Penn Boot Camps

So I found out about this bootcamp in June of 2018. Then, in July of 2018 I gave Penn my lifes savings and set out on the experience of a lifetime. The intake process was straight to the point. They gave me a call went over a few basic questions with me and told me about the program. At the end of the call I was sent over a basic exam to gague my understanding of web development. It was simple, timed (30 minutes), about 30 questions and you could browse the internet for the answers. As soon as I finished I got a call back to review my results. During that phone call I was told that I would receive another phone call in the coming days to complete a phone interview. This call took about 15 minutes. Again, the questions were pretty basic and not code related. The next day I was told that I was a good fit and they'd love to have me. For anyone who may be wondering, you do not need to provide any proof of prior education to attend this program. Day 1 was nerve racking. I didn't know what to expect and being 30 years old with a family and a full time job, I was hoping I had made the right decision. The class had about 30 students all from completely different backgrounds The first person I met was Bernard the student success manager. He was super nice and welcoming. He gave a brief introduction and then introduced the MVP... Anthony B. Anthony was introduced as our instructor and without being over the top, I have to say that he was the single greatest choice Penn made for this program.

From the very first day we were coding. The program is set up in a manner where the instructor will introduce a concept, display an example of how to implement it, answere any questions and then give a few examples for you to complete on your own. Throughout the entire 6 months I struggled, EVERY SINGLE DAY... I STRUGGLED. I struggled with the concepts, I struggled with the material, I struggled with the activities, I struggled with everything. Some days I was able to grasp more material than other days but there was not a single day that I did not experience any confusion. Anthony would constantly encourage us to ask questions, but there were days where I was so confused I didn't know to even formulate a question. Anthony always told us "the magic happens at home" and it was the complete truth. On the very first day Anthony also told us that "learning feels like confusion". I'll be up front in saying that I didn't put in the 20 hours of studying until about 4 weeks in when I realized my homework grades were poor. I committed to 1 hour each morning and 1 hour each night of studying and honestly it was only enough to keep my head above water. throughout the program there are 3 group projects. These are targeted at preparing you to work on an actual development team. You get about 2 weeks to prepare the program and then you present it in a 6-10 minute presentation. Project 3 in presented in a tech fair environment where tons of people from the field come out to see you (also this is your time to network and potentially land  job).

I also forgot to mention that we have TA's (teacher assistants) and ours were great!!! Syed, Noah, and Dan are like the smartest kids ever. They could literally help with any problem you had not matter how large or small. The class schedule is set up where you come 2 nights per week for 3.5 hours and saturday morning for 4 hours. Seems like a lot when hearing it, but it sorta flies when you're there. The saturday class is large it gives you a chance to network with the groups who come to class on teh 2 week nights you do not. 

Overall, the program was hard to say the least. As noted previously, I struggled the entire time. I attended the weekly tutoring sessions, I came to office hours every night ( 30 minutes before and after class), I got help from every TA and after all that, I still struggled. I doubted myself for 5 and a half months and then demo day came and I realized that Anthony was 100% spot on and those 5 months of confusion I was actually really learning. We were all able to engage with business professionals and discuss all of our learning on a high level and those are the exact skills you need to finess an employer into hiring you (haha). 

Now that I have graduated, I am just beginnig to take advantage of career services. The program does not gaurantee you job placement but they do offer resources throughout the program to prepare you for job searching. I am going to my first tech career fair this upcoming week (4 weeks after graduation) and I am completely confident that I will land something good. I've been researching and comparing our program curriculum to what employers want and I am confident that the LPS bootcamp has prepared me to be a competent applicant in the field.

Coding bootcamp has helped me in numerous ways. It was a wonderful journey to learn the different concepts of programing technologies seeing how fast technology is growing. Before I go further I would like to say Hats off to the teaching team, they are excellent and was always ready to help. They were amazing and they took their time to guide me into understanding the concepts and they have good knowledge of the subject. It has helped me to go deeper into learning and understanding the functionalities of different softwares. With this experience I am able to look at certain programs I never understood before to make it a challenge to go even further into understanding concepts.  You learn a lot in 6 months. The way the lessons are organized is also really good. Looking back it helps me realize we learned a lot. Also the projects helped us to get a thorough understanding of all that we learned. Overall excellent and if there's a new course I can do through Penn Bootcamp I would go for it.

TL,DR: Penn LPS Coding Boot Camp is a great opportunity to quickly learn a great deal of material and recieve help when needed from qualified instructors and TAs.

I went from knowing next to nothing about web development to being able to create Full Stack applications on my own. It was certainly an intense experience and a number of my cohort dropped out because of the break-neck pace but it is manageable if you ask for help when you need it, remain disciplined with time management, and effectively utilize class time and materials.

