Actualize

Actualize states they only hire lead instructors that are 'experienced educators', mine was not. She had no prior experience as a professional educator other than the fact she has repeatedly instructed this course. Being an educator is an academic pursuit and a skill, and I would have certainly preferred to be instructed by someone with a passion for educating others. My instructor was young, egotistical to a detriment, rude, and seemed more focused on having her lectures remain uninterrupted than answering student's questions.
As far as the curriculum goes: Find yourself a JavaScript camp, don't waste your time learning a little used language like Ruby. There are extremely affordable JavaScript courses out there that will give you all the algorithm practice you need to do wel...

I am amazed by all the information we have learned in just four months! Coming into Actualize I had very little experience with coding and web development, however, by the end of the course, I was able to create a complete web application by myself with both a working front-end and a back-end. I took the part-time online course while working a full-time job and while the course was challenging at times it was still both manageable and enjoyable. Actualize provided me with a very strong foundation to continue learning upon. Whenever I had questions the instructors were readily available. There is also a great job hacking program in place for graduates which not only helps grads with finding jobs but also helps in making sure we continue coding and learning through graduate initiative pro...

I originally chose Actualize because of their flexible schedule and focus on teaching students how to enhance their coding skills long after the boot camp was complete. I wanted to make sure I wasn't just walking through tutorials. By the end of the class, I wanted the confidence not only to change careers but to understand how to continue an upward trajectory when it came to enhancing my programming skills. Actualize did not disappoint. I had the wonderful luck of having Brian as my instructor and Josh as the class teaching assistant. These two were instrumental to my learning and confidence-building. Make no mistake, learning programming is complex, difficult, and requires consistent dedication. All of that is made easier when you have instructors and classmates who want you to succee...

Enjoyed every bit of my time here while I was enrolled. Coming with no prior coding experience at all, I gained valuable knowledge and even created my very own app! Everyone here is supportive and understanding on how tough this can get. They present you with so many valuable resources, cheat sheets, guides, everything needed to make sure I was learning. Ever after we graduated, we still attend classes to better prepare ourselves for jobs and what that might entail. I'm pleased with my choice here! I definitely recommend learning here!

Course work was unbelievably challenging and the pace was dizzying, but the online course was easily as rewarding as any class I've taken in person. Brian and his TA Josh went above and beyond in being engaging, present, and accessible. There is a delicate balance between teaching someone and giving them the answer, especially when the pace of learning is so accelerated. The instructors walked that line delicately. My only complaint was that there wasn't more time to learn.

I chose Actualize because I was actually recommended to come here from an alumni. However, after researching Actualize and reviews; I really liked how I could attend my full time job and afterwards attend a part time coding bootcamp class. That was really hard to find, along with good reviews. I like how Actualize has a structured class room setting, which really helped me understand the basics throughly as opposed to other coding bootcamps. I like that they take the time to lecture you and then you are able to apply in class. Not only is there an instructor teaching you, but there are TA's to assist you with any questions you may have during the lecture. Also, it is awesome how we do career hacking for an hour or two every Sunday class. I can go on and on why Actualize was the best de...

Once I decided to make a career change, I took my time trying to find a bootcamp that would really teach me how to code. I found Actualize and sat in on a class, Peter's energetic but relaxed and fun style was exactly what I was looking for. I cannot believe that, I, someone who did not know a line of code, was actually able to build an app from scratch. Peter and the Actualize team were absolutely amazing. I am so glad I found them and am looking forward to working as a web developer.

I am so happy to have found Actualize when I did! It allowed me to have the perfect balance of learning to become a developer while being able to keep my full time job. Coming from having zero experience, this bootcamp definitely understood how to cater to that and helping me feel comfortable learning something so new. The instructors and TAs are amazing and super personable. I would definitely recommend Actuallize to anyone who is interested in becoming a software developer!

I just graduated from a night time cohort at Actualize and I highly recommend the program if you are interested in coding. I had no coding experience beforehand, and by the end I was able to make an app with multiple languages and APIs. They do a great job at teaching you how to learn languages, so that after the bootcamp you can go on to learn another language on your own. They also have a "job hacking" program with an advisor that helps with resume, job search,etc. I highly recommend this program.

Actualize is a great program where I was able to learn the fundamentals of coding. The instructor Peter Jang is an excellent teacher who will challenge you and maximize your potential. I would highly recommend this course!

I chose Actualize among all the other bootcamp alternatives because they seemed to focus a lot on pedagogy, the process of teaching and learning. I knew that technical expertise wouldn't mean much if the instructors didn't know how to convey that expertise in a way that helped students grow. And boy, did Actualize deliver. Every step of the way, I felt challenged but always supported. I was given the gift of learning *how to be a programmer*, not how to memorize a specific syntax. I know, going forward, that I can fill in the gaps of what I don't know, and continue to grow as a developer becuase of the skills I learned here. It's the best decision I've ever made from a professional/education standpoint, and I would enthusiastically recommend it to anyone who is seeking to become a progr...

