App Academy

When I was searching through all of these reviews myself just a few months ago, I was a little scared at what everyone was saying about App Academy. And after going through the curriculum, I now understand what they were saying about the difficulty of this course and why they were saying it. BUT I also understand why App Academy still gets all these amazing reviews. 

Difficulty: 
This course is HARD. On day 1, the head instructor made a joke that we should tell our friends and family that we're going on a 12 week cruise. He was joking, but at the same time... he wasn't. My personal experience of the workload at App Academy was get to class around 7//7:30am to finish up whatever homework I didn't complete the night before, 9am-6pm class time. 6pm -8:30//9pm homework and then rinse and repeat for Mon-Fri. Generally I would take Friday night off to give myself a mental break, but Saturday and Sunday you could find myself and most of the App Academy Students in the classroom Studying for the Assessments. 
TLDR: This class is no joke. You cannot have a social life and succeed in this bootcamp. (At the very least don't expect to unless, you may be able to get a night out here and there if somehow you're ahead on the material)

Assessments:
Yes this is one of the few BootCamps that relies on Assessments. Yes they are very stressful. Yes there is a lot of practice work given to help you pass these assessments. Yes they are hard. HOWEVER, I couldn't be happier that we had these assessments. At the end of the day, you can sit through the lectures, you can do the homeworks and finish the in class assignments, but practicing and studying for these assessments is what really drills the information into your brain. Keep in mind though, you can be removed from the program if you fail two assessments. This can make the program a lot more stressful for people who are either not good test takers or do not put the work in. These assessments are not made to trick you, but made to make sure you know the minimum amount of knowledge to continue with the program. Without that minimum knowledge, you will not succeed with the rest of the program.
TLDR: Assessments are hard, but not if you keep up with the work and study on weekends. Bad test takers, beware

Instructors:
The instructors are absolutely awesome. All instructors are extremely knowledgeable in the topics being taught, and clearly have extensive experience in teaching the material. They're all also extremely helpful

Culture:
The Culture at a/A is extremely welcoming, and I can tell that I will remain friends with many of my cohort-mates for many years to come. We've spent many many hours in class together and even more on slack.

Worth it?
100%. We are just starting the job application process now, but from everyone I've talked to who is in a place to hire Software Developers, App Academy consistently trains the strongest job candidates from all the other BootCamps in NYC. No matter your background or previous experience in coding, you can succeed in this class with the right amount of work. I personally did not have any coding experience and am currently feeling super confident going into the job search process. 

TLDR of the entire review - If you've already made the decision to take up a bootcamp,  willing to sacrifice 12 weeks of your social life, and wand the best bang for your buck, App Academy is the choice.

If you are interested in software development and willing to devote yourself full time to the program, App Academy will give you the skills to succeed in a developer role. Be prepared to spend upwards of 90 hours per week learning the material, and be ready to do this for 12 weeks straight - as soon as you start to come to grips with one topic, lectures begin on the next. The pace is rigorous to say the least.

That said, the payoff is immeasurable and experience unquestionably positive. I've never learned so much so short a span of time, all while surrounded by diverse peers of incredible ability. I can't recomend the program enough for those willing to devote the time necessary.

If you're thinking about applying for this program, let me just tell you now that you're going to have to give up a lot of time to get the most out of this program. 

Also I want to add that people with no prior experience coding can excel in this program, so long as you put in the work. Most of my cohort-mates did not know how to code before entering this program and still did well.

The program is fast-paced, so you will not have time to go back on things you may have missed and everything builds upon another so you will have to keep-up, otherwise you'll fall behind.

After week 9 I am now capable of creating a full-stack application, which is crazy considering how much I knew (or should I say how much I didn't know) 9 weeks ago.

You will need to put in work. In order to make the most out of this program, you will need to put in 80 - 100 hours a week studying, doing the readings, completing homework & projects. But trust me, it will all be worth it in the end.

