Fullstack Academy

pros:
1. full-stack JavaScript-focused curriculum with strong emphasis on React.js was a perfect fit for jobs in the NYC market;
2. amazing, committed instructors;
3. project-based and collaborative (pair-programming throughout) was a plus in interviews;
4. Career Services helped me negotiate a higher salary

cons:
1. not enough emphasis on becoming proficient at writing tests (e.g. Jest, Mocha, etc.), and
2. Career Services was great at the negotiation phase, but they seem to be too busy to give too much individualized focus before that point

general advice:
1. Computer Science fundamentals is extremely important, but only so much of it can be taught in a 4 month program - make sure you study algorithms and web fundamentals on your own after graduation;
2. I probably was u...

The Summer of Code (SOC) program was an excellent option for a (then) soon-to-be graduating student like me. I've done my best to briefly describe the reasons why -

0. 'How' to learn Comp. Sci. concepts -

One of the skills which I use every day as a software engineer is the ability to learn new computer science concepts/material/technologies quickly, and then implement them. Full stack's immersive is designed to teach you 'how to learn' along with 'what to learn'.

1. Curriculum & staff -

One of the things which struck me about the curriculum was that how well detailed and thorough it was. The instructors have perfected the curriculum over time. Additionally, the 'career success' team are very helpful in getting you ready for interviews.

2. Practical coding skills -

...

I graduated from college with a degree in theoretical math and I had no idea what to do next. Luckily I had a friend who was a year above me with the same major who went on to attend a bootcamp and land a great job quickly. So I began to teach myself to code during the summer while looking into bootcamps.

Fullstack Academy was at the top of every list for bootcamps and it has a Chicago location, which was important to me. I decided to attend Fullstack's bootcamp prep in order to progress my JavaScript skills, to make sure coding was right for me and also to experience Fullstack’s culture. I highly recommend bootcamp prep because it reassured me that this huge commitment I was about to make was right for me, I got a lot of questions answered and felt very prepared to take the assessme...

I had a great experience at Fullstack Academy. Every instructor and fellow was extremely friendly and helpful. And the most important part is it helped me to dive into the industry and got a chance to start my new career as a software engineer in a relatively short period of time.

I absolutely love the amount of passion and support the staff put in to the immersivve program. Not only are they there to help you get through the program, they are there to help you succeed in the engineering world. I am very appreciative of the things I learned from my instructors and all the support I received from all the staff.

The instruction is brilliant and the workshop content is carefully curated to allow you to blaze through a very efficient learning path. You'll be pretty much learning a new technology every day or so, but the intuitions you build are cumulative. Ultimately, you'll get a solid enough practical and theoretical foundation for you to explore any technologies you want. Anytime you get stuck, the instructors and fellows jump right in to save the day, so you always keep moving forward. It's a fairly challenging program, but seeing your tech skills skyrocket is absolutely worth the effort.

A short disclaimer: I did have some previous coding experience before I joined Fullstack, so I had a comparatively easier time with the curriculum.

But don't let that scare you. It's a great experience. The curriculum is amazing, the instructors are concise, easy to understand, and make learning an enjoyable experience. I became a much better coder during my time at Fullstack. Not just through the frameworks I learned, but the little stuff. I'm so much better at tracking down bugs now.

Many people with no previous coding experience went in and came out polished software engineers. More importantly, they learned to be fast learners and break down problems. I highly recommend it to everybody.

I found my course easy to understand,everything has been cleaver build!
Like this I got in quite fast.

A note about me. I do not hold any type of college degree. I went to college for music, but started working professionally in that industry before I finished. I was successful, but I've always had an interest in the CS field and wanted to work and live in one place, rather than being gone on tour all the time. I'm glad I made the decision to switch. 3 months after graduating Fullstack Academy I got a job as the Lead Mobile Developer at a startup. I graduated mid-December 2017 and started working at my current company mid-March 2018. I think I sent out 5 applications altogether.

This review is about Fullstack Academy, however, a lot of people are trying to choose between App Academy/Fullstack Academy/Hack Reactor etc. So a note about App Academy -
I went to App Academy for 5 weeks o...

I was initially turned on to Fullstack Academy because of their Grace Hopper program and its deferred tuition model, but the decision to ultimately attend Fullstack was informed by other reviews like this. I do not regret the choice. From start to finish, it has been a thoughtfully-constructed process with all of the Fullstack network's resources there for help. I came into the field with absolutely no CS background (my B.A. is in Psychology) - within months, I've found my first home as a developer with one of the FSA Hiring Day companies. Between the curriculum and the community, Fullstack has been a life-changing experience and a wonderful opportunity.

I attended Fullstack Academy Sep 2017 - Feb 2018. My professors throughout my time there were Omri, Cassio, and Corey. All were amazing and contributed in different ways to my learning experience.

You can tell FSA cares about their students and truly wants them to succeed. David Yang, one of the founders, made sure to answer any questions students had honestly and thoroughly. The school is very transparent about their values, goals, and outcomes.