I attended Actualize Coding Bootcamp in Chicago in the evenings in 2018 while working full-time in a client facing role at a tech company during the day. I was hired as a software engineer apprentice at a great company 2.5 months after I graduated from bootcamp. I had 3 final round interviews.

My instructor Peter Jang was fantastic and he knew how to keep our class engaged and excited even when we were overwhelmed. He provided a "2-week" philosophy that showed us that even when we were learning something brand new in 2 weeks it would be second nature to us. We saw this become a reality and trusted the process. The class started with work the terminal and git. Moved to APIs, back-end development with Ruby on Rails. We then focused on vanilla javascript and then learned front-end fram...

I choose Actualize because they not only focused on getting you to learn to code but also how to brand yourself within the job market for success. Actualize believes anyone can learn to code and with the help of the instructors(who are eager to help) I can verify that it's an accurate statement. I throughly enjoyed my experience during the bootcamp and it's experience I remember for the rest of my life and I do not regret my decision. After going through the bootcamp and arriving to where I am I would recommend this program to anyone that wants to learn to code.

Let's see... to start I was a bit skeptical as I'm sure you will be also starting something new. I knew what it was I wanted to do (learn to develop my own websites so I could stop paying thousands of dollars for a finished project nothing as I wanted) but wasn't sure which would be the best avenue to pursue. I thought about attending a JC and obtaining a CS degree but quickly found out how much I can't stand an instructor who is as dry (no pun intended) as boiled sand and speaks like Bill Stein.
I needed something that was in line with my character and learning style. I checked out a few bootcamps, which all claimed to be the best (marketing tool), yet the only beacon in the dark was Actualize. The emphasized teaching over learning to code and how their instructors were educators of ...

I definitely recommend the Actualize bootcamp for learning web development! We learned Ruby, Rails, Javascript, HTML, and CSS, and how to build both backend and frontend for a web app. The live online learning environment was really great - class time switched between lecture and hands-on coding exercises. Our instructor, Dani, was awesome! She is very enthusiastic and helpful, but also a real person with real world experience. I worked part time during the course and was very busy, but it is definitely possible to work and take this course too. This course was intense, but also really fun.

Overall, I had a great experience attending this bootcamp. I appreciated the four weeks of pre-work leading up to the course, as I had no previous development experience. That said, I do feel prework lacked some foundational information that may have helped ease the intensity of the first couple weeks of the course. Attending online was really great for my schedule and gave me the ability to feel comfortable in my own space and very focused on the task at hand. My instructor, Dani, pushed us in a very positive way. She understood that the material was difficult, but also expected that we used are brains to full capacity. I have finished the bootcamp able to do more that I could have ever expected and highly recommend this school for pure beginners.

Really amazing course that covers everything you'll need to know to form a foundation for software engineering. Almost all of the prework and the first half of the course is spent doing backend work, which I think is the best way to learn coding and train yourself how to solve problems like a programmer. The course covers multiple languages and frameworks, but it doesn't overload you by trying to have you learn too many at once. The instructor and the TAs are extremely knowledgeable as well as flexible with their time. Definitely recommend - it's worth the cost!

The following is the exact review that I left for Actualize on Course Report. I want to get this out here for anyone that's doing research for bootcamps and is not sure about where to go. About a year ago I was doing research and reading comments like you, dear reader, are doing right now.

My expectations were high and Actualize still managed to exceed them by a long shot.

When I was originally doing research to find a bootcamp that met my needs, Actualize stood out compared to other cohorts such as Fullstack. The only thing that was kind of spooky to me was how unanimously positive almost all of the reviews for Actualize were. An average of 4.1 out of 5 almost always feels more genuine than a 5 out of 5. Actualize is a massive exception to that rule. I'm not sure what it's ave...

I just graduated from the first daytime cohort at Actualize and highly recommend it for anyone looking to make a career change. I had researched all of the coding bootcamps located in Chicago and decided on Actualize after the positive reviews I read. The environment is welcoming and the instructors make coding fun. I had no previous coding experience and am amazed by how much we learned in 12 weeks.

Before attending Actualize I was extremely skeptical about bootcamps. After talking with the instructors and previous graduates I realized that this bootcamp would be a perfect fit for myself.

Everybody on staff was very enthusiastic about their jobs which in turn made every aspect of the class enjoyable. Over the course of 12 weeks I learned things that I though would take years to learn.

I would recommend Actualize not only to someone who is looking for that right bootcamps, but to anyone who has even the slightest interest in web development.