthens your technical problem solving abilities.

I would recommend Fullstack Academy to anyone who is eager to get in to software engineering, and willing to work hard to get there.

 

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I attended the September 2015 cohort of Fullstack Academy and absolutely would recommend the experience to dedicated individuals intent on learning to program. For a few months before applying, I used online resources like Coursera, Codecademy, and Coderbyte to ramp up my self-learning. I also worked on a few smaller projects for practice before applying. 

Fullstack academy is full of great instructors and great teaching fellows (students who successfully completed the course and are hired as mentors and engineers) and as a result, my questions were always answered with patient guidance and thoughtfulness. I was hired as a Teaching Fellow upon graduating, and after finishing my fellowship, I received multiple offers from amazing companies and was ready to jump into my position as a full stack software engineer.

I chose FSA because I knew I wanted a rigorous program that would expedite my journey to becoming a software engineer. I'm so grateful for Fullstack- it's not for the faint of heart, but it will definitely prepare you for a career in software engineering. Thanks Fullstack!

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I can easily say that attending Grace Hopper was one of the best professional decisions I’ve ever made.

I chose GH specifically because it was focused on creating a welcoming environment for women to become fullstack developers and I am very glad that I did.   My fellow classmates were kind and collaborative, the instructors were supportive and demanding, and the curriculum was rigorous. GH gave me the knowledge I needed to be confident in my own problem solving capabilities and my ability to learn deeply and quickly.   When I think back on my time at Grace Hopper, I think the thing that really sets it apart is the culture. In addition to being collaborative and welcoming, I never felt like I was just another student - the instructors and the staff were there to give each individual the time and care to make sure that we were in the best possible position to to take full advantage of all the program has to offer. This was also evident during the job search after I graduated; someone was always available to answer a question or help me figure out what to say to an employer.   I am amazed and what a turn around my life in general has taken since attending the program - I met wonderful people who I still keep in touch with, I have a great foundation of knowledge for my career, I built some awesome web applications that I am proud of, and I now have an amazing job which I would not have been qualified for otherwise.    Needless to say, I would not be in the position I am now without Grace Hopper and I am eternally thankful. I would highly recommend this program to anyone who is looking to take an advantage of a life changing opportunity. Read less

Alright, do you want to be a developer? It's a serious question, are you interested in putting in lots of time, effort and money learning about computers, programming methodalgies, and staying up to date amongst the rush of new developers coming into the market. If the answer is yes then just go to fullstack (money and circumstances permitting). 

It's a great program with terrific instructors and a top notch curriculum. It was by far the best educational setting I have ever been in, surrounded by a great group of people who are so passionate about learning. 

If you are on here then you are most likely comparing against other bootcamps, and let me tell you as someone who does some hiring at my company now, Fullstack students stand out. Many of the others simply do not put out as impressive students (cough cough ones with ruby backends cough). I would also look very cautiously at ones that offer 'guarenteed' jobs. Nothing is guarenteed, and programs that do that have to either being extremely selective with people they know they can place into jobs, or be offering sub par jobs or internships with no extensions. Fullstack was great for people looking for a career shift, most of my fellow students had been in a career for several years (avg age 27-32) and were looking for a shift into programming. 

So hopefully all these rave reviews convince you to go, as I'm glad I did and so is everyone I know. 

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When I began the Grace Hopper program, I was nearing the end of what I could learn on my own and I needed direction. That's exactly what I got. The curriculum was exceedingly relevant - I see many job postings for the exact skills taught there. I am currently using the same ech that I learned at GH in my work as a developer. I learned more than enough to feel confident at my job, even with no previous technical background. 

I kept a blog while I was a student and a fellow at the program, which you can read here: https://galencorey.wordpress.com/category/grace-hopper/.

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Summary

If you're deciding among different bootcamps, you can't beat Fullstack. The head instructors are all very sharp and incredibly committed to their students. The professional network is robust, and the career services team works tirelessly. The program felt at times like drinking from a firehose, but in the end, I graduated with a job offer in hand - for more details, read on! 

My Road to Fullstack

I graduated from Harvard College with a degree in history, then moved to China for five years, where I worked as a Product Manager at Lenovo. I fell in love with coding while tinkering around on side projects, and decided to attend a bootcamp because I felt it was the best way to level up in a short period of time. I chose Fullstack over Flatiron and Devbootcamp because I was impressed with the teaching skill and coding knowledge of my technical interviewer, and because co-founder Nimit convinced me that learning full-stack JavaScript meant I would spend less time on context-switching and would benefit from understanding one language more deeply. Didn't even consider places like AppAcademy becase I dislike the idea of the school taking a percentage of my first-year salary - my goal has alwasy been to optimize for greatest learning, not highest income.

Student Experience

It's hard to understate how caring and committed the teachers are. The head instructors have different styles, but there's no discernable difference in quality among those who have been around for several years and those who have just joined. I was lucky enough to learn from Dan Sohval and Ben Cohen as a student, and later worked closely with Gabe Lebec, Joe Alves, and Cassio Zen while I was a fellow. These instructors represent an embarassment of riches, and I would consider every one of them as a mentor and a friend.

The learning environment at Fullstack is truly collaborative. All of junior phase relies of students working in pairs (driver/navigator roles), and senior phase includes several group projects. The teaching staff is genuinely interested in making sure everyone masters the material, and that the students at the top of the class are spurred even beyond the core curriculum. At the same time, I pushed myself so much harder than I would have just my learning on the side. Some of my classmates had CS degrees or had even worked as web developers before - sharing classroom time with them really motivated me to put in extra work.

Teaching Fellowship

The fellowship selection process is rigorous (about half our cohort applied, with only a ~25% acceptance rate). I applied because I genuinely enjoy teaching and because I wanted to build a more robust portfolio of projects before starting my job search. Throughout the fellowship, my number one priority was helping my students, and I can say the same for the other fellows I worked with. After gaining more of an insider's view at Fullstack, I concluded that my earlier perceptions were correct: the staff prioritizes student learning above all else.

Job Search

As a fellow, I was able to start my job search a few weeks before leaving Fullstack. Ceren Nomer on the career success team is a total beast, and would answer my questions at all hours of the day. She helped me refine my technique for looking for suitable companies, had great suggestions for how to follow-up after various stages of the process, and was up-front and frank about how to negotiate for salary/benefits. I was hoping to get an offer at an early-stage start-up where I'd be the first junior hire on the engineering team, and that's exactly what I ended up with. I should also note that the tech stack at my new company is almost entirely in C#, a language in which I have yet to write a single line of code. This, more than anything, shows how Fullstack teaches its students to be great developers, not just code monkeys.

Conclusion

Hard to beat the Fullstack experience, both as a student and a fellow. If given the choice of going back in time to attend a different school, I wouldn't change a thing.

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