Companies were reaching out to me with interest before I graduated, and I landed a job as a Software Engineer within a week after finishing Fullstack. Natalie was my career success counselor during Senior Phase, and she was incredibly helpful and knowledge when it came to updating my resume, preparing for interviews, etc. I know a few ot...

I participated in the summer of code program at Fullstack going into my sophmore year of college. I had a great time, and learned the practical knowledge and skills that I'll need when I'm looking for employment after I graduate. If anyone is looking for a way to turn their theory-based CS education into something practical, this is the program for you. While it is a bit pricey, if you can make it work, I would 100% recommend it.

I attended Fullstack as a Summer of Code student. I was weary of attending at first since I am already a computer science student, and thought it may be "overkill." But it was worth it in the end because I learned so many valuable skillsets that I would have not encountered otherwise. The interview prep support was also tremendous, and I really enjoyed learning and working with others who are equally motivated. Shoutout to Kate who was a wonderful mentor and teacher throughout my Senior phase! If you are weary about price/experience, just now that this is such a worthwhile experience and I feel way more confident in my programming abilities now. If I had any criticism, it would be that specific internship support wasn't available, but I got enough out of the job support that it didn't m...

My story: I'm 35 and have 2 year old son (worth mentioning for any parents who may be reading this wondering if the bootcamp route makes sense for them). To help you baseline your intelligence level against mine: I got a 24 on my ACT and had a 2.86 college GPA (although the low GPA was more because I didn't apply myself vs mental capacity...my freshman year I had a 3.4 when I was fully applied, in a computer information systems program at Indiana University which is a moderately difficult program; for what it's worth). After 13 year career in IT and project management, I was making a decent salary, but I was very unhappy and burnt out in my job and career path (or lack thereof). I decided to go to a bootcamp to become a developer. I did the Fullstack bootcamp prep course and got accepte...

Fullstack is the single best coding bootcamp in Chicago. They have their sh*t together. They constantly work on updating and refining their curriculum. The skills you learn are highly relevant to actual jobs in the industry. The instructors are knowledgeable.

After graduating in December, I didn't start job searching until the first week of January. By February 15, I had my first offer at a company that hit all my requirements, paid a solid salary, and was still interviewing with 5 other companies. Keep in mind, I'm more socially-skilled than most as I used to work in marketing consulting for 4 years, so your results may vary based on your temperament and skillset.

On attending the academy:
1) It's very liberal. As a conservative/libertarian, it was painful sitting through all t...

If you are serious about changing careers into the tech industry, definitely consider Fullstack Academy. It was chanllenging, but you get out what you put in. The job search comes after the bootcamp can be even tougher. Be ready.

Aside from getting a great experience from the bootcamp, I also gain an amazing Fullstack network which I treasure a lot.

Fullstack Academy has the potential to give you an amazing education and potentially an equally great career, if you are willing to work hard and use all the tools they give you. The curriculum is structured to first expose you to their tech stack and to then let you use that stack to create projects for your portfolio. Fullstack gives you everything you need to succeed, but it's up to you to use what you're given. There is very little micromanaging in the course, meaning if you are struggling, it is up to you to seek out help and to improve yourself. While this does open up the opportunity for failure, anybody who is willing to work hard and has a passion for making cool stuff can definately succeed here.

In terms of getting a job, all graduates are definately prepared to work in a...

Foundations was incredibly challenging. Junior phase was very challenging. Senior phase was challenging. Everything got easier over time because your confidence improved and your understanding of the context of what you were learning improved, and your skills for learning improved. At the beginning we all kept telling each other and ourselves, "trust the process." It got easier to trust over time. We got a lot closer than I thought we'd be able to over a remote platform, but it really felt like we were all hanging out every day. I made friends that I still talk to all the time. The instructors are not equal, but they're all very competent and helpful. Everyone in the tech world that I talked to after the program was thoroughly impressed by my knowledge and experience from Fullstack. I f...

Attending Fullstack was a great experience. The curriculum is very well designed, the instructors and support staff are great (and very invested in making sure students do well), and my cohort was full of smart, interesting, and fun future developers.

After completing four weeks of "foundations" work (intended to ensure that everyone starts the learning phase on the same page), the first 6 weeks of the program was the instructional part of the program. You learn a lot of new things, and they tell you that you won't understand them all - that's something I struggled with at first, but that truly made sense when I got to the last 6 weeks of the program, which is the project phase. Working on projects really solidifies everything you learned earlier in the program, and I think setting i...

The Fullstack Academy Software Engineer Immersive program has a great curriculum and the schedule is layed out effectively. The first six weeks of the program is lectures and workshops. The workshops solidify the material in the lectures. As you work in pairs, some doubts you may have can be cleared with your peer programming buddy. If not, you always have a Fellow to aks questions. Fellows are alumni who stay for the next cohort to help instructors. This guarantees coverage for questions and general help for students. The curriculum for lectures is updated often between cohorts and reflects the software and languages being used in the real world.

The latter six weeks of the program you spend all your time in project work. I think this is a valuable time for many of my fellow cohorts...