App Academy

Full disclosure: AppAcademy promised my a hoodie for this review.

As we took the program, every week aA has asked from 1-10 how likely we would be to recommend it to a friend. Every week I have answered 10/10, and I still would.

I came to aA after having studied CS formally, as well as having a lot of experience working as a developer in the past, just looking to reskill to keep up with the industry. This is not the story for most students, and you certainly don't need prior experience to succeed, although you will probably have to put in more effort before-hand to ensure you understand the basics.

AA is as difficult as everyone says. I have probably spent 100-120 hours working on material every week since the program started to keep up with the readings. Expect to spend every waking minute once you start doing nothing but studying or coding. Your life will be AA; it is a bootcamp after all. No nights, no weekends, no holidays (we were expected to come in Memorial day).

You will come out of this knowing how to develop a full stack application, as well as have a portfolio of several projects to show an employer. You will learn a few basic CS concepts (a very small introduction to DS/A), but without college experience you will probably need to spend a bit of time doing additional independent study after the cohort, during interview prep. Compared to a college degree where you will learn more of the academic CS concepts, but have a lot less to actually show.

You will also get through this much faster, and cheaper, than going for a four year degree. I personally feel that actually being able to build a real app, something a lot of college curricula spend too little time focusing on, is a huge advantage over traditional study.

There are a few negatives. Most of the project work you complete before your fullstack project will not actually be usable for portfolios, although it will teach you a lot. You will not always get a good pair, although almost everyone you work with will become your closest friends for the next 12 weeks. There are also some policies that could use some reworking. Prior to my application, it was not clear that the program also had a
preliminary "foundations" course, four weeks of self directed study to prep for the program (which you absolutely need to do if you don't have experience!! make sure you are comfortable with this material on day 1 of in person), and this could have been made more transparent prior to applying. Some of the material is a bit outdated, which is expected given how fast technologies evolve and new versions come out. The curricula is constantly under development, but some aspects may lag slightly behind.

I still say, given the choice between this and a CS degree, this will be more useful to you practically, as you will actually be building real applications in what is equivalent to less than a semester of college. AA is extremely prestigious, and I would not have decided to come here if I wasn't going to be proud to include it on my Resume.

App Academy was an awesome experience. I think a lot of students (including myself) went in worried about assessments and potentially being dismissed. Although the threat is definitely real, the staff is incredibly supportive both academically and emotionally. Most, if not all of the instructors you will work with on a daily basis are former aA graduates who empathize with struggling students. It's a demanding three months, but your hard work pays off. Best of all, you'll get to work with some really amazing people and make lifelong connections. 

- The curriculum moves fast, but there's great, knowledgeable staff who will make themselves available to help you learn. 
- You pair program for the first 7 weeks, everyday, until you reach your full stack project where you'll get to create your own apps.
- You'll spend all your waking hours dedicated to the curriculum, don't expect to have a life.
- You'll learn through repetition - read the material, watch the material, sit in the lecture to clarify the material, and hands-on practicing the material.

Pros: 
- Fellow classmates are all amazing people (in my case), the time spent day by day is made easier when everyone is working towards the same goal
- Curriculum is in depth, but what you get out of it is dependent on how much you are willing to work
- Amazing instructors and teaching assistants, all of the staff here are knowledgable and overall just amazing people
Cons: 
- A lot of material is thrown at you fast, along with assessments, homework, and projects the amount of work can lead to burn out if you don't take care of yourself 
- Material is a bit outdated, ruby is on its way out and it would've been more beneficial if they utilized a more modern language to start learning with 

App Academy was without a doubt one of the hardest challenges i've faced in my life. Throughout the week, there is literally no free time, and your life is coding. It's amazing how much you can learn if you follow the prescribed hours. I went from knowing nothing about coding to being able to make my own fullstack site and a javascript game. My tip for prospective students is that they prepare themselves for this rigorous course by making sure that they will have no distractions throughout the 12 weeks. Also, going through their foundations course multiple times will ensure that you have the best possible start to the bootcamp. Deciding to join App Academy was a great decision!

Attending App Academy was one of the best choices I have ever made. I have my doubts before applying because I thought that I could self teach on how to become a software developer, but it does in no way compare to the amount of material gets covered during the curriculum and the amount of help and answered questions you get from aA's staff. The culture at app academy was very inclusive and it made me feel very comfortable the entire time. Overall, it was a great experience and now I can say I am truly a software engineer. 

This was definitely one of the most intense experiences of my life, but it was definitely worth it, in terms of teaching me everything about web development. Although it is quite difficult, it is very rewarding if you put in the time to study. After going through the curriculum and studying for at least 60 hours a week, I have learned the tools and gained the skills to build a website from scratch. The instructors are great at teaching the material, and they are always more than willing to help.

Overall great experience -- intense, thorough, and at times exhausting, but extremely rewarding. I tried coding myself for a while but lacked the direction and drive. App Academy did that for me. The best part of the whole process though is the people you meet. The drive and intelligence of the people are positive influences to the grind. The coursework is effective and extensive. They also have a job search part of the curriculum which is quite informative. The material and tools are good but it's what you put into it, especially after graduation.