Telegraph Academy is now Hack Reactor

As of 11/1/16, Hack Reactor has unified its network of schools, including MakerSquare and Telegraph Academy, under the Hack Reactor brand.

The Hack Reactor network of schools are now Hack Reactor Austin, Hack Reactor Los Angeles, Hack Reactor San Francisco, Hack Reactor New York City, and Hack Reactor Remote.

If you graduated from Telegraph Academy prior to October 2016, please leave your review for Telegraph Academy. Otherwise, please leave your review for Hack Reactor.

To view updated and accurate information, please visit the
Hack Reactor Course Report page.

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Telegraph Academy

Average Rating4.23
48 Reviews
0 Courses
Telegraph Academy is a software engineering career accelerator based out of Oakland for people of color underrepresented in tech. It was one of the first schools to launch as a part of the White House’s Tech Hire Initiative. Telegraph Academy’s curriculum was developed in partnership with Hack Reactor; and its full-time, 12-week immersive program focuses on JavaScript and related technologies. The immersive program is split into 6 weeks of technology learning and 6 we...

48 Telegraph Academy Reviews

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  • Liz
    Liz
    Software Engineer • Graduate • Telegraph Academy (12-Week, Full-Time Immersive Program) • Oakland
    Sep 18, 2016
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    life changing

    Transformative experience. An organization which is also a family.

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  • Garland Riley
    Garland Riley
    Graduate
    Sep 18, 2016
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    Hardest and Most Rewarding experience of my life.

    The curriculum was poignant but pretty grueling. The instructors were amazing. They were prepared, informed and genuinely invested in our success. Once a week there was a moment where I was overwhelmed and wanted to quit but there was always someone from the support staff ready and willing to listen to my ravings and grievances. Truly he hardest but most rewarding experience of my life. I started from being incredibly uncomfortable with high level concepts to building software myself witho...

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  • Arnoldo Munoz
    Arnoldo Munoz
    Graduate • Telegraph Academy (12-Week, Full-Time Immersive Program) • Oakland
    Sep 18, 2016
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    The most value thing I learn was learning how to learn

    Today im graduating from Telegraph Academy and the last three months have been very intense a lot of long hours and hard work I have accomplish my goal of being a software engineer. My experience at TGA was great even though there were rough moments, but the staff did a great job at making sure they kept me focus so I could accomplish all my goals. The staff is genuinely wants all of its students to succeed and they really do their part to make sure that you are successfull. The most value...

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  • Ruth
    Anonymous
    Graduate
    Aug 05, 2016
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    Amazing Community

    Telegraph Academy provides an amazing student-to-teacher ratio, so each student gets lots of individual attention and support. They have great curriculum they share with Hack Reactor, and excellent instructors. Everyone believes passionately in Telegraph Academy's mission to get more people from underrepresented group (women, people of color, queer, etc) into the tech industry, which creates a strong send of community.

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  • Nicolas Bauer
    Nicolas Bauer
    Graduate • Telegraph Academy (12-Week, Full-Time Immersive Program) • Oakland
    Jul 22, 2016
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
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    Challenging Course, Positive Experience

    Attending Telegraph Academy was a great overall experience.  The program was recommended to me by my current employer as an opportunity to start my career in the field of web development.

    Just to give some context, I already had experience with VBA programming going into the program, but not extensively with javascript or web applications.  After completing the program, I felt very comfortable working with the entire MEAN stack, and understanding how web applic...

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  • LeChristopher Blackwell
    LeChristopher Blackwell
    Graduate • Telegraph Academy (12-Week, Full-Time Immersive Program) • Oakland
    Jul 02, 2016
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    Best Educational Experience of My Life

    This school has provided me what can most simply be described as 'The Best Educational Experience Of My Life'. I found out about Telegraph Academy in July of 2015 and saw it as an opportunity to change my life. I had always been on computers alot, loved critical thinking and problem solving, but had absolutely no experience coding. This raving 5 star review really doesnt mean anything without reasons, luckily, TGA provides plenty. I'll address my personal experience with each of the catego...

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  • Cristian E. Avalos
    Cristian E. Avalos
    UX Software Engineer • Graduate • Telegraph Academy (12-Week, Full-Time Immersive Program) • Oakland
    Jul 02, 2016
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    Awesome experience and learning path

    I am one of the first cohort graduates (my cohort ended on September 2015).

    Let me start by saying that I have a bachelors degree in Computer Engineer. At the moment I am a fulltime software engineer working at InRhythm. 

    When i got out of college, I started looking for entry level positions. It was really hard to get one even tough I graduate with high GPA. (3.63). I was able to get offers for an intership which trains me for about 3 months and then I am hired fulltime...

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  • Ryan McBride
    Ryan McBride
    Software Engineer • Graduate • Telegraph Academy (12-Week, Full-Time Immersive Program) • Oakland
    Jul 01, 2016
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    TGA helped me reach the goals ive been chasing for the last 10 years.

