App Academy

Part 1: Curriculum 
- Rapid fire pace. The sheer amount of material you're expected to cover on a daily basis is overwhelming. 
My suggestion for the daily homeworks. At least take a quick look at the material before you pass out for the night, simply having exposure to the material will help you reinforce it in the morning lecture .

Part 2: Job Search 
If you were thought completing the main curriculum would led to a job right away. I have some bad news.. 
Job search is a whole different challenge in itself. Simply knowing the technical material and having projects on your resume isn't enough. 
- You have to be able to play the social game (build rapport with recruiters/managers/engs), and be able to explain complex concepts in a simple way. 
- You have to be able to code, think, and sometimes speak at the same time during phone screens

Of course, some people got jobs quickly, and others would job search for 9+ months before landing a position. 
Everybody's path is going to be different! 
Keep pushing forward and things will work out

I recently graduated college with a background in math and computer science, so my experience may be different from others wishing to apply, though I would highly recommend App Academy to anyone wishing to transition into a career in web development and software engineering. The teaching staff has an impressively thorough grasp of the entire curriculum, and the job placements team is really concerned with getting to know your individual strengths, weaknesses, and interests. Occasionally alumni were invited to give guest lectures on the main curriculum, and I would love to see App Academy provide more opportunities like these for current students to see where the material they are learning exists in the real world. 

I would also mention that my cohort was one of the brightest and most colorful and driven groups of peers I have had the pleasure to work with. App Academy was very successful in providing an environment in which I could flourish both intellectually and socially, allowing me to jump into the next phase of my professional career.

Really challenging but rewarding program! The curriculum covered a surprisingly wide range of topics, so that even with a CS degree, I always felt like I was learning something new. The fast-paced environment gave me that push to actually learn the curriculum today instead of putting it off and learning it eventually. The instructors were great at helping answer any questions I had and always felt approachable. The best part of the program though was seeing the people I've been working with, some of whom with no prior coding experience, build these gorgeous websites from scratch, and then talk about the process like they'd been doing it forever. Whatever your background, if you have the time and dedication, App Academy's a worthwhile experience.

I've recently completed the core curriculum portion of App Academy and I can honestly say I've loved my time here. I recently graduated with a BS in Computer Science from UCR but I quickly learned I lacked the technical skills to join the workforce. I found out about the top rated coding bootcamp in the US and applied to a/A. The application process and class in general is rigorous. But by being strict and demanding, a/A is able to produce high quality engineers and ensure a short job search. I believe the things I've learned at a/A in 9 weeks are more valuable than what I learned over four years at university. As long as you but in the effort, you can be successful here at a/A!

Aa's immersive full-stack curriculum was definitely one of the hardest challenges I have yet encountered but at the same time it has been one of the most rewarding. From knowing little next on nothing on how to code to building full-stack web applications deployed live to the internet. It is a very fast paced course with a lot of first time challenges but if you put in the work and the time you will get out of it what you put in. You have assessments almost every week to test your knowledge and ability to quickly learn and keep up with the material. There are times when you wish you had more time to better understand the material but it is the challenge of learning fast that makes it exciting and rewarding. 

Definitely my most sleep deprived stretch in my life, but for good reason.  The stress and pressure of weekly assessments is intense and only the truly committed will survive.  I have learned so much since graduating App Academy.  You get daily instruction and help from the TAs', but it is on you to learn all the material.  The path is laid out nice and clear, but it is you who must walk it.  You truly only get from the course as much as you put in.  The best learning experience in my life.  

I had a great experience at App Academy, however I'm just starting the job curriculum so I cannot speak to the job guarantee or the quality of the last portion of the curriculum. The course material is structured in a way that helps the students focus on learning instead of trying to discover what is worth learning. This is the main advantage of the bootcamp opposed to trying to learn the material on your own. The curriculum is good in this sense, but don't expect to learn everything or even cover everything that a junior developer should know. The curriculum is intensive, but introductory. Think of the curriculum as a spring-board for learning more on your own outside of working hours and after the conclusion of the program. 

The TAs / instructors are also what make the program worth it. They are invested in helping you and making sure that you understand the material. That being said, you must study, or you will fall behind and get kicked out. This means putting in a lot of hours and letting the curriculum consume you. Even then, you must study hard & study smart. Long hours of work doesn't guarantee mastery, so learn how to study before you show up.

The people you work with will be awesome. Your peers are usually quite driven and all on the same career path as you. This being said, you will have to learn how to work with different people with different personalities. Be the kind of person you would want to work with. Since the foundation of the first 7 weeks is pair-programming, this program is not for people that cannot interact well with others. 

The classroom environment is not the greatest. You sit on a crowded floor at long tables (full of mac minis) coding all day with a partner. The chairs are terrible and you will start to feel it if you don't get up often. The lecture hall consists of 50+ folding chairs that also feel terrible (especially after 3 hours of lecture). Don't fall for the nice looking banner pictures on the website that portray these hipsters drinking coffee in lounging couches while coding. That's not what this program is, that is just clever marketing. I highly suggest, that anyone interested in attending A/A come visit the work sites. It is not a deal breaker, but you should have an accurate view of the place you will be spending the next 3 months. 

Lastly, if your finances permit, don't take the deferred payment option. Be motivated, do well, and pay upfront. The huge caveat is that you need to do well and not get kicked out. If you have more questions about this, then just do the math between the two plans, and ask questions. Don't just blindly sign an agreement until you understand everything.

Overall, I have been enjoying the program, however, I don't think that this program is for everyone. Make sure you do your hw before committing. 

Let me start by saying that my experience at App Academy was overall positive. I think the curriculum and the pace at which it's taught is fantastic. If I could go back and make the decision whether to go or not knowing what I know now, I would still choose to go. You need to be willing to spend the time though; you should not have a terribly active social life or spend much time goofing off outside of class. The main goal of the bootcamp is to teach you what you need to know to get a job in the shortest time possible, and you need to be serious about that if you are signing up.

That being said, there are a few areas where I was highly disappointed. First, they say that they care about your ergonomic health, but this is not true in the slightest. They have no options for better keyboards or mice, no monitors at eye level, horrible chairs. This may get better in the future based on some of the conversations I had, but I wouldn't count on it. Cohorts are in and out of there in 9 weeks so there is little incentive to actually make the working conditions better. The other area of disappointment was the availability of the instructors. There is this "question button" you can hit to have an instructor come over to you, but I waited upwards of 45 minutes in some situations.On the other side of that though, you do need to be self-sufficient and be able to find the answer on your own sometimes. You'll need to do that in real life anyways.

So, besides some major drawbacks, I think App Academy is worth it if you know what you're getting into.

Originally I thought App Academy was going to be a medium intensity coding bootcamp where at the end of the day I'd still have enough time to have personal time. I was wrong, oh so very wrong. Even after the day ended at 6pm, in order to keep up and retain the day's materials, I had to study until 11pm every day. Weekends are no exceptions because of the incredibly face-paced nature of this program. However, despite not having a life and the stresses attached to this program, I regret nothing. I have learned so much in such a short period of time it's actually amazing. I went from knowing nothing about code to building a websites and programs. If I had the option of joining this program again, I'd do it again.