Horizons School of Technology

Horizons is a little bit expensive, but the people with whom you are surrounded and the skills you learn far surpass the cost of the program. It was one of the hardest summers of my life, but I do not regret doing this immediately after graduation. The students they bring in are the creme of the crop and I don't doubt many will be extremely successful startup founders and software engineers in the future. I recommend this program to any student looking to break into the tech world.

The program is a home for students who are incredibly motivated and inspiring. You will find yourself among peers who are from the top of their class with such diverse backgrounds. If you don't learn how to code (which you will) you'll definitely learn more about the world. Aside from being a self-paced program, the founders stress the need for a balanced curriculum. They bring in speakers from many different industries to help inspire us every day. When I was there I was able to speak and listen to Payal, founder of Classpass, in a very small setting. I had the opportunity to ask her questions that otherwise large conferences reserve for a select group. The opportunity allowed me to gain insight into a very real person who worked hard to get to where she is at. Now, given I work in con...

Horizons is by far the best experience with coding I have ever had. I was at first a bit skeptical, especially because they didn't require a ton of coding experience. They really start from the basics and teach everything you need to know (and more) to be job ready. After attending Horizon's, I was filled with a ton of industry knowledge, including how to nail interviews, how to start and pursue my own projects, and much more. I attended this coding school immediately after graduation without a job, and 2 months after the program I already had a high paying job. They really care about you as an individual and give you everything you need to be a successful engineer. The only advice I would give is that you get what you put in, so working hard during this camp is critical to success.

In my sophomore year of college, studying Computer Science, I was torn between pursuing an internship or participating in the Horizons Summer Program. I was at a stage in my education where I had 2.5 years worth of CS formal education, and yet when I was reading applications, my skills were lacking. This was an intimidating experience, whereas I felt Horizons would be the absolute best place for me to spend my summer, developing new skills while honing my programming skills, and getting more in touch with the tech "world". My only issue was with the idea that I would be spending money rather than making money, especially since I have always been employed since my senior year of high school. After speaking with Abhi (co-founder) on the phone, I decided that I would look at this experienc...

Throughout the 3 months, I learned to write both front-end and back-end code in JavaScript. Class was structured as Monday-Friday from 9am — 6pm with lectures from 9am — 12pm and partner coding from 1pm — 6pm. Lectures were either in person or pre-recorded videos. On Fridays we would usually have a deep-dive into certain topics and a review of the week. The coding challenges on those days consisted of mini projects that would tie together learning from the current and preceding weeks.

The first 2 weeks we focused on front-end and learned HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and jQuery. On top of the CSS, we learned Bootstrap and Flexbox, which made everyone wonder “Why does anyone bother with front-end?”. The next two weeks were spent on building back-end skills like, learning how to work with...

I spent the summer in San Francisco learning at Horizons and I am still amazed at what an incredible experience it was! I learned practical skills at a rate that vastly outpaced that of my CS classes at UW-Madison. In addition to this, these were skills that could be immediately applied, unlike some of the non-practical skills that college CS programs require you to spend time on. Another thing that shocked me was how well Horizons instructors were able to teach students who had never programmed before. There were plenty of Business and Economics students who were able to solve complex problems and build the front-end and back-ends of applications all by themselves or with teams easily in a matter of weeks. When someone got stuck, there were a wide variety of teachers who were happy to ...

As a CS Major coming from a well respected CS university I went into the summer already familiar with Data Structures & Algorithms as well as Computer Organization, System Design, and Artificial Intelligence. With that being said all summer I was challenged and pushed every day to use my skills to become a Software Engineer and learn how to build and deploy real applications. Software Engineering is something that is often overlooked in CS curriculums, yet is supremely important and is what most CS majors end up doing when they get a job. Going to Horizons gave me a great head start on learning how to build scalable, efficient, and secure web and mobile applications. With the skills I learned at Horizons I was able to get an internship at Apple 1 semester later!

10/10 loved the curr...

Horizons School of Technology is an amazing experience to learn the most you ever could during a summer.
I remember staying often for 15 hours per day in class, and some TA's even spent the night helping students that needed it most.
The pace is really fast, especially if you have zero coding experience. But you will catch up, just be in it 110%.
I highly recommend to join this coding school, for the quality of its TA's, Speakers, Community and founders.
Pros
You'll learn so much, it's a great investment in yourself, and really worth it since it will change your life for the better.
Cons
A little expensive, but totally worth it.
Go for it!

