RefactorU

I would like to preface this review by stating that this bootcamp offers rewards for graduating students who write reviews online. I am not accepting an award or compensation for writing this review. RefactorU is an interesting experience. Some of the instructors are excellent and some of them are not excellent. There were only three instructors for our class of 20 something students. The lessons and curriculum was well considered and thorough. I felt that a lot of effort and planning went into designing the curriculum itself, the technologies we learned were "hip" and popular. The bootcamp also scheduled a lot of extracurricular activities and "fun" to help students relax after stressful and difficult weeks of material. Overall I would say that I learned a great deal at RefactorU. Where they really let the ball drop was after graduation. There was one networking event and a career fair. Very little effort was given to assist in job placement. There was absolutely no follow-up or feedback from RefactorU regarding job placement. I'm not sure where they get their placement numbers of 96 %. After I graduated I felt very little was done to assist in my career search. This wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't something the school promised they did as part of their. I do not regret my decision to attend RefactorU as I learned a great deal and believe it will be useful in the future. I am disappointed with the lack of support after graduation and the assistance in finding career opportunities.

PROS:

Learn a lot

MEAN Stack is very desirable

Good Curriculum

Cost - this is an affordable program for the amount you learn

Some instructors are excellent

CONS:

Room temperature is exceedingly hot all the time

Class size is large which limits personal instruction

Lack of alumni/career support

Some instructors are not excellent

I went into RefactorU with a background in I.T. and a desire to switch careers into a more challenging and creative field. What I got was one of the best educational experiences of my life, great friends and professional connections, and the new career I was looking for. While no program can be perfect, this was pretty close.The instructors are top-notch, the administrative staff is actually to support you and the curriculum is well thought out and relevant to today's job marketplace. 

The course is difficult and you have to really commit to pushing yourself but the reward for doing so is totally worth it.

For only being ten weeks long, this bootcamp transformed me from a novice developer into a fully confident full-stack web developer, without making me loose my sanity in coursework.  I can now create, impliment, and deploy a fully functioning website with ease, thanks to the 10 weeks at RefactorU

The instructors can be hit or miss.  During my cohort, one instructor was usually unhelpful, and tended to keep to himself instead of making himself available.  The other instructor was amazing - he answered questions clearly, and helped you towards an answer rather than just give it to you.

RefactorU provides 10 weeks of intense web development training. What you put in, is what you get out of it. You are accountable for doing your own work. Having said that, the lead instructors are fantastic at helping you understand concepts throughout the whole program. 

Pros: Course content/coursework: The overall structure and content of the bootcamp were fantastic. 
Instructors: The lead instructors are some of the most talented and knowledgable developers out there. Furthermore, the instructors were committed to seeing you learn, understand, and succeed. Not only were they highly supportive of their students, they were consistent & thorough in their teaching of concepts. 
Classmates: I have met some truly incredible people in this class, that I can confidently say will be life-long friends, and helpful peers as we dive into our professional tech careers. Since instructors were often busy assisting other students (which is great, as the instructors took all the time necessary to address individual questions/problems) I found my fellow students to be a goldmine of knowledge and it was very encouraging to see other students working together and helping each other.
Model: The number of coding bootcamps has exploded over the last couple years, and this immersive model is here to stay. As a long-time fan of alternative education, RefactorU has hit the nail on the head in terms of providing a specific high-demand skill-set to anyone with the grit and determination to become a software developer. 
Location: RefactorU's location in Boulder is great for those interested in working in the start-up scene in Boulder. The Denver/Boulder metro area is an emerging tech hub and a prime gateway to enter a tech career. This was also helpful for attending the many Meetups, workshops, and conferences in the area. 

Cons: Student to teacher ratio. We had three instructors for a class of 33 (we are the largest class yet). This is in contrast to 18 students in the prior cohort, and there were 11 graduates  in the cohort prior to that. The classroom was far too small for this many students.