I was able to complete this course whilst working a 45 hour a week job. It is difficult but possible and I am so grateful for the experience as a whole.

At the time of this review I am about 9 weeks away from graduation. As the title mentions, my experience has been great up to this point.

Some of the hightlights so far are great academic support, setting and location, administrating staff, and classmates. Our instructors and TA's really seem to have a vested interest in our success, they often make themselves available after hours. The Pennovation building is spacious, conveniently located in the city, with lots of parking. Something I find personally motivating is our classes are held in the innovation building, thus many of the fellow occupants are innovators and startups. Last but not least the on-site admins have been super pleasant and helpful. They have held several webinars and have provided us with great resourse to better position ourselves in the industry.

I can't speak on the Job Assistance department just yet, but I look forward to doing so soon. 

I would absolutely recommend this bootcamp to anyone looking to jumpstart there career in the software industry.

Good program for beginners. It is very fast paced but there is a lot to learn if you put in your 100%. Instructors and TAs are always willing to help and answer questions. If you are planning to work full time along with taking this program make sure you are very determined to put in good number of hours studying outside of the class. The program touches on a lot of technologies but it is up to you to expand your knowledge on those topics. Overall a good place to start your journey to be a developer.

A great course for any aspiring or new dev. Will give you the full stack kit you need to find your way in the world of development, and help you find your place there as well. The online course was great for me as I was working a full time job, and wanted to learn these new skills at the same time. The teaching and support staff helped me throught he tough weeks of overtime, and were very undrestanding of my situation. I am almost done with the course and I am already sending out applications, and scheduling interviews. A recommended course for anyone that wants to make a hobby or profession of development.

The Instructors and TA's we've had have all been fantastic and extremely knowledgeable about the material. I'm 4 months in and looking back to October when I started I can't believe how much I've already learned, even if sometimes I think I'm lost. The pace is definitely as fast as advertised, but the staff makes sure not to move onto a new topic without answering all questions.

If there is anything preventing me from making the jump from 4 to 5 stars it's that we are sometimes so deep in our weekly homework assignments we don't have as much time as I'd like to review previous material.

I am currently a student at Penn LPS Coding Bootcamp and my experience with the school has been phenomenal so far. The first thing I noticed was how engaging the instructors and career services are with you throughout the entire bootcamp. There's plenty of help and support to go around, plus tutoring if you feel like you are falling behind a bit in the course. The course is very fast-paced with lots of information adn new technologies being learned almost every week, so come ready to challenge yourself like never before. The class instructors are very knowledgeable about what they're teaching and give you enough class activities for you to practice. You really need to push yourself hard and study a lot thoughout the week, 20 or more hours in my opinion. It's challenging but rewarding once you understand the material being taught. 

I highly recommend this bootcamp to anyone that wants an in-person class experience and introduction to the most up to date technologies being used in the tech industry. 

   My experience at Penn's Coding Boot Camp has been great. The course structure is outstanding. Students are not graded through tests and quizzes, but through homework. The homework is set up in a way where students can apply the skills you learned in class, proving that you can do this, despite the fact you are just seeing the material for the first time. 

   Since I take the part time class, times range from 3-4 hours, but classes don't feel that long because we are always doing activities or communicating with classmates. TA's and the instructor are always there to answer any questions one may have in and out of class.  The amount of support is great.

   This class is very intense and fast-pace. When you recieve the email with the pre-class work, saying that this class is challenging, there is NO LIE in that statement. By the same token, after one month you will have learned SO MUCH, that the difficulty is worth it. I highly reccomend taking this course,if you are willing to put in the time and handle the rigour. 

I totally recommend this class.  I had zero coding experience before I enrolled. The skill yet that I have learned and the base it gave to me learn other languages was amazing!!!  My biggest issue was that I was unable to communicate with devs at work let alone understand what they were doing.  This course provided me such a good base to work from.

Having said the above, it is a LOT of work and a huge commitment.  It is a very humbling experience and while your in the middle of the process it does seem daunting.  However, the instructors, ta's and Bernard are there to help you succeed.  Your classmates are all over the map as far as skill set but they are all willing to help each other out.  You will form freindships from that experience which was really cool.

Overall, it was a great experience.  Looking back, even the things I didnt enjoy at the time, I see the value in them now. 

I had basic knowledge about MySQL before I joined the bootcamp. Whole program covers a lot of information & knowledge that you need to know to become a junior developer.

Instructors are very experienced and detail orientated. All the people in the class are motivated to learn, so it is defnitely better than lock yourself in your room and figure out everything on your own. 

However, it is a very intense program, you have to be 110% ready emotionally and physically. 

Overall, I recommend this program!