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Launch School

Average Rating4.84
95 Reviews
2 Courses

Launch School is an online program for studious beginners whose goal is to become professional developers. The program focuses on fundamentals of programming and software engineering including core problem solving, programming language fundamentals, object-oriented programming, networking, databases, and guides students through a structured path of building up proficiency in software development.  The program consists of two main phases: Core Curriculum and Capstone. The Core Curriculum uses a mastery-based learning pedagogy to teach fundamentals of software development. It takes approximately 1200-1800 hours (8-16+ months) to complete, and students can choose either a Ruby or JavaScript focused track through Core. After that, there is an optional and admissions-based Capstone Program that's focused on helping students acquire career-launching opportunities. The Capstone Program takes 4 months full-time and employs an Income Sharing Agreement where students pay after they get a job offer.

The Core Curriculum is open to everyone, and the only requirement is that people complete Launch School’s free preparatory courses. Students who complete the Capstone Program will receive career guidance, and be exposed to algorithmic thinking that employers demand. 

Launch School offers a Deferred Payment Program (DPP). Students pay nothing upfront, and will begin to pay back tuition only once they land a job that pays at least $60,000.

95 Launch School Reviews

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  • Ben Perrault
    Ben Perrault
    Software Engineer • Graduate • The Capstone Program • Online
    Verified by GitHub
    Jul 24, 2024
    Overall Experience
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    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    The best educational experience I've had - High quality, practical software education for serious learners

    I found Launch School from a random Reddit thread and I'm so glad I did. I was considering whether to join a traditional 3-9 month bootcamp, go back to college, or self-teach. Launch School stood out to me for a few reasons:

    - Rigorous curriculum & assessments: As a 30ish year old career transitioner with an existing college degree, I wanted to get serious about learning, have external accountability, and a clear path forward. Launch School gave me all of these.
    - Cost &amp...
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  • Riz S
    Riz S
    Test Engineer • Graduate • Core Curriculum • Online
    Verified by GitHub
    Feb 08, 2024
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance
    N/A

    Now I Know How to Learn

     Launch School drilled the fundamentals of software engineering into me. I work on a software development team and can now converse well with software engineers about technical topics I used to struggle with before signing up to Launch School. 


    Learning the fundamentals so thoroughly has also left me much more confident about, and able to, quickly pick up back-end and front-end frameworks, as well as understanding how fully-fledged web applic...
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  • Bharat Agarwal
    Bharat Agarwal
    Software Engineer • Graduate • The Capstone Program • Online
    Verified by GitHub
    Feb 04, 2024
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    A remarkably thoroughly, high quality program

    It's been a few years since I graduated from this program, and I've only got good things to say.

    A few years in the industry, and my subsequent job experience has given me context on the way the program is taught. As others have mentioned, the core curriculum is a self-paced part of the program, and this has been designed to ensure success for everyone willing to put in the hard-work -- not just the geniuses! New topics are not introduced until you have mastery of pre-requisites (...
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  • Jake deVarennes
    Jake deVarennes
    Software Engineer • Graduate • The Capstone Program • Online
    Verified by GitHub
    Jan 31, 2024
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    Life Changing Experience

    When I completed the Launch School and Capstone program in 2023, I faced a challenging job market in the tech industry. Despite this, I can confidently say that this experience was instrumental in my successful transition into the field. The program's bottom-up approach, emphasizing core programming concepts, was not only crucial for excelling in interviews but also invaluable in my daily role as a software engineer. This strong foundation enabled me to quickly understand and excel in co...
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  • Donald Redding
    Full Stack Engineer • Graduate • The Capstone Program • Online
    Verified by LinkedIn
    Jan 23, 2024
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    Challenging But As Advertised

    I am extremely grateful I stumbled across Launch School's website while I was ten pages deep into a random Reddit thread reviewing coding programs.
    Launch School has changed my life, and I don't want anyone else to miss the opportunity.
    TLDR;1 . Launch School is not easy, but you have a great community of staff and students who want you to succeed.2. Launch School, for me, was a lifestyle. I dedicate...
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  • Aashish Balaji
    Senior Software Engineer • Graduate • The Capstone Program • Online
    Verified by LinkedIn
    Oct 15, 2023
    Overall Experience
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    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    The Core & Capstone Experience