Individualized attention: while the instructors were fantastic, and true champs in terms of being overloaded with students, many of us felt that we did not receive as much individual attention as we would have hoped, and this is largely attributed to the very large class size. There simply weren't enough instructors or hours in the day to get assistance with the 1:10 ratio in our class. A huge shoutout to the instructors that showed up and gave their best every day. They were as enthusiastic about seeing us succeed in week 1 as at the very end of our program. 

Class distractions: with such a large class it was an exercise in zooming in on our work and blocking out distractions. The overall classroom atmosphere was far louder and more distracting than I had anticipated. While each of us is responsible for doing whatever we needed to do in order to concentrate on learning, I was hoping for a more professional (and quieter) work/study environment. 

Constructive criticism for the school: I am aware that the school plans to hold two concurrent cohorts for the next set of students, but a campus expansion/relocation would greatly serve to benefit the students, and with the high growth of RefactorU, the organization as a whole. Smaller class sizes are a must, or reducing the teacher:student ratio. I have high hopes for RefactorU moving forward, and I anticipate seeing great things from my fellow classmates. 

RefactorU is a well thought out bootcamp that prepares everyone to become Full Stack Web Developer. From the lectures, lessons, coding times, and peer group sessions, to the resume assistance, recruiter tips, and class outings RefactorU taught me how to code as well as prepare me to work with other programmers. RefactorU focuses on the languages and skills that employers are looking for. The teachers and teacher assistants are excellent in their field. The ten-week course was long enough to understand the concepts and prepare me to be productive as a web developer. I would recommend RefactorU for anyone just starting out in the workforce as well as anyone in the middle of their career that wants to go in a new direction.

Everyone at RefactorU was great - the instructors, administrators, community engagement planners - they are all wonderful.

RefactorU throws a lot of information at you in a short time, but in a really well-structured way so that you actually have time to learn it all, and learn it all well. I'm astounded by how much I learned, and how dedicated the instructors were to supporting our experience: from TAs who come in on the weekends to offer help, to being responsive when not-totally-kosher sexist jokes were being made in class (hey, it's the tech industry, right?). They organize events with employers and recruiters to help you make connections. They know they only succeed when their students succeed, and they are all about that.

My only complaint is one that is probably actually being addressed - being as successful as they are, they have been growing a lot, and for my personal learning style, our class was too big. We had 33 people, and the class before us was only 13, so there were a lot more of us sharing the instructors' attention. It was also often a very loud work environment (33 people in one room), which for me usually meant having to choose between leaving and going somewhere quiet to get work done, or being in a room where I have access to help from instructors and classmates, which was a frustrating choice to have to make.

Overall, I'm glad I went and really impressed by what they accomplish as a school. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to others.

RefactorU has changed my life.  I've wanted to get into development for quite some time now and took the CS courses like data structures, JAVA, C++, etc.  I tried to break into the field by taking them after I got a physics degree.  It just wasn't enough.  RefactorU changed all that.  

I left my home in SF to go to Boulder and had no idea what would happen.  I quickly was immersed in JavaScript, Angular, MongoDB, and Node.  I found that the instructors were so good and so clear that I quickly picked up everything they taught.  My only regret was not doing all the bonus assignments for the week (some assignments aren't mandatory - they are bonuses).  

Not only that, but the people there started to change my life.  I made what I can honestly say are life long friends.  A bunch of cried when RefactorU came to an end.  I can't believe it had to come to an end.  Learning tech surrounded by awesome, talented people was amazing.  

Now on to the good part - I got a job.  I am seriously so happy.  The job was what I envisioned getting - a cool job in a cool startup surrounded by extremely smart people.  Sean, Vally, Sharone, and Ed were a pleasure to know and converse with and the instructors, Rob and Raphael were the smartest guys I've met in a long time.  

I don't just recommend this bootcamp to learn how to code - I recommend it to change your life - both socially and financially.  