    I was unable to get a job in software development despite majoring in CS in college, and studying all the time on the side. The best I could ever get was a QA position, because I never had the time or will to fully commit to learning. When I lost my last job to an acquisition, I finally had the opportunity to learn. TGA took my basic Javascript knowledge and turned me into a full stack engineer. I don't get intimidated by coding pro less anymore, I get excited to work on difficult things. ...
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  • anon
    Anonymous
    Software Engineer • Graduate • Telegraph Academy (12-Week, Full-Time Immersive Program) • Oakland
    May 25, 2016
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    Instructors
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    Don't believe the hype

    If I could do it over I would have just attended Hack Reactor. I'll start by saying that I am now an employed software engineer. However, this a review of the school and not my own personal outcomes. The cost of attendance is the same as hack reactor, but this equal cost does not equate to equal quality. Since it labels itself as the premier coding bootcamp for people of color and underrepresented groups, it seems as though it also lowers the standards of admission if you fit into one of t...

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    Albrey Brown of Telegraph Academy

    Cofounder

    Jun 30, 2016

    Cost, educational quality, job placement and salaries:

    Your assumptions are not based in fact. Telegraph Academy and Hack Reactor are both part of the Reactor Core network which requires its schools to uphold the same educational standards and outcomes. If we we fail to uphold these standards, past or present, we would not be allowed to be a part of such a strong network of schools. In terms of educational quality, unless you’ve gone to both Telegraph Academy and Hack Reactor, it’s very difficult for us to see how you can so confidently compare the two. 

    Highly experienced instructors: 

    Our instruction team is highly experienced and they work together to teach students the skills they need when they need them. 

    Jamil Lawrence (Head Instructor of the Junior Section) has been with us for a year and is a Cornell-trained engineer with over 9 years of relevant experience. Before joining TGA, he was a Semiconductor Engineer writing and testing semiconductor software at Samsung for over four years. He also has 5 years of classroom teaching experience, and he has more than enough experience working with the specific technologies & lessons we teach in the Junior section (the first six weeks of the program). Because the Junior section of any Reactor Core school focuses on building raw engineering skills -- debugging, jumping into a code base, picking up new technologies quickly, etc. -- and material that builds core problem solving skills, Jamil’s rare mix of skill and experience make him uniquely suited to his role as the Junior Instructor. You leave his section of the program ready for the Senior section with Marc.

    Marc Christophe (Head Instructor of the Senior Section) has been with us a year as well and is tasked with acting as your lead engineer and project manager over the last 6 weeks of the program. His 10 years of Software Engineering experience makes him especially qualified to guide you through learning advanced Software Engineering concepts (i.e. test driven development, application architecture, database scheme, etc.)  and team management skills as you build your applications. He takes those raw skills Jamil helped you build in the Junior section and translates them into professional, marketable skills that enable you to build production-grade applications like a professional software engineer in the Senior section. 

    As you can see, your claim of inexperienced instructors is weak at best. Combined, our instruction team has 20+ years of relevant experience. They work in tandem to get you ready to hit the ground running on an engineering team on day one. 

    Accessible business model:

    Again, we’re having difficulty understanding how our model, which is the same as Hack Reactor and Makersquare’s, is predatory. We have the same admissions criteria (ie. we have not lowered the bar, which is an assumption that comes eerily close to the frankly racist assumption some people in the industry make about underrepresented people of color in tech) and are held to the same outcomes standards. Look at the other reviews to see whether or not this is a predatory model. The theme that we see is that TGA is a special place that has changed the lives of many and will continue to transform the industry. 

    You characterize our mission as “kool aid,” but so many other reviewers disagree. Again, if you look closely, alums are not talking about “hype,” but about the transformative experience they've had launching their software engineering careers with us. Taken together, their reviews paint a picture of high-quality instruction, strong community and incredible investment toward their careers as Software Engineers. There is nothing predatory about TGA. 

    Come talk to us:

    Finally, it really does make us sad to see that we fallen short of your expectations because we care about all of our students/alums. We’d actually love to talk to you to figure out how we can remedy your frustration that even though you’re working as a software engineer after our program, you did not get what you expected. We would like to figure out how to better meet your expectations. 


    Thank you for your feedback. We’re looking forward to hearing from you soon. 

    - Albrey Brown, Cofounder of Telegraph Academy

  • Anonymous
    Software Engineer • Graduate • Telegraph Academy (12-Week, Full-Time Immersive Program) • Oakland
    May 04, 2016
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    Super amazing and humbling experience

    It didn't take long to realize that community at the TGA's core -  Co-founders and Instructors alike are deeply invested in building a tightly knit community of software engineers and problem solvers. 

    TGA practices a very iterative approach to it mission of training software engineers and community building. 

    In all, TGA and its growing community and network is at you disposal in achieving your goals and addressing you expectations in a ...

