App Academy

I graduated my bachelors in CS but I felt that what was taught to me is not enough for the industry right now. App Academy taught me what I hadn't learnt in 4 years in 12 weeks. It was really really intense, no kidding. The pacing is ultra high speed. But at the start of the eighth week began doing our full stack project. The end result is what was the most satisfying. I was proud of what I made and my friends and family were amazed on how practical the teaching was, enough to make a full stack app. The course is super rewarding. I am currently on the 10th week and our job search curriculum is about to begin and am super excited to start working soon!

I chose to attend App Academy because of its reputation of being very difficult, and it certainly is that. It's kind of like those videos of parents throwing their babies into the pool, and then helping them turn their heads so they float on their backs. Seems extremely harsh, and the babies don't know what to do at first, but they quickly figure it out because they have to.

My background: I had a little programming experience coming in - I built an app and put it on the Play Store, among other small projects. That being said, it too me 5 attempts, using Ruby, to get in.

APPLICATION PROCESS

There was 1 small coding challenge, then 1 remote interview via Skype (which I had two chances at), which I didn't pass, so I was referred to a "JumpStart" program to help me get up to spee...

App Academy's Bootcamp Prep was awesome. It gave me the confidence to pursue this career as a software developer. Alvin was always super helpful and so were all the mentors. Their slack group is a great resource - and the admins are super quick to respond to any questions/problems.
I was very surprised at the level of "assistance" they provide - not only in slack but in the hour long tutorials they offer as well. If you are considering it... do it.

I attended App Academy's bootcamp prep course about two months ago. I had pretty much no experience coding and decided that the prep program would be a good way to get my feet wet and see if this career path suited me without too much of a commitment. The program was well organized and the teachers were great. Shout out to my teacher Alvin. He did a great job. At App Academy, I learned everything I needed to know to feel comfortable moving forward with a coding bootcamp. You will need to study on your own a little to make sure you are ready for technical interviews at bootcamps, but the program reviews all the material that is expected of you.

I have now applied to several of the top bootcamps in NYC and have been accepted to all of them. The prep program is a pricey when compared t...

I knew a bit of programming before taking this course which helped me a lot since I don't have a traditional technical background. I have a liberal arts background. The program is really hard, one of the most stressful 3+ months of my life, but it was so worth it. I am a software developer now . It's awesome.

This was a great way to jump into coding and get an idea of what it would be like to be in a coding bootcamp. My background is that I don’t have any experience other than struggling on online free bootcamp prep and a technical interview that when it came time to take I realized I wouldn’t pass. For it being only a month I learned so much and got a better handle on how to code JavaScript. The assessments were really tough but from my struggles I progressed. I don’t feel as though I have learned enough to get into the bootcamp but I do feel like I have a stronger grip on what to learn and can continue to get ready for the bootcamp. I am a perfectionist though and know a lot of my classmates feel like they are ready and passed all the problems on the last assessment. The instructor was enc...

Alvin was my teacher and David was my T.A. They are patient, well knowledged, and tries their best to stay empathized with the class.

I thought the course was easy and i really didn't learn much, but when i looked back, I was able to understand, talk about, and do ALOT more than i was ever before, which means that they actually taught me a whole bunch WHILE getting the "new-to-coding" classmates.

By the end of class, i think everyone was well taught on their fundamentals and ready to tackle their technical interview, which.. the prep course also helps you out by offering mock interviews and follow up.

overall conclusion: It is quiet pricey, but you are paying for possible life long friends and networks, course materials, bootcamp tech & non tech interview prep, follow up sup...

Background : I have a finance background, and had absolutely no idea on how to code, or even open up a terminal. We can say that I was as green to coding as anyone could be.

Pre-work : As soon as I paid for the course, I was immediately given access to the Github with all the material, including problem sets, videos, and assessments. For one week, I worked through all the work up until mid-week 2, which I would recommend anyone do if they would like to be more prepared than their peers and feel less lost (that will happen regardless if you're new to all of this). My instructor emailed me consistently, and even helped me through the initial phases of just knowing where to type.

Instructor : Coding people have a (IMO deserved) reputation of not being the best communicators. This wa...

If you are looking this review, I can tell all the information on a/A website are true.
You need to spent AT LEAST 100 hours per week.
The curriculum are intense and tough.
You basically learn new stuff EVERYDAY.
The assessments are really thing, you will be kick out if you failed twice.
But if you really want to be there, here are some good news.

All instructors at a/A are excellent, not only knowledgeable but also extremely supportive of students.
The curriculums are well structured, and have clear instruction to follow.
Your classmate are awesome, will give you any help you need.
Trust yourself you can make it.

The 'boot camp' in the name of this course should not be ignored. You will need to work 10-12 hour days, 7 days a week, for the first 9 weeks in order to keep pace. There is no downtime and falling behind is a real danger in the assessment portion of the program. That being said, the amount of learning that takes place through this process is incredible. I honestly feel that grad school was easier. Not for the faint of heart but worth it if you can manage.