At the end of the day, I can't say that this program is for everyone. You will have to want to learn to code badly enough to be successful coming out of a/A. If you're serious about it and willing to put in the time and effort then I can confidently say that App Academy is your best bet.

Overall: if you're looking for a relatively fast track to switching career paths or accelerating your preexisting programming experience, App Academy is a great option to consider. The main caveat is the extreme time commitment required by the course. 80 hours per week of work is realistic; more if you want to excel. If you have other non-negotiable commitments such as family or volunteering responsibilities, accept that you may fall behind and have to work harder. 

The App Academy curriculum is excellent. Teaching competency of instructors varies – some are excellent, some are mediocre – but honestly it's probably as good as you can expect from any coding bootcamp. Instructor support overall is very good. Everything you need for a solid foundation to begin the cohort is provided throughout the application process; what's key is setting aside enough time to properly absorb the material (at least two months prior to interviewing, a month between the first and last interview, and a month between admission and cohort start time). The provided prep material is time intensive in its own right, and most who struggle to keep up didn't spend enough time preparing. Time to catch up after beginning the cohort is almost non-existent. 

What makes aA stand out: 
- Rigid structure of accountability through roll calls, assignments, and assessments. Like having a good physical trainer, you may often hate the diet and the workouts in the moment, but in the long run you'll be surprised how much you progress. 
 - Constant pair programming and collaborative work. Especially taxing for introverts, but enormously helpful in learning how to communicate effectively. A significant advantage over solo/remote study options, and even most university curricula. 
- Outstanding job search curriculum. Lots of very helpful workshops, application prep, and interview practice. 

Can you learn everything taught in a bootcamp on your own? Almost certainly. What you're paying for is the opportunity to learn it faster, make connections with other students/instructors, and receive solid career coaching. Most motivated individuals would still take at least two to three times longer to cover the same amount of material, if studying full time. That's worth considering in the cost-benefit analysis of money versus time. 

App Academy as a 3 month boot camp intensive is without a doubt one of the most difficult curriculums I've gone through. You will continuously learn new material and review previous material so be prepared to plan your time for this camp. The staff here is incredibly helpful with questions, kind, do try their best to accomodate. The material provided constantly updates to try and be up to date with the latest technologies to provide the edge to students competing with CS graduates. In regards to the curriculum, most of it can be self taught, albeit nowhere near as fast and instructional help and networking is a plus.

Some things to note:

While the TAs are a great resource for questions, it is important to know many are App Academy graduates, so some deepter questions regarding the material may not always be provided. I believe the instructional curriculum is thorough, but there is a drop in instruction during the job search curriculum.

Overall, App Academy has been a constructive experience for me and I would recommend this bootcamp.

Let me preface this by saying that this will probably be the hardest 13 weeks of your life. That being said, I loved every part of it. Most of your time for the first 9 weeks is spent between pair programming and attending lectures. The majority of the people enrolled are fun to work with, and the TA's are always there to assist you both in person and on Slack. The entire atmosphere is quite casual yet serious. Everyone is here to get a job and everyone is aware of that. I made it in and made it all the way through with absolutely no prior coding experience (I worked in Real Estate before this). 

After the first 9 week program, there is a 3-4 week job search program that focuses on algorithms as well as job search material (cover letters, resumes, negotiations, interview skills, etc). 

You will not have a lot of free time. People in my corhort spent about 80-100 hours a week studying and completing homework/projects. However, you learn a ton from it, and it is an incredible experience.

App Academy is an incredibly fast-paced environment where concepts are thrown at you very quickly in a sink-or-swim environment. That said, the culture inherent within the program as well as the assistance provided by the TAs and practice assessments give you the tools to succeed. I commuted from Concord for the entire cohort, my average week looked like: 
M-F 
7:30am - Leave for school
9AM - Start the day 
6PM - End of Instruction
8:30PM Leave school after studying/watching videos of material, study on BART as much as possible
10PM Get Home, review everything, maybe have a beer
11PM Sleep

Sat - Study 10am - 3pm
Sun - Study 11am - 10pm

I did fairly well through the course by sticking to this schedule and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge presented by the course. That is not at all to say this is easy and that if you put in the hours you're fine; you need to be productive during that time and make sure you are maximizing your time.