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  • Lauren
    Lauren
    Student
    May 01, 2016
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    Exceeded Expectations

    There are many things about my experience that was surprising to me. As an experience programmer, the prep course really helped me to up my game. It was always challenging but at the same time the curriculum was actually fun.  I was never accustomed to pair programming but over the course of time I grew to prefer having someone else to think through the code challenges with.  The overall culture is very friendly and supportive. The lectures were always engaging. They were able to demonstra...

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  • Andrew Lloyd
    Andrew Lloyd
    software engineer • Graduate
    Apr 22, 2016
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    A Great Experience at Telegraph Academy!

    I came into the program with extensive experience in software development (C++/.NET, Microsoft stack), wanting to learn the new Javascript stack frameworks etc., and I was initially skeptical that students with no background in software could acquire a meaningful level of skills in just a few weeks. After volunteering for two months as a teaching assistant for the program's preparatory course, and then being invited to attend the full course, I changed my mind. The course moves very fast, ...

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Telegraph Academy Alumni Outcomes

Recent Telegraph Academy News

Liz Eggleston
Liz Eggleston
Updated November 01, 2016
Have you heard the news? MakerSquare and Telegraph Academy s network of schools are rebranded as Hack Reactor Austin, Hack Reactor Los Angeles, Hack Reactor San Francisco and Hack Reactor New York City. But what exactly does this mean for MakerSquare and Telegraph Academy alumni, current students, staff, and future students? We asked the Hack Reactor team to answer our questions about how this merger will affect tuition, admissions, curriculum, culture, and reviews. FAQ ...
Liz Eggleston
Liz Eggleston
Updated December 28, 2020
Because Course Report is part of this growing coding bootcamp industry, we are very interested in who is attending bootcamps and what that means for the larger tech industry. The growing interest in diversity in tech has led to an ongoing conversation that has even reached the White House . Here are the facts African-Americans make up only 4% of people in software development jobs , and Latino/as make up only 5% of these jobs in the US 1% of coding bootcamp graduates are African American, ...
Harry Hantel
Harry Hantel
Updated August 06, 2015
The July News Roundup is your monthly news digest full of the most interesting articles and announcements in the coding bootcamp space. Want your bootcamp's news to be included in the next News Roundup? Submit announcements of new courses, scholarships, or open jobs at your school! This Week's Student Spotlights Rose Kohn on her first month at Turing School . Fehim Hatipoglu on his real-world project during The App Academy in Amsterdam. Jordan Kimura created Soaring Frost ...
Liz Eggleston
Liz Eggleston
Updated July 31, 2015
African-Americans make up only 4% of people in software development jobs, and Latino/as make up only 5% of these jobs in the US (source). Coding bootcamps will graduate over 16,000 students this year and place them into jobs as developers at startups and enterprise companies. 63% of those coding bootcamp graduates are white. In this webinar, we're joined by code schools Turing, Sabio.la, Startup Institute, and Telegraph Academy to talk about racial diversity in bootcamps, ...
Harry Hantel
Harry Hantel
Updated July 01, 2015
Welcome to the June News Roundup, your monthly news digest full of the most interesting articles and announcements in the bootcamp space. Do you want something considered for the next News Roundup? Submit announcements of new courses, scholarships, or open jobs at your school! Coding Bootcamps In The Headlines Coding Bootcamp Enrollment Soars! (via Bloomberg) Skill Distillery is the First Coding Bootcamp Approved for GI Bill. Coding Dojo spotlighted in Geekwire News. ...

Telegraph Academy Alumni Reviews Summary

Overall Experience
4.2
Instructors
4.2
Curriculum
4.3
Job Assistance
4.2
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More Information
Guarantees Job
Job Assistance
Includes Housing
Offers Corporate Training
Accepts GI Bill
FAQs

How much does Telegraph Academy cost?

The average bootcamp costs $14,142, but Telegraph Academy does not share pricing information. You can read a cost-comparison of other popular bootcamps!

What courses does Telegraph Academy teach?

Telegraph Academy offers courses like .

Where does Telegraph Academy have campuses?

Is Telegraph Academy worth it?

Telegraph Academy hasn't shared alumni outcomes yet, but one way to determine if a bootcamp is worth it is by reading alumni reviews. 48 Telegraph Academy alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Telegraph Academy on Course Report - you should start there!

Is Telegraph Academy legit?

We let alumni answer that question. 48 Telegraph Academy alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Telegraph Academy and rate their overall experience a 4.23 out of 5.

Does Telegraph Academy offer scholarships or accept the GI Bill?

Right now, it doesn't look like Telegraph Academy 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 Telegraph Academy reviews?

You can read 48 reviews of Telegraph Academy on Course Report! Telegraph Academy alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed Telegraph Academy and rate their overall experience a 4.23 out of 5.

Is Telegraph Academy accredited?

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

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