The 12 Days of Fullstack: 13 Surprising Things that Set Fullstack Academy Apart

13 Surprising Things that Set Fullstack Academy Apart

Note: Fullstack Academy’s $100,000 #WinterIsCoding scholarship challenge ends January 5th. Enter now, while there’s still time!

The holidays are in full swing, we’ve been wearing ridiculous Christmas hats for weeks, and our a capella group, Fullstackapella, just last week graced us with a beautiful Carol of the Bells. All this holiday cheer prompted us to appreciate how unique Fullstack is and to share who we are with all of you! So below you’ll find the 12 days of Fullstack, an array of 13 insights into the rigorous, funny, supportive, effective program that is Fullstack Academy.

0. On the 0th day of Fullstack, my bootcamp gave to me: An environment that’s entirely a-hole-free.

Rule number one at Fullstack Academy is “No a-holes.” We apply it to ourselves and to our student body. A 17-week intensive program like ours is tough, and a large share of it involves pair programming, so our students need the most supportive environment we can give them. That means no a-holes, period.

1. On the first day of Fullstack, my bootcamp team did show that JS was the one language to know.

At Fullstack we know a person can’t learn everything in 17 weeks, and that it’s better to be an expert in one language than to get the gist of many. So at Fullstack we make you an expert in JavaScript, as it’s the internet’s most popular language, used by everyone from app developers in studio apartments to scientists at NASA. Hear from our co-founder himself why we chose JS.

2. One the second day of Fullstack, I was genuinely impressed by the two co-founders still teaching JS.

David and Nimit, our co-founders, worked together at Yahoo, then built and sold successful companies before starting Fullstack Academy as its only two instructors. And guess what? They’re not only still shaping the curriculum, but they’re actually still in the classroom several times a week. At Fullstack, students learn directly from our co-founders.

3. On the third day of Fullstack, my bootcamp offered me: three bootcamp prep choices --and one’s free!

Admissions here are selective, which is why we encourage students to ready themselves with one of our three Bootcamp Prep offerings: Prep in a Week, Prep in a Month, or Prep at Your Own Pace. Check out which one’s right for you.

4. On the fourth day of Fullstack, my bootcamp sent my way four different cereals every day.

Yes, we’re adults, but we also love a little Cap’n Crunch in the mornings--and so do our students. Especially when they’re going to be here from 10 - 6:30 each day, and many arrive early to review the previous day’s lesson, prepare for assessments, or work on projects. So yeah, we offer four different cereals each day. Bon appetit!

5. On the fifth day of Fullstack I finally got the knack of five big JS technologies in our stack.

At Fullstack, we make sure our developers leave skilled in both front- and back-end development. That requires understanding the JavaScript “stack”--and the main technologies in our JS stack are Node, Express, Sequelize, React, and Redux. Learn more about our curriculum and see what our students have built with this stack.

6. On the sixth day of Fullstack, I survived like a champ the six long weeks in each phase of bootcamp.

The Fullstack Academy program begins with four weeks of remote work to ensure all students are operating at the same level before bringing everyone together on campus. (For remote cohorts, that means bringing everyone together on the virtual campus.) Once you’ve reached that point, you’ve got thirteen weeks of work ahead of you: six weeks each of junior and senior phase, plus a review week. During junior phase, you’ll spend all your time learning, pair programming, and building projects--but during senior phase, you’ll prepare for your job search with support from our career success team. They’ll offer workshops, resume help, interview prep, and even a dedicated hiring fair just for your cohort in your final week at Fullstack.

7. On the seventh day of Fullstack, my bootcamp accepted me into one of only seven cohorts yearly.

Fullstack admissions are selective. We educate seven cohorts yearly at Fullstack NY and Grace Hopper, and that means we can only accept a fraction of applicants. Why do we do this? Because we want Fullstack credentials to mean something to employers. We know students can’t go from true beginner to software developer capable of getting hired--say from 1 to 80 on a scale of 100--in 17 weeks. But they can go from 20 to 80. Because we want to deliver what we say we can deliver, we can only accept people who are already around a 20. But don’t worry, beginners! We’ve got JS 101, Bootcamp Prep, admissions prep workshops, and more to help you get where you need to be to join us.

8. On the eighth day of Fullstack, my bootcamp team decided on eight values by which they have since abided.

The Fullstack Academy team has eight values that we strive to embody in everything we do. One of those is that we are a little crazy about outcomes (scroll down to day 12!), and another is that while we want to make you happy, we’re ultimately here to make you better. That means that Fullstack Academy will push you further than you think you want to go, but will ultimately transform your life in a truly positive way. And the rest of the eight? Come to Fullstack and see for yourself. If we’re doing our job right, you’ll be able to figure them out.

9. On the ninth day of Fullstack, Grace Hopper collected tuition in nine installments after students secured positions.

Fullstack Academy’s partner school is the Grace Hopper Program, a software immersive for women that operates under a deferred-tuition model. That means that the women of Grace Hopper Program pay full tuition only after they’ve secured full-time work, at which time they pay back their tuition in nine monthly installments. Diversity and inclusion matter, and we’re doing what we can to make tech a more friendly place for women.

10. On the tenth day of Fullstack, my bootcamp gave to me: ten ways to get a scholarship entry.

Right now, Fullstack Academy is offering $100,000 in scholarships, ranging from $500 scholarships to prep classes all the way up to $10,000 scholarships to their immersive programs. How can you get one of these? Our #WinterisCoding scholarship challenge offers you ten different ways to gain entries, and each coding resource you take advantage of earns you more ways to win. So get coding! Challenge ends 1/5/18.

11. On the 11th day of Fullstack, in Flex it came to pass that 11 students made up our first class.

Did you know Fullstack Academy offers a Flex Immersive for folks who want to enroll in our software immersive part-time? If you want to level up your career, but have worked hard to get where you are and don’t want to give it up, check out our part-time Flex program. Same top-quality Fullstack curriculum without having to quit your job. Our first 11 Flex students loved it, as have all our Flex classes since.

12. On the twelfth day of Fullstack, Grace Hopper promised that students would get work in a year--or their money back.

All Grace Hopper Program students pay a small deposit to secure their spot. If any student does not secure full-time, in-field work within 12 months, Grace Hopper refunds the deposit, and you never pay a dime for your education. All of our programs are similarly outcomes-driven, which is why Fullstack Academy is a founding member of the Council on Integrity in Results Reporting (CIRR), a self-regulatory body within the industry that that requires all member bootcamps to measure and report their results the same way, effectively creating standards by which students can compare bootcamp success rates. Check out Fullstack Academy’s outcomes (or Grace Hopper’s) as well as the companies that hire our grads.

So while we don’t have any partridges or pear trees here at Fullstack Academy, we do have a values-driven team, a cutting-edge curriculum, prep and immersive options to suit many different kinds of students, and programs that specifically encourage diversity in the industry. If Fullstack Academy or Grace Hopper sounds like a good fit for you--like maybe because you’re really into cereal--apply today. Applications for our February cohort are due by January 5th.