| | Anonymous | On the sidebar of this web page you'll see SI claiming they provide Scholarships:
1) Women in Tech
2) People of Color in Tech
3) Seasoned Professionals in Tech (age 40+)
4) Veterans’ Scholarship (automatic $1,000 off tuition)
5) Excellence in STEM Scholarship
Although my cohort did contain women, POC, professionals over 40, people with CS backgrounds, and Veterans, none of us received any of those scholarships, even when we individually inquired about them. In fact, they acted the opposite when they were the hardest on one of our veteran colleagues as he had to leave for a few days for a training exercise. After missing those days, they didn't let him return to class despite serving his country. Instead, they told us during stand-up, "He just doesn't feel like showing up." His story was the complete opposite, after individuals reached out to him. Despite doing his duty for his country, SI has refused a refund or even a re-entry into the program. I'm not sure about the rest of the community, but I just don't see that as being anywhere near being supportive of our troops, and the refusal to even grant him the veteran's scholarship is a slap to the face to our hard working military people.
I inquired about the POC scholarship, but the COO, claimed it wouldn't be fair to the other POC people if I were to get it. After asking why, there was no response other than, "there's just other people who can use it as well". In the end, nobody received the scholarship. As for the rest of the scholarships SI has advertised, they did the usual bob & weave to avoid losing profit. Instead, they offered that we can get $300 for every person we convince to sign up for their program. So instead of a scholarship or a discount, they've asked us to work for them as salespeople. As you can see with the coerced reviews on this review page, people are pushing for you to join SI. Although it technically isn't a Ponzi Scheme, it's still a scheme and the motivation is there in order for SI to succeed and turn a profit.
Another reason as to why there are so many "positive" reviews is due to the fact those who complained or were unsure about SI's motivation have had to either sign an NDA, settlement agreement or "stay quiet, or else". Unfortunately, for those who chose to pick neither have received burn-notices as SI have gone out of their way to interfere with interviewing processes for alumni who've opposed their "mission".
The list goes on and on, but I digress. Due to these actions (and more), you'll notice, especially on LinkedIn, former students relocating out of state to escape SI's reach. The above should be enough for future Boot Camp candidates to be informed of what they'll experience if they chose Startup Institute. |