    The combination of the Core curriculum and Capstone is a very thoughtfully designed system, and one of the most fun and rewarding journeys I’ve been on as a student. The focus on fundamentals in Core provides an effective set of tools to define and solve problems, while also helping you gain a high degree of familiarity with programming languages and their unique characteristics. There is plenty of practice, a great community and TA sessions to help you overcome any difficulties, and the...
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  • Wayne Olson
    Software Engineer • Graduate • The Capstone Program • Online
    Verified by LinkedIn
    Oct 15, 2023
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    From Mid-Life Career Transition to Six-Figure SWE Job

    As someone making a mid-life career transition, Launch School gave me the tools to do what I thought would have been impossible a few years ago: land a mid-level software engineering role with a six-figure salary, while having no prior experience in a tech-related field or even a related degree. For me the stakes were pretty high coming into this career transition: I have two kids and was coming from a career where the pay was already high, so I really needed to be able to skip the entry...
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  • Andrew Jones
    Software Engineer • Graduate • The Capstone Program • Online
    Verified by LinkedIn
    Jun 26, 2022
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    Genuine, rigorous, and effective

    I ran across Launch School after about a year of trying to teach myself coding with low-cost
    online resources. I was working full-time, and my efforts up to that point had not been too
    successful. But the moment I started reading Launch School materials was the moment my
    studies started building towards something bigger. “This process will take longer than you
    want it to, but if you take your time and do things the right way, it will be worth it.” It was a
    message I didn’t...
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  • Ben Semel
    Ben Semel
    Product Engineer
    Verified by GitHub
    Jun 24, 2022
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance
    N/A

    A lot of time and effort, but worth it.

    TL:DR; Launch School takes a lot of time and effort but absolutely prepares you to be a software engineer for a living, both in terms of programming knowledge and mindset. 

    I spent a little over 11 months doing the LS Core Curriculum. Probably could have taken less time- part of this whole learning experience for me was learning how to budget my time and focus effectively without any supervision. If you have no trouble with that it may take less time for you. Prior to LS, I had wo...
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  • Nick Stebbings
    Nick Stebbings
    Full stack developer
    Verified by GitHub
    Jun 09, 2022
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    A rigorous approach to learning that really works

    I have been working as a Full Stack Developer for a couple of months now, and so far feel that Launch School more than prepared me for the realities of working in the industry. I spent about 2 years working through the Core curriculum after discovering excellent reviews and realizing I needed to make a longer term commitment in order to guarantee success. I was transitioning from 7 years working in hospitality in fairly menial and low-paying jobs. This was after a period of mental ill he...
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  • Calvin Conley
    Calvin Conley
    Backend Software Developer • Graduate • Core Curriculum • Online
    Verified by GitHub
    Jun 07, 2022
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance
    N/A

    Launch School Testimonial

     Before Launch School, I got part-way through The Odin Project and Free Code Camp, and was frustrated that things just weren't clicking for me. I now realize that I wasn't learning in the best way, and part of what makes Launch School's curriculum so great is that they have an emphasis on improving your learning process. In addition, they teach the fundamentals from the ground up so you don't feel lost. Each part of the curriculum builds things up slowly so you have a full understanding ...
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  • Stephanie Cunnane
    Fullstack Engineer at Mozilla (Firefox Desktop) • Graduate • The Capstone Program • Online
    Verified by LinkedIn
    Mar 12, 2022
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    If you put in the work, Launch School can change your career (and life) trajectory

    Completing Launch School's Core Curriculum and Capstone program was one of the best decisions I've made in my life. Launch School helped me build strong programming fundamentals, and Capstone taught me essential software engineering skills. Those two things allowed me to land an excellent software engineering position at Mozilla working on the Firefox browser.