For those interested in attending go ahead and apply. They will send you some material to help prepare you for the course, work through that and see how you feel. If you have fun and are hungry for more then continue with applying, if not leave it at that; software is not for everyone and thats ok. 

If you're looking for resources to practice, I recommend CodeCademy's Ruby course for a crash course on the language, then working through Project Euler, Code Wars, Code Fights, and if you're comfortable enough, LeetCode for practice problems to get you in the right mode. 

I was a part of the NYC March cohort (Mar - Jun 2018) and purposely waited to write my review until I accepted a job after completing the program.

App Academy has changed my life; within 8 months, I quit my old non-technical job, took the course, went through interviewing and accepted a job as a software engineer (have been working for 1 month now). I think very favorably of the program overall, but want to provide some quick bullets to answer questions that I know I had when considering if App Academy was right for me:

1. How long does it take to get a job after finishing the program? 
- I feel very fortunate in that I was connected with a company with an App Academy alum at my graduation night (the final week of the program) and wrapped up my interview cycle with them in 2 weeks. This is not the norm, though. Expect your search on average to take anywhere from 4-9 months.

2. What is the average starting salary? 
- My offer was just shy of $100k at a company in New York City. Friends of mine from App Academy who have gotten jobs in the past few weeks have all been offered slightly more than me, but I hear the average range is closer to $85-90k for App Academy graduates in the New York area.

3. What are the payment plan options? 
- There are 3 choices: (1 - upfront) $17k all up front, (2 - hybrid) $9k up front and $14k in scheduled payments after accepting a job, and (3 - deferred) $5k upfront and $23k in payments after accepting a job. For #s 2 and 3, how you pay off the larger second amount depends on your starting salary; if you sign the alumni engagement agreement (you agree to mentor future students and show up at a/A events), your tuition will be capped at either 23% (hybrid) or 28% (deferred) of your starting salary and you'll pay the lower of that amount or the written amount that you owe. For example, if you accept a starting salary of $85k and you have chosen the hybrid plan, you'd only have to pay $10.55k back instead of the full $14k. Your payment schedule depends on your starting salary as well, but expect to pay between $1500 and $2000 monthly until you've paid back what you owe. If you don't accept a job after a year from when the program ends and you've been looking with a good faith effort, you get your money back. 

4. Does App Academy force me to take the first job I get? 
- No. You can choose to turn down offers that don't make sense for you, but I'm pretty sure if you do that and don't accept a job by the time the year after your program ends, you're still on the hook for tuition since you technically did get a job offer.

5. Will I feel prepared to join the workforce as a software engineer when the program is up?
- Imposter syndrome will tell you no, and that's not totally wrong. There is still so much that I want to learn about software development where I feel like I'm currently just scratching the surface. But, I do feel qualified for my current job. App Academy did a great job of teaching me both the fundamentals and how to learn things quickly that I don't know (Google is your friend! All developers, bootcamp or not, use it daily!). There's been nothing I've encountered at my job so far that I've had no idea how to handle.

6. Who are the instructors?
- The instructors are former App Academy students that most times are hired while they are still students, so they know the material very well but have not yet worked as developers outside of App Academy. The curriculum is developed by lead TAs who take the job very seriously and travel to conferences/attend meetups to make sure it is up-to-date and relevant.

7. Who will my classmates be?
- Students seem to vary in their backgrounds. Expect a cohort in NYC to be around 40 people though, and maybe 5 of them will have a CS degree. Closer to 1/3 might have previous light coding experience (SQL, basic JavaScript) from another job. 