If you are looking to gain fundamental knowledge on web development or software engineering, look no further. Horizons will give you the tools you will need to build some amazing products and launch a career in software engineering.

Throughout the course, Horizons had TAs that were dedicated to staying up with us until the crack of dawn so that we could understand the course material. Towards the end of the program, you are given an opportunity to create your own product (great for people who come in with start-up ideas) or work for an actual start-up (some of our students worked on a project for Optimizely). These projects were monumental in supplementing our coursework and giving me the real-world application to what we had spent learning in the first half of the program.

Finall...

The best way a Business Major (or any student for that matter) can spend a summer. I learned more highly applicable skills in the 3 months than a year in school. Now, I'm using the skills I learned to build a startup.

Instructors & founders were great and ensured we truly understood the topics. The other students were highly motivated and a joy to work with. The speakers they brought in were world-class and helped us think about tech and investing at the highest levels. Overall, the environment made it enjoyable to work long hours and solve tough problems.

I highly recommend Horizons.

I came into Horizons with some algorithmic coding experience and left with the ability to harness the NodeJS library in building scalable backend databases with MongoDB and Express and responsive frontend designs in React and ReactNative (along with traditional HTML, CSS, and Pug (Jade)).

Pros
+ learned professors and devoted TAs
+ dynamic course work that fit to my need
+ plenty of guidance in the career path
Cons
- cost, although the value of this course is well within reason

“Take tremendous risks in your 20s” is a phrase I live and die by. Many people balk at the idea of taking a few months off to rediscover themselves or learn something new because it will not puff up their resume. I, personally disagree with that and think that not taking the risk to join Horizons is a risk one cannot take.

Through Horizons, I was able to truly realize what I am passionate about and why I am passionate about them. Not only that, but I also got the chance to pick up many once-in-a-lifetime experience, invaluable skills and most importantly, everlasting relationships.

If you have a killer startup idea but lack the skills to build it, Horizons will be your answer. If you want a career in the tech industry but lack the knowledge or experience, Horizons will be your a...

The best part of horizons was meeting like-minded, ambitious entrepreneurs and listening to very well-regarded technologists and venture capitalists talk about their individual stories founding companies.

The Horizons' co-founders and instructors are really top notch and I would say they're who you want to be learning from. After the program, I've made a 180 in my career plans moving away from finance and into software engineering despite being in business school.

I highly recommend this program if you're interested in tech in the slightest bit because you learn a whole lot, gain perspective, and meet great people.

Horizons gives you the skills and mentorship to build anything and take it to market excellently.

Intensive training teaches you to build advanced software applications end-to-end. Teachers come directly from impressive roles in Silicone Valley and know the best, and most current, ways to build software.

Experienced entrepreneurs are extremely accessible, providing valuable advice and connections.

My Horizons-built business found an investor by the end of the program. Near four months later, the Horizons team continues to be incredibly helpful.

Pros:
- Being amongst other energetic, fun, and highly intelligent college students from a variety of majors (engineering, biology, psychology etc.) is so much better than being amongst people in their mid-20's looking for a career switch. I built amazing friendships at Horizons
- The speakers are incredible, I have no idea how they got such amazing people. My favorites included Mike Maples (founder of Floodgate), the founder of Digital Ocean, and the founder of Andela
- The teachers are incredibly knowledgeable- they've worked for companies like Dropbox, Google, etc. This is useful because they can best explain applications of tech and where you should focus
- Programming skills I learned at Horizons helped me get an internship

Cons:
- Very intense workload. Not a con if you'r...

I went to Horizons with the sole purpose of getting a job. Within a month, I not only had a job, I had offers from a few companies.

Horizons taught me how to code, but it also helped me with soft skills and interview prep, which I desperately needed.

The teaching staff were all very supportive and have even kept in touch with me since the course ended.

From the rigorous and expertly crafted curriculum, to the incredible people that you're constantly surrounded by, Horizons leaves no stone unturned. Their summer immersive didn't just teach me full stack web and mobile development - it also gave me a priceless network of peers and mentors, and it revolutionized my views on learning, entrepreneurship, and the world. I can't think of many experiences that have yielded so much for me.