    The fundamentals Launch School teaches are table stakes for interviews for good engineering roles. You need to be able to ...
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Launch School Alumni Outcomes

Recent Launch School News

Liz Eggleston
Liz Eggleston
Updated December 26, 2023
Schools and universities may be scrambling to figure out remote learning, but coding bootcamps have essentially been preparing for this since 2013. Online coding bootcamps already use Zoom video, Slack, GitHub, and VS Code Live Share for pair programming, online lectures, and to connect mentors and instructors with students. Of course, you can learn to code online – but it doesn’t stop there!...
Liz Eggleston
Liz Eggleston
Updated October 03, 2024
As summer meanders into its final weeks, does back-to-school season make you long to be back in the classroom? It’s not just high schools and colleges that are about to reboot their classes in fall – these coding bootcamps all have upcoming courses online and in-person to jumpstart your new career starting in Fall 2024! Apply today and you could be a developer by the time 2025 rolls around! ...
Lauren Stewart
Lauren Stewart
Updated October 21, 2020
Sun-Li Beatteay studied Oceanography in college, but after bouncing between jobs as a research tech, a barista, and a firefighter, he was ready to start a new career in tech. After a nudge from his wife who works in tech and some research online, Sun-Li found Launch School, a year-long online software engineering school. Learn how to stay motivated when learning online, whether the longer...
Liz Eggleston
Liz Eggleston
Updated October 03, 2024
Deferred tuition and income share agreements (ISAs) are becoming more widely available and can be attractive to students who don’t have $20,000 in the bank. ISAs and Deferred Tuition align a school’s incentives with those of their students – essentially, a school isn't successful unless their students get jobs. Plus, deferred tuition and ISAs remove the barrier of an upfront tuition, expandin...
Imogen Crispe
Imogen Crispe
Updated February 18, 2020
For some students, the traditional 12-week, full-time coding bootcamp may not seem like enough time to acquire the skills that employers want. As the coding bootcamp industry has evolved, longer coding bootcamps such as Turing, Galvanize, C4Q, Ada Developers Academy, Learner's Guild, CODE University, Holberton School, Make School, We Think Code, and 42 have emerged with courses ranging fr...
Liz Eggleston
Liz Eggleston
Updated December 24, 2014
NOTE: This Q&A may be outdated. Tealeaf Academy is now Launch School.  Matthew Barram had done some website development for his side-business, but had doubted his ability to be a full-time web developer. Based in Brisbane, Australia and too far from in-person developer bootcamps, Matthew decided on Tealeaf Academy, the online, mentored Ruby on Rails bootcamp. Find out what convince...
Liz Eggleston
Liz Eggleston
Updated August 14, 2014
Online, mentored coding bootcamps offer convenience and structure without forcing you to quit your job or move to a new city. But not all online programs were created equally, so which one is right for you? We'll learn from alumni at each online coding bootcamp, ready to answer your questions about their experience during class, how they found mentorship and community online, and how thei...
Liz Eggleston
Liz Eggleston
Updated July 12, 2018
NOTE: This Q&A may be outdated. Tealeaf Academy is now Launch School. Tealeaf Academy is an online, Rails bootcamp that offers three robust courses in web development for students with varying levels of experience. We talk to Kevin Wang, a cofounder of Tealeaf, about what makes their online program effective and the types of students who excel in their courses.  How did Tealeaf star...

Launch School Alumni Reviews Summary

Overall Experience
4.8
Instructors
4.9
Curriculum
4.8
Job Assistance
4.8
Write A Review
More Information
Guarantees Job
Job Assistance
Includes Housing
Offers Corporate Training
Accepts GI Bill
FAQs

How much does Launch School cost?

Launch School costs around $199. On the lower end, some Launch School courses like The Capstone Program cost $0.

What courses does Launch School teach?

Launch School offers courses like Core Curriculum, The Capstone Program.

Where does Launch School have campuses?

Launch School teaches students Online in a remote classroom.

Is Launch School worth it?

Launch School hasn't shared alumni outcomes yet, but one way to determine if a bootcamp is worth it is by reading alumni reviews. 95 Launch School alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Launch School on Course Report - you should start there!

Is Launch School legit?

We let alumni answer that question. 95 Launch School alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Launch School and rate their overall experience a 4.84 out of 5.

Does Launch School offer scholarships or accept the GI Bill?

Right now, it doesn't look like Launch School offers scholarships or accepts the GI Bill. We're always adding to the list of schools that do offer Exclusive Course Report Scholarships and a list of the bootcamps that accept the GI Bill.

Can I read Launch School reviews?

You can read 95 reviews of Launch School on Course Report! Launch School alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Launch School and rate their overall experience a 4.84 out of 5.

Is Launch School accredited?

While bootcamps must be approved to operate, accreditation is relatively rare. Launch School doesn't yet share information about their accreditation status.

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