It has truly been one of the most life changing and gratifying experiences I have ever had. I have a Bachelor’s in Elementary education, but decided over the summer to make a mid-life career change. My family uprooted from Illinois in August so that I could attend RefactorU. We sold our home in IL and my in-laws graciously kept our 2 toddlers in AZ, and my husband traveled between IL, AZ, and CO while I was in school. It was a crazy ride, but I’ve found through it all that I love coding and can’t wait to start working in the field! The course was very intense and I learned so much. If I can make the commitment to change my life for the better, so can you!

The Curriculum was so well designed, that by week 5 we were able to develop fully responsive, fully interactive single page applications using the angular framework along with HTML5, and CSS3; Not to mention Bootstrap and Material Design to enhance our user interface. By week 8, we were equipped to complete a full stack application using NodeJs and MangoDB. 

The instructors were well prepared and flexible in adapting to each student's level of understanding. They combined lectures and practice sessions while fostering an environment of camaraderie and peer-to-peer support that was conducive to effective learning.

Students became friends and supportive of each other. The fact that the curriculum and instructors emphasized collaboration over competition, pushed everyone to give their best by recognizing each others strength and encouraging it.

I highly recommend the program! 

Like many of my peers, I was drawn to RefactorU because I wanted to start a higher-paying, more enjoyable career without spending years of my life earning another degree. Even a couple weeks into their ten-week, intensive boot camp, the skeptic in me feared it was too good to be true, but I graduated last Friday and can confidently say that going to RefactorU was one of the best decisions of my life. Several of my classmates had coding jobs before the course even ended, and I am absolutely amazed when I compare the skills I have now with the skills I had from several weeks of pre-bootcamp self-teaching. I can now think up and develop an entire web application on my own, from the database and server to the user interface, and, perhaps more importantly, I know that I have the resources and knowledge to learn new technologies and tackle any coding problems I may face in the future.

Not only does RefactorU manage to teach an incredible amount of material in a short amount of time, the school also structures assignments in a way that prepares students for what a real coding job is like. The vast majority of time was spent on solo projects, but the boot camp is also peppered with several pair programming projects, in which one student writes code and the other plans and coaches, and a larger group project. We also had to do three oral presentations and practice talking about code. It's crucial--and surprisingly difficult--to be able to articulate something so thought-based, and I'm glad RefactorU emphasizes this skill. The team building and communication will definitely benefit me during technical interviews and throughout my career.

Unlike many other bootcamps, RefactorU strongly emphasizes a work-life balance. While it is true that I never had to ditch my sleep, health, and social life in lieu of unreasonable amounts of stress, what the "work-life balance" translated to, for me, was: "You are responsible for your own success." Some students chose to work late hours even after the school day ended, others spent more time socializing and attending events. Whatever the case, no one would chase me down if I needed to take a break during the day or tell me I needed to work harder if a particular subject didn't make sense right away, but the staff was always there to help and encourage. We just had to do the work.

What I loved most about being a RefactorU student was the perfect balance of structure and independence. Every week, we got a list of projects to work on after lectures, but there were no grades and no deadlines (besides for the one big group project and the two major solo projects). The lack of solid structure may be a con for some people, but, for me, it was like being told, "I believe in you." Those imagined words helped me be successful at RefactorU. So did the smart and passionate teachers, who gave clear (and oftentimes entertaining!) lectures and were there to help when I got stuck. Rob has an unshakable warm, positive attitude that makes him a great teacher in addition to being a great coder, and I enjoyed Raphael's attention to detail and clear passion for the topics he lectured on.

I can't think of a single thing about RefactorU that would dissuade me from telling any self-motivated, technically-inclined person to go there. My only complaint is that I would have preferred more early, clear communication about the specific times, dates, and expectations of project presentations, graduation day, and events in general, but I understand that RefactorU is a new business. They're always working toward finding the best way to do things and tinkering with the course load to include what is most relevant in today's tech industry, and their 96% job placement rate shows they're doing it right. If you're ready and willing to remake yourself and to dedicate yourself to learning, you'll find, like I did, that RefactorU isn't too good to be true, at all. It's real and it works.