8. What languages will I learn and are they useful in the job market?
- App Academy will teach you Ruby, JavaScript, SQL, HTML and CSS as languages. More specifically, you'll learn Rails as a backend framework and React/Redux as frontend libraries to help you render web pages. Ruby is not used heavily anymore but is a great semantic starter language to help teach you how to code. React, from what I've seen, is where job demand is right now. My current team uses React.

9. Is it really possible to be successful in this program with no coding background?
- Yes. I had no coding background. That being said though, it takes a lot of work and determination to get up to speed. I did the JumpStart program through a/A which taught me coding basics for free after work over 4 weeks. Then once I was accepted, I meticulously when through the pre-cohort prep course (alpha course) before beginning classes. Take alpha seriously and make sure you understand it thoroughly; there's office hours for your questions.

10. Cons?
- It's a stressful environment where you can fail out if you don't pass 2 of the weekly exams. There are only 6 exams total so they don't last for your whole time in the program, but they are very high stress and require a strong ability to focus and mitigate any anxiety that this may induce for you. The prep resources are there to help you (there are always practice exams for you to take and TAs will occasionally have test walk-throughs to attend before the assessments) but you need to put the work in to succeed. My one complaint about App Academy is there is still room for improvement for how TA's provide emotional support to students who do not handle stress well. If that is you, you can still do this program - don't be discouraged! But you will have to go out of your way to ask for emotional support and feedback from your TAs and peers.

I thought the curriculum was good, and the program was intense, but not worth paying 28k for. 

I paid 5k upfront, then paid 23k after I got a job (paid over a year). 

A little about me — I moved to San Francisco with no job and $1,500, so I had to deliver food in the evenings to make ends meet (and pay for App Academy). I attended App Academy from 12/17–3/18.

It took me 6 months to get a job, and the salary was only 67k, which is very low for graduates of the program.

I would say, if you can pay for it upfront (which would only cost you 17k), then you should do it.

If you can’t afford it, just do tutorials from these individuals: Wes Bos, Scott Tolinski, and Stephen Grider. Stephen Grider’s videos are here: https://www.rallycoding.com/. (2/3 of my projects were built with tutorials). Also check out watchandcode.com from Gordon Zhu, which is also fantastic.

The reason I say just do tutorials is because I spent a lot of time just saving up enough money to go to the bootcamp, when I could’ve used all that time to just code and build projects.

Another couple of reasons you should consider just doing tutorials are: the alumni network isn’t as helpful as you think, and being self-taught is much more impressive going to a bootcamp.

I was surprised that doing only 3 projects in your portfolio is enough to get a job, but it is. Obviously doing more would just improve your chances.

If you are struggling with interviews, check out https://www.outco.io/. What might even be a good plan would be to do several projects with tutorials, then go to Outco. Or check out Haseeb’s blog: https://haseebq.com/how-to-break-into-tech-job-hunting-and-interviews/.

Quick disclaimer- I just finished the course, so I don't have a job yet. I'll just talk about the experience I have to this point. 

The way the curriculum works is that you have 9 weeks of  the learning curriculum. You learn Ruby, Rails, JavaScript, React, Redux, SQL, and more. You also create your full-stack project.
The next 3 weeks is the career curriculum. Here they teach you what you need to do to get a job, and what you should expect. During this time, you create a javascript project.

First off let me say, it is a difficult program. When they say 100 hours/week, it's literally 100 hours per week. It is a pretty hard thing to get used to. Also, during the first 9 weeks, there are 6 assessments that you have to pass. If you don't pass 2, your out. So kind of harsh. However, at the end of it, it's a really accomplished feeling.
I would recommend planning on not having a life for the 3 months you are in the program. 

We had really great TA's to teach us the curriculum and help us with all our questions. The support that they give is really great! It's crazy how much you can learn in just 12 weeks!

At the end of the 12 weeks, you have 2-3 projects, a personal website, a resume, linkedin profile etc etc. They make sure you have everything in order for you to get a job.
I just graduated so I don't know if how prepared we are, but all in all, it was a great experience.