Inside DigitalCrafts Admissions + Free Intro Courses to Prepare For Bootcamp

Table of Contents

• Meet Your Expert: Chandler McChesney 
• The 2-Step DigitalCrafts Application Process
• DigitalCrafts Acceptance Rate: How Hard is it to Get In?
• How to Become the Ideal DigitalCrafts Applicant
• How to Prepare for DigitalCrafts: Bootcamp Intro Courses

As an Enrollment Coordinator, Chandler McChesney is the first person you’ll likely speak with when you apply to DigitalCrafts. The 2-step admissions  process is similar for Web Development, UX Design, and Cyber Security Bootcamp and conducted remotely for all applicants. Don’t know where to start? Chandler shares what you need to know before you apply, and resources to propel you into your tech career. Plus, a quick video walkthrough of the free Intro Courses at DigitalCrafts, which are the best way to prepare for their bootcamps!

Meet Your Expert: Chandler McChesney 

• Chandler is an Enrollment Coordinator at DigitalCrafts, which means she’s the first point of contact for applicants that come through the application process. 

The 2-Step DigitalCrafts Application Process

Step 1: Submit a bootcamp application. We’ll reach out through phone or email to connect with applicants and guide them through the next two steps in the process. 

Step 2: Admissions Meeting. The admissions meeting is a 20-minute informal and non-technical interview. The goal is to understand where the applicant is coming from and why they want to join a program with DigitalCrafts. We want to understand their goals and motivations, set expectations and answer any questions they have.

After meeting with an enrollment coordinator, the team will review a prospective student’s application and confirm whether or not a DigitalCrafts bootcamp is the right fit for them (and vice versa). Class sizes are limited and not all applicants are accepted into our programs. If an applicant qualifies, they will receive an acceptance letter with the next steps necessary to complete your enrollment.

How long does the DigitalCrafts application process generally take?

The whole process can be completed in as little as one day, schedule permitting. Once completed, we make sure you receive an admissions decision within one business day.

Applicants can also take their time and if they want to spend a few days preparing after the interview, that’s fine as well. 

Is it possible to sign up as a complete beginner?

That’s perfectly fine, but we do suggest you prepare and have a general understanding of web development, cyber security, or UX design and what those careers entail. It may be more difficult to go through the process knowing absolutely nothing.

It’s okay if someone is a true beginner, as long as you’re excited, motivated, and want to go through DigitalCrafts. Our free introductory courses will give you a glimpse of the subject matter and help prepare you for the program. 

DigitalCrafts Acceptance Rate: How Hard is it to Get In?

Is DigitalCrafts more selective than other bootcamps? Which is the hardest bootcamp to get into – Web Development, Cyber Security, or UX Design? 

When it comes to DigitalCrafts, we try to welcome applicants who show genuine interest, have the motivation to work hard, and have goals that are well aligned with our outcomes upon graduating. We hate turning people away, but we also don’t want to set up people for failure.

There are a limited number of cohorts for UX and Cyber whereas there are monthly cohorts for Web Dev. In all programs, there are 23 seats available per class, but the UX and Cyber programs do not have as many classes, which makes it somewhat difficult to time if you're on a strict timeline.

How to Become the Ideal DigitalCrafts Applicant

What does an ideal applicant for DigitalCrafts look like?

In the interview, we check for two things that are important to us as a program and community. We confirm that students are comfortable with working in groups and asking for help if they need it. 

We’re looking for curious, communicative individuals who are willing to be vulnerable and put themselves out there to learn. We work hard to cultivate a collaborative community within each classroom since we know that people come in with different backgrounds and experiences. We like our students to work together and learn from one another.

We also look for individuals who have looked at our website and compared our program with others. We notice them because they already know what suits them. It’s also important to point to experiences where you’ve worked in a group setting. Finally, we tend to notice if we go through an interview and someone hasn’t asked any questions.

What’s the most common question that you hear from applicants?

We recognize that DigitalCrafts is a big investment of time and money, so people want to make sure they'll be successful after they finish. We get a lot of questions about our student success team and outcome percentages related to student success. Other questions are usually about financing and payment options, specifically about our financing partner Climb Credit. Applicants are often surprised at how easy it can be to finance tuition, and while the details (interest rates, terms, etc) depend on the individual, the overall affordability makes taking a bootcamp as accessible as ever.

What kinds of outcomes can students expect from DigitalCrafts?

We share our annual outcomes report with applicants after our yearly audit by a 3rd party accounting firm is complete. Though it’s important to know the numbers, all of the enrollment coordinators are transparent about the job search ultimately being the student’s responsibility. It’s the responsibility of the students to fill out that application and go through the interview process. We’re here to provide support and resources to the students indefinitely, but we can't do interviews or fill out applications for them. We try to be realistic here—it takes hard work and it doesn’t happen at the snap of a finger at graduation. The most successful students start halfway through the program and are ready to start sending applications out by the end. 

How to Prepare for DigitalCrafts: Bootcamp Intro Courses

For complete beginners, the DigitalCrafts Intro Courses are crucial. These courses are:

• Intro to Web Development
• Intro to Cyber Security
• Intro to UX Design

I speak with students that are coming from completely different industries. If you haven’t laid your eyes on any of the subjects, then the bootcamp is going to be challenging.

To create the intro courses, we prompted our instructors with the question "What do you wish each student knew before they came to the first day of class?" We start by giving them a glimpse of the day-to-day in the industry, including a description of common roles, responsibilities, and projects. With that as the backdrop, each course introduces the core concepts for that discipline. Along the way, there are interactive elements to check the student's knowledge so they know they're on the right track. The courses finish with links to additional resources that will help the student deepen their learning by immersing them in the world of a working professional. These are things like books, blogs, and podcasts that we consider to be the best of the best.

One of our Lead Instructors did a great video walkthrough of the UX Design Intro Course:

Do students have access to instructors or TAs during the Intro Courses?

We’re on the verge of launching a public Slack community so people working through the intro courses can participate in a like minded group setting, which will be live sometime in late 2022. We don’t currently have instructors or TA’s monitoring the progress of the intro courses though. They’re meant to be self-led.

How long do the Intro Courses take? 

For beginners, I advise setting aside 20-40 hours to move through the intro coursework.

Will I get into DigitalCrafts if I take an Intro Class?

You’ll still have to go through the admissions process, but you’ll be a step ahead by completing this pre-work early. All students are asked to complete the Intro Course before class starts if they haven’t already.

Do you have any final advice for interested applicants?

If you’re submitted an application, but you’re not quite ready to move through the admissions process, you can talk to somebody for advice. It’s easy to schedule a call with the admissions team, and we welcome people to take advantage of this resource.

Find out more and read DigitalCrafts reviews on Course Report. This article was produced by the Course Report team in partnership with DigitalCrafts.