If you’re in for a quick career change while on cruise control, I would not recommend App Academy. But if you can picture yourself as an engineer and want to dedicate your time, this is the best place to be. The instructors are extremely bright, and they’ll challenge you every day to push your boundaries become a better problem solver. Anybody with dedication can do this, just be sure to prepare like crazy and be sure you’re in it for the long haul mentally, emotionally and financially.

Great people, great instructors, great program, learned more than I thought I would over the now 2.5 months I've been here.

My experience at App Academy is absolutely the most hard working time in my life. The average work time of 80 - 100 hours per week is no joke. There is new material taught to you on a daily basis and the last thing you would want is falling behind. Use your weekend to not just study for weekly assessments but also revisit materials from weekdays The purpose of the program is really for you to understand everything instead of passing the assessments.
All the instructors are knowledgable enough to take any question you throw at them and they give awesome lectures. Take advantage of what you are paying for and ask questions if you get stuck with a problem more than 30 minutes. I personally make sure that I ask at least 5 questions a day.
Taking the prep work seriously is crucial to you...

Tldr; this program will push you to your limits and expand what you thought you were capable of. If you can't make it here, you're no less capable of doing this work, this is just a super intense environment that's not meant for every learning style.

Long: AppAcademy has been a whirlwind of a learning experience. I came in with some prior experience coding, but not enough to do anything with. Before I got accepted into the actual program I spent about 2 months preparing by learning ruby, in part with their JumpStart program, which I strongly suggest if they ask you to join - it's free compared to the Bootcamp Prep, but isn't as in-depth from what I hear. Take the AlphaCourse really seriously - don't approach it with the attitude of "it only takes x hours to finish, I'll wait until x ...

App Academy is a great place to further your knowledge in programming and the curriculum is very rich with information that if you master them, I can say that you'll do very well as a web developer. However, this doesn't mean that you'll become proficient from just attending the course. The course will only prepare you for what a work environment will be like and the rest is up to you. Self-studying and personal projects on the side is what will help you grow after graduating.
Here are things for people intending to attend App Academy or are already accepted:
1. The 90+ hours of studying per week is real. You really have to study every night and do the hw to be prepared for next day's work.
2. I can't stress this enough, master the alpha course that they give you when you are accep...

Just finished the curriculum part of App Academy. It was intense, grueling, and sleep-deprived, but I would do it all over again. I have learned so much and went from being an absolute beginner with no coding experience whatsoever to where I can call myself an software engineer (still have so much to learn though lol). They have a great and intense curriculum (it has to be that way for you to go from 0-100 real quick), and they have a great and talented staff of teachers that will lead, mold, consult, and be there with you every step of the way. They are smart people, people. You in good hands.

If you are someone who wants to change the direction of your life or want to get into programming for whatever reason, AND above all else is willing to put in the hours to do it, do not hesit...

App Academy has definitely been the most rigorous academic program I ever attended. The pros for this program is the ability to learn so much information in such a short span. Most of the time you will feel like you are overwhelmed with knowledge to the point where you feel like you'll forget the material when it comes to applying it later. To my (and many other students') surprise, applying your knowledge will feel like second nature.

The biggest drawback is the assessments and the consequences of failing these assessments. People spent large sums of money, left their jobs and invested their time for App Academy. To know that you can be let go if you're at risk creates a high level of anxiety. I personally left my job and was on the brink of failing from the program. Knowing how muc...

App Academy's curriculum is absolutely fantastic. It is rigorous and often stressful, but you learn at such an accelerated rate (relative to self learning or the like) that I think it's definitely worth the time if you can afford it. A lot of that is due to the excellent instructional readings and videos provided to you, as well as the amazing help from your instructors. You learn full stack web development with a back-end in Ruby on Rails, which may not be the hottest thing out there right now, but by the end of the course you will be skilled enough to be able to transition to any other back-end framework of you or your future employer's choosing. The instructors teach you not only about the frameworks, such as Rails, but also about how they work under the hood, which is great to reall...

The curriculum seemed like a compilation of tutorials and books already available online. The value of the program is in being instructed to do it with a sense of direction with a room full of other people buying in. Having yet been hired I cannot attest to the primary goal of the program which is their ability to get you a job, however I will say that I'm confident of doing so. If you're a self-starter and have people in your network that can help you land that first job, you might be able to succeed without the program. If programming is a fresh start for you, this is a good launch pad.

App Academy is great if you are serious about learning the sufficient skills to be a software developer in the shortest humanly possible time. You will be surrounded by other motivated and smart individuals (ensured by a rigorous selection process), and if you are also motivated, you will succeed. It is quite amazing to see people come in with minimal programming experience, and come out able to make really good looking web applications using several different technology stacks. Looking back, this is definitely something that I, and probably most people wouldn't be able to achieve by themselves within 3 months

Pros:
The program does what it says it does, and graduates do find jobs

Cons:
Very stressful, intense, and will